Key Features
Import BOMs from SolidWorks and other CAD systems. Learn More.
Automatically convert between indented BOMs and Flat BOMs. Users can work in either format and be confident that the data will always be in sync. Learn More
Manually create BOMs for electronics and other assemblies where CAD won’t do it for you. Learn More
Easily merge manually created BOMs and CAD driven BOMS. Learn More Example: your CAD model contains an electrical enclosure, but you haven’t taken the time to model all of the electrical components.
Manage multiple different configurations in different tabs while sharing components between them. Learn More
All in a user friendly Excel file that you can give to anyone in Supply Chain, Purchasing, Marketing, Sales, or Engineering.
get started today with our tutorial videos
TWO TYPES OF BOMS
The two types of BOMs are Indented BOMs and Flat BOMs. In general, engineers and designers like to think in terms of Indented BOMs while purchasing likes to think in terms of Flat BOMs.
Take the example of a skateboard below. The Bolt is used in multiple levels of the assembly. There are 8 bolts in the top level, but there are 2 bolts in each axle assembly. Since there are 2 axles in each skateboard, there are 8+2+2 =12 total bolts in one skateboard. This is simple to think through for the skateboard analogy, but you can see how this would get extremely difficult for machines with thousands of parts, and dozens of assembly levels.
Both types are useful, but converting between the two is not something that a human can do accurately and efficiently. The secret sauce of QuickBOM is that it maintains both a flat BOM and an Indented BOM in one file. A whole bunch of macros and formulas keep them in sync.
The Flat BOM is stored in the Library tab of your QuickBOM file. There can only be one Library tab in each QuickBOM file.
The Indented BOM is stored in a CAD_<your BOM name> or MAN_<your BOM name> tab. There can be one or many Indented BOMs in one file.
Here’s what the skateboard would look like in QuickBOM.
Indented BOM for the skateboard example.
Flat BOM for the skateboard example.
When working with QuickBOM, multiple people can work in the same file at the same time. Some can work in the Indented and some can work in the Flat BOM, and you can always be confident that they will be kept in sync.
Why did I Create QuickBOM?
“As an engineering manager at a Fortune 500 company, my team of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers is constantly designing complex machines with thousands of parts. The ME’s work in SolidWorks which sort of manages the BOM for them, and the EE’s work in regular-old AutoCAD which provides no assistance managing the BOM. QuickBOM allows me to merge the two ways of working into one flat BOM to give to purchasing.”
“Throughout the year-long design process, I keep the QuickBOM file up-to-date, and I have purchasing go in and enter quotes as they receive them. That allows me to always have a clear picture of my costing.”
“When it comes time to scale up production, I can easily hand this file to outside machine builders or internal supply chain, and they can quickly understand what needs to be built.”
Scott Daigle