Part V: Creating Drawings
FIGURE 24.1
A sample BOM
BOMs are made in one of two ways. The default BOM is made from a special SolidWorks table,
while an Excel-based BOM is driven by Excel. While Excel has advantages and disadvantages,
many users appear to prefer the default BOM. Excel and SolidWorks table-based BOMs are not
interchangeable, so if you plan to customize the default templates, you need to make a decision in
which type of BOM you will want to develop the BOMs.
Note
BOMs can also be placed directly in the assembly and even in multi-body part files. n
Examining the SolidWorks table-based BOM
The BOM shown in Figure 24.1 is a default SolidWorks table-based BOM. The differences between
the displays of the two types of BOM are mainly cosmetic; the bigger difference is in the function-
ality. The PropertyManager interface for the SolidWorks Bill of Materials is shown in Figure 24.2.