& Construction
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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing
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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
In this lesson, we’ll discuss the key concepts when working with the mechanical CAD plugin and explore the most common views you’ll need to navigate.
Let's explore the three types of BOMs you’ll work with in Upchain, and discuss their uses.
Transcript
00:04
In this video, we'll introduce you to the key concepts when working in Upchain with the mechanical CAD Plugin.
00:10
Familiarize yourself with these terms, but don't worry about mastering them just now.
00:14
We'll revisit many of these core concepts in greater detail in later courses. So, let's take a look.
00:20
But first, let's recap a few things.
00:23
What is an item? An item represents one object in your design.
00:28
It is one level in your Bill of Materials that can be a Part, Assembly, Sub-assembly, or End item, which is a top-level item with no parent.
00:36
Think of an item like a box.
00:38
It contains all data associated with one object in a product design, including attributes which is your metadata,
00:45
CAD models, drawings, non-CAD documents, translations, visualizations, and markups.
00:52
Each item in Upchain is assigned a unique item number. Which once assigned may not be changed or reused by another item.
01:02
What is a Bill of Materials?
01:05
A Bill of Materials lists all of the Assemblies, Sub-assemblies, Parts, and raw materials needed to produce one unit of a finished product.
01:15
Each product has its own Bill of Materials. In Upchain, there are three Bill of Materials you'll work with, the cBOM, the eBOM, and the Project BOM.
01:27
So, what is the cBOM?
01:30
The cBOM is your CAD Bill of Materials. It is the BOM created in your CAD software and subsequently pushed into Upchain.
01:39
It comprises the parts and assemblies in your design and how they are linked together. In other words, the cBOM is your design Bill of Materials.
01:52
What is the eBOM?
01:54
The eBOM is your Engineering Bill of Materials.
01:57
It is the indented structure of items that represents your design in Upchain, and can also include additional items that do not appear in CAD,
02:05
such as electrical components, lubricants, purchased components, or software packages, for instance.
02:14
In most cases, every part and assembly in CAD will be associated with an Upchain item.
02:21
However, there are cases where objects appear in one BOM, but not the other.
02:26
You can include files in your cBOM that do not get registered to an item.
02:31
These are known as phantom files.
02:36
Two examples of their use include Reference CAD-
02:40
these files will not form part of the final product but are needed to model with.
02:45
And children of purchased assemblies-
02:47
the assembly overall has an item so it can appear in the final BOM,
02:51
but its children do not need items as they are not purchased and managed separately.
02:59
You can also include items in your eBOM that do not exist in your cBOM.
03:04
These can be items that may or may not have their own CAD,
03:07
and are included on the eBOM because they are required to produce the final physical product.
03:12
Note, however, that adding items that will only exist in the eBOM can only be done in the BOM section of a project in the web application.
03:24
What is The Project BOM? The Project BOM is the structure of all items used in a project.
03:29
It is the culmination of all eBOMs that have been associated and organized within a project.
03:35
This can include multiple End items.
03:43
So, you may be wondering why we have so many different BOM types.
03:48
The reason is that different users are interested in different information about the BOM.
03:53
As a CAD power user, your main focus will be the cBOM,
03:57
ensuring your design is correct and that you register everything in your design to items where relevant in Upchain.
04:04
The cBOM is what drives the structure of the eBOM.
04:07
The eBOM is primarily built from the structure of the cBOM, and any additional items that need to be added can be done so in the web application,
04:16
to ensure it contains everything needed to produce the final product.
04:20
The project BOM is what displays the final BOM for an entire project.
04:25
So, this will be the BOM that many of your downstream users will be interested in.
04:31
Continue working through the mechanical CAD courses to learn more.
Video transcript
00:04
In this video, we'll introduce you to the key concepts when working in Upchain with the mechanical CAD Plugin.
00:10
Familiarize yourself with these terms, but don't worry about mastering them just now.
00:14
We'll revisit many of these core concepts in greater detail in later courses. So, let's take a look.
00:20
But first, let's recap a few things.
00:23
What is an item? An item represents one object in your design.
00:28
It is one level in your Bill of Materials that can be a Part, Assembly, Sub-assembly, or End item, which is a top-level item with no parent.
00:36
Think of an item like a box.
00:38
It contains all data associated with one object in a product design, including attributes which is your metadata,
00:45
CAD models, drawings, non-CAD documents, translations, visualizations, and markups.
00:52
Each item in Upchain is assigned a unique item number. Which once assigned may not be changed or reused by another item.
01:02
What is a Bill of Materials?
01:05
A Bill of Materials lists all of the Assemblies, Sub-assemblies, Parts, and raw materials needed to produce one unit of a finished product.
01:15
Each product has its own Bill of Materials. In Upchain, there are three Bill of Materials you'll work with, the cBOM, the eBOM, and the Project BOM.
01:27
So, what is the cBOM?
01:30
The cBOM is your CAD Bill of Materials. It is the BOM created in your CAD software and subsequently pushed into Upchain.
01:39
It comprises the parts and assemblies in your design and how they are linked together. In other words, the cBOM is your design Bill of Materials.
01:52
What is the eBOM?
01:54
The eBOM is your Engineering Bill of Materials.
01:57
It is the indented structure of items that represents your design in Upchain, and can also include additional items that do not appear in CAD,
02:05
such as electrical components, lubricants, purchased components, or software packages, for instance.
02:14
In most cases, every part and assembly in CAD will be associated with an Upchain item.
02:21
However, there are cases where objects appear in one BOM, but not the other.
02:26
You can include files in your cBOM that do not get registered to an item.
02:31
These are known as phantom files.
02:36
Two examples of their use include Reference CAD-
02:40
these files will not form part of the final product but are needed to model with.
02:45
And children of purchased assemblies-
02:47
the assembly overall has an item so it can appear in the final BOM,
02:51
but its children do not need items as they are not purchased and managed separately.
02:59
You can also include items in your eBOM that do not exist in your cBOM.
03:04
These can be items that may or may not have their own CAD,
03:07
and are included on the eBOM because they are required to produce the final physical product.
03:12
Note, however, that adding items that will only exist in the eBOM can only be done in the BOM section of a project in the web application.
03:24
What is The Project BOM? The Project BOM is the structure of all items used in a project.
03:29
It is the culmination of all eBOMs that have been associated and organized within a project.
03:35
This can include multiple End items.
03:43
So, you may be wondering why we have so many different BOM types.
03:48
The reason is that different users are interested in different information about the BOM.
03:53
As a CAD power user, your main focus will be the cBOM,
03:57
ensuring your design is correct and that you register everything in your design to items where relevant in Upchain.
04:04
The cBOM is what drives the structure of the eBOM.
04:07
The eBOM is primarily built from the structure of the cBOM, and any additional items that need to be added can be done so in the web application,
04:16
to ensure it contains everything needed to produce the final product.
04:20
The project BOM is what displays the final BOM for an entire project.
04:25
So, this will be the BOM that many of your downstream users will be interested in.
04:31
Continue working through the mechanical CAD courses to learn more.
In this video, we show you where to find each of the BOM views, and an overview of what you can do within each view.
Transcript
00:04
In this video, we'll show you where you can find each of the BOM views and an overview of what you can do in each view.
00:13
Remember, Upchain is a project-based system.
00:16
As such, you should typically begin by selecting a project you want to work in.
00:21
To select a project, click on the context selector at the top of the window.
00:27
Select My Projects.
00:31
Locate the project you wish to use.
00:34
This could be in any of the three sections depending on what your relation is to that project. Click on the project.
00:43
This now shows the project name and number in the context bar at the top of the window and takes you to the project's dashboard.
00:53
From the project dashboard, click the View all link in the Items section.
01:03
This takes you to the BOM tab and selects the Project BOM from the drop-down menu.
01:10
The project BOM is where you access CAD files and drawings associated with an item.
01:15
It is primarily from this view where you will download existing registered CAD files to view or work on.
01:22
The filters at the top modify which item versions are shown in this view.
01:28
By default, it is set to Working eBOM,
01:33
which shows the latest versions based on creation date of all items currently used in the Project BOM.
01:39
For example, in this drone assembly...
01:44
This item is currently at major revision AA, minor revision 00, version 1, and it's in Development.
01:54
That is the latest version of this item.
01:59
The Saved eBOM filter shows the specific item versions currently saved into the Project BOM.
02:06
So, again, in our drone example, if we look at this item here.
02:13
It is major revision AA, minor revision 00, and it is Released.
02:18
That is the version that was last saved into this drone assembly.
02:25
The Released eBOM filter shows the latest release versions of the end items,
02:30
and the released child items that existed in that end item at the time of its release.
02:38
Any item that's not released is grayed out.
02:46
Right click on any of the items here to access a menu with additional actions you can take on these items.
02:55
The cBOM view only shows you information when it has been refreshed.
02:59
The plugin is generally a passive system, meaning it does not take any action unless you tell it to.
03:07
The Refresh button looks at the active file open in your CAD system, and shows you the information it has related to those files.
03:15
For CAD files that have already been...
03:21
Registered into Upchain, which we’ll cover in another lesson.
03:24
The cBOM view shows the cBOM structure of the CAD file you currently have open in your CAD system.
03:33
Each CAD file is represented by its item type, status, name, number, and revision. It also shows whether a file is a phantom.
03:43
When you click on something in the cBOM view, it highlights it in the model and shows it in the tree.
03:52
You can right click on any item again to see a menu of actions you can take on that item.
04:02
The eBOM view is refreshed at the same time as the cBOM view.
04:07
The eBOM view shows you the structure of items as it was built in Upchain based on the structure of the cBOM, but with some key differences.
04:15
While in most CAD systems, the cBOM view shows each instance of each component separately, the eBOM view shows the item only once.
04:26
However, the total quantity is still recorded in Upchain, and you can modify that later if needs be.
04:31
The eBOM view is also likely not in the same order as the cBOM view because it may not have registered each component top down.
04:40
The order of the eBOM can be changed in the web application if you are not happy with it.
04:48
The eBOM view also can contain additional items that are not part of the CBOM, such as fasteners, packaging, grease, and so on.
04:56
And anything else that doesn't need to be included in the design. The warning symbol there indicates this discrepancy between the two BOMs.
05:05
Again, right click on an item in this view to access additional actions you can take on the item.
05:15
The lower pane is where you can view and edit an item's attributes.
05:19
The lower pane is available in all BOM views, cBOM, eBOM, and Project BOM views.
05:34
It also contains tabs to show the item's documents, including non-CAD documents, design documents, drawings,
05:43
and any translations associated to that item.
05:46
The preview tab is where you can see a larger thumbnail of the model, as well as a preview of the drawing, if it has one.
05:56
The Categorization tab is where you can add Categorization,
06:00
which is a special type of attribute that acts sort of like a search term or a hashtag or a label on the item.
06:13
The Where used tab is where you can view information about where that item is being used.
06:19
All assemblies and projects where that item is currently being used.
06:23
And as a CAD user, this is a very important view,
06:26
because you don't want to start modifying items that are used in multiple locations,
06:31
as you may inadvertently change somebody else's assembly or project.
06:37
The Assignments tab is where you can view any tasks or business processes the item is currently associated with.
06:49
The Item view is the same as the lower pane, but it takes up the entire plugin window.
06:59
The Item view shows your item attributes, eBOM attributes, and any custom attributes,
07:05
and the additional tabs as we saw in the lower pane.
07:13
The Item view is dynamic, meaning as you click on things within your model,
07:18
it updates to show you the corresponding item in Upchain that it belongs to.
07:23
And this can help you figure out what that relationship is between the CAD file and the item in Upchain.
07:32
In the top right, you'll find additional actions that you can take on that item as well as a little menu of additional actions.
Video transcript
00:04
In this video, we'll show you where you can find each of the BOM views and an overview of what you can do in each view.
00:13
Remember, Upchain is a project-based system.
00:16
As such, you should typically begin by selecting a project you want to work in.
00:21
To select a project, click on the context selector at the top of the window.
00:27
Select My Projects.
00:31
Locate the project you wish to use.
00:34
This could be in any of the three sections depending on what your relation is to that project. Click on the project.
00:43
This now shows the project name and number in the context bar at the top of the window and takes you to the project's dashboard.
00:53
From the project dashboard, click the View all link in the Items section.
01:03
This takes you to the BOM tab and selects the Project BOM from the drop-down menu.
01:10
The project BOM is where you access CAD files and drawings associated with an item.
01:15
It is primarily from this view where you will download existing registered CAD files to view or work on.
01:22
The filters at the top modify which item versions are shown in this view.
01:28
By default, it is set to Working eBOM,
01:33
which shows the latest versions based on creation date of all items currently used in the Project BOM.
01:39
For example, in this drone assembly...
01:44
This item is currently at major revision AA, minor revision 00, version 1, and it's in Development.
01:54
That is the latest version of this item.
01:59
The Saved eBOM filter shows the specific item versions currently saved into the Project BOM.
02:06
So, again, in our drone example, if we look at this item here.
02:13
It is major revision AA, minor revision 00, and it is Released.
02:18
That is the version that was last saved into this drone assembly.
02:25
The Released eBOM filter shows the latest release versions of the end items,
02:30
and the released child items that existed in that end item at the time of its release.
02:38
Any item that's not released is grayed out.
02:46
Right click on any of the items here to access a menu with additional actions you can take on these items.
02:55
The cBOM view only shows you information when it has been refreshed.
02:59
The plugin is generally a passive system, meaning it does not take any action unless you tell it to.
03:07
The Refresh button looks at the active file open in your CAD system, and shows you the information it has related to those files.
03:15
For CAD files that have already been...
03:21
Registered into Upchain, which we’ll cover in another lesson.
03:24
The cBOM view shows the cBOM structure of the CAD file you currently have open in your CAD system.
03:33
Each CAD file is represented by its item type, status, name, number, and revision. It also shows whether a file is a phantom.
03:43
When you click on something in the cBOM view, it highlights it in the model and shows it in the tree.
03:52
You can right click on any item again to see a menu of actions you can take on that item.
04:02
The eBOM view is refreshed at the same time as the cBOM view.
04:07
The eBOM view shows you the structure of items as it was built in Upchain based on the structure of the cBOM, but with some key differences.
04:15
While in most CAD systems, the cBOM view shows each instance of each component separately, the eBOM view shows the item only once.
04:26
However, the total quantity is still recorded in Upchain, and you can modify that later if needs be.
04:31
The eBOM view is also likely not in the same order as the cBOM view because it may not have registered each component top down.
04:40
The order of the eBOM can be changed in the web application if you are not happy with it.
04:48
The eBOM view also can contain additional items that are not part of the CBOM, such as fasteners, packaging, grease, and so on.
04:56
And anything else that doesn't need to be included in the design. The warning symbol there indicates this discrepancy between the two BOMs.
05:05
Again, right click on an item in this view to access additional actions you can take on the item.
05:15
The lower pane is where you can view and edit an item's attributes.
05:19
The lower pane is available in all BOM views, cBOM, eBOM, and Project BOM views.
05:34
It also contains tabs to show the item's documents, including non-CAD documents, design documents, drawings,
05:43
and any translations associated to that item.
05:46
The preview tab is where you can see a larger thumbnail of the model, as well as a preview of the drawing, if it has one.
05:56
The Categorization tab is where you can add Categorization,
06:00
which is a special type of attribute that acts sort of like a search term or a hashtag or a label on the item.
06:13
The Where used tab is where you can view information about where that item is being used.
06:19
All assemblies and projects where that item is currently being used.
06:23
And as a CAD user, this is a very important view,
06:26
because you don't want to start modifying items that are used in multiple locations,
06:31
as you may inadvertently change somebody else's assembly or project.
06:37
The Assignments tab is where you can view any tasks or business processes the item is currently associated with.
06:49
The Item view is the same as the lower pane, but it takes up the entire plugin window.
06:59
The Item view shows your item attributes, eBOM attributes, and any custom attributes,
07:05
and the additional tabs as we saw in the lower pane.
07:13
The Item view is dynamic, meaning as you click on things within your model,
07:18
it updates to show you the corresponding item in Upchain that it belongs to.
07:23
And this can help you figure out what that relationship is between the CAD file and the item in Upchain.
07:32
In the top right, you'll find additional actions that you can take on that item as well as a little menu of additional actions.
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