BOM question re: lengths vs. qtys.

[Istre]

Ok, here's my problem. I work with models that have things like cabling, conduit, etc. that have BOM entries that list linear feet as a quantity instead of a part count. Now, these elements are modeled as a part in SolidWorks, so when the BOM is created, is parametrically points to the internal part count as the value listed in the quantity column of the BOM. I'd like to be able to point it to some property, perhaps a custom property, that I could populate with the length of conduit, cable, etc. needed.

I imagine this could be done fairly easily in an Excel based BOM, but we've set a precedent here using the table based BOM and I'm wondering if there is a way to list lengths in the table based BOM scheme short of manually changing the callout on the drawing. We've played with using a manual entry, but that hasn't worked, as SolidWorks overwrites with the parametric value any chance it gets.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[sloth4z]

have you tried assigning a custom property (named "Length") to each part, and then creating a Custom BOM template with a column heading that has the same name as the custom property? That worked for me.

Sorry. I reread your post, and I think I have described how to do it with an Excel based BOM. What is a table based BOM? Why wouldn't they work similarly?

 

[Istre]

Ahh, your help, even though it is for the Excel based BOM helps. I can do the same thing for the table based BOM. I just wish SolidWorks were smart enough to have an "override" of sorts. Basically it should have a column and a property that operate as such...

1) If the property is null, the number listed in the BOM is the number of times that the part appears in the assembly

2) If the property has a value, that property overrides the number of appearances in the BOM and is listed as the quantity.

This way, the same information would be displayed, just MUCH neater.

Thank you for your help. It solved my problem.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

sloth4z ... A "Table based BOM" is SW version of the Excel BOM.

Custom properties can be set for both Excel & SW Table based BOMs. Check the Index section of the Help files for bill of materials, custom properties


Making the best use of this Forum. faq559-716
How to get answers to your SW questions. faq559-1091
Helpful SW websites every user should be aware of. faq559-520

 

[brengine]

Istre,

I don't know about the SW BoM (as I have never used it), but I "think" the following would work the Excel version (so maybe it can help?):

[ol]
[li]Keep the existing QUANTITY column in your templates, but hide this column.
[/li]

[li]Add another column called LENGTH, and populate it with the custom property LENGTH from the component's file properties (as described in previous posts). Then hide this column too.
[/li]

[li]Add another column that we'll call...ACTUAL_QUANTITY. This column will contain an equation rather than be linked to a file property. For each row, the equation would be something like the following (which I have simplified for clarification):
=IF(LENGTH = "", QUANTITY, LENGTH)
This is the column that you would see in your inserted BoM's with QUANTITY (or whatever you choose) as the column heading.
[/li]
[/ol]

Does that help?
Ken