About EBOM Import

You can import EBOM information from an Excel file to either create an EBOM or update an existing one. Importing EBOM information is useful for developing a multilevel EBOM (an EBOM that has child parts and perhaps children of children). Data that you import from the Excel file does modify data (such as a change in FN or quantity) that is already in the existing BOM. The imported data only adds new rows. If the BOM import creates duplicate part names, unique FN values are generated for the duplicate data that is imported.

The EBOM import function is available to Design Engineers, Senior Design Engineers, Manufacturing Engineers, Senior Manufacturing Engineers, and VPLM Creators.

Note: The import command is not available in the mobile environment.

When you import a BOM spreadsheet, you can choose whether to apply a Work Under CA to the BOM. The CA you select is applied to the BOM and all BOM components will be under unified change-required during import. If you do not select a Work Under CA, change-required will be disabled for all BOM components during import.

This page discusses:

See Also
Importing an EBOM File

Spreadsheet Structure

Before you import the Excel spreadsheet, you must create it, ensuring that it contains all the required data in the correct format.

An example Excel spreadsheet for creating an EBOM is shown below.



The headings for the spreadsheet are described below. Of the headings that are required, some must have data in their column while others can be left empty.

Note: Only those column headings described below are supported. Unsupported column headings and internationalization will be ignored during import.

Heading Required? Description
Level Yes The level of the object. To create an EBOM, exactly one part must be designated with Level 0. To update an existing EBOM, one or more parts must be designated with Level 1 but cannot include any Level 0 parts in the spreadsheet. If you select a part in the EBOM before importing the file, the level is relative to the selected part, not the EBOM parent part.
Name, Series, Part Family At least one of these columns is required. When using Part Family, the part family must have auto naming defined. At least one of these columns must be present. If more are present, the part identifier will follow this order of priority: Name > Series > Part Family. If the part family doesn't have auto naming, the part name is generated based on the name/series.
Note: If any character other than A Series, B Series, C Series, or D Series is entered for the Series name column in the import file, the part name is autogenerated (Examples: 0000000028, 0000000029).
Title Yes, for 3DSpace baseline behavior user setup with VPLM The Title of the part object, typically a common word or phrase, such as "8 volt interior light".
Type Yes The type of the object, part, or subtype such as Hardware Part, Molded Part, etc.
Revision No The revision of the object. If the revision column is empty, only the first revision in the policy sequence is considered for import.
Policy Yes The policy of the object.
F/N Based on Engineering BOM Management options Find numbers (F/N) are identifiers used on drawings as "bubble" call out. Find numbers are integer values and must be unique based on property options.
Reference Designator Based on Engineering BOM Management options The reference designator ID is used on printed circuit boards to indicate where an electronic component is to be inserted. Reference designators are usually values like R1, R2, R7, or C1, C5. Designators can be represented as single values (example: rd1) or multiple values separated by commas or dashes (examples: rd1, rd7, rd8-rd10).
Note: Do not use spaces when entering multiple values.
Quantity Yes The quantity of the part
Usage No Options are: Standard, Reference, Per Sales Order, or As Required
Unit of Measure Yes The unit of measure for the part. The field is required but can be empty. The value is 'Ea (each)' if you leave the field empty.
UOM Type Yes The unit of measure type (Weight, Length, etc.). The field is required but can be empty.
Release Phase Yes Value must be either Development or Production.
Change Controlled No Older spreadsheets may include the Change Controlled field, which indicated whether the part was under change-required. If your spreadsheet includes the "Change Controlled" field, this field is ignored during import and you can remove it from the spreadsheet.
Description No Other useful information about the part.

Rules for Creating the File

While you create the spreadsheet, ensure that the format follows the rules below. A message will inform you during import of any errors in the spreadsheet. After import, any invalid data will appear in red.

  • The file must be an Excel file of either .xls or .xlsx format.
  • The data must be the first worksheet of the file.
  • For creating a new EBOM, the parent part must have Level as 0 (this part will comprise all other parts once the EBOM is imported).
  • For updating an existing EBOM, the spreadsheet must start at Level 1 and cannot have a Level 0 part.
  • The Level column must be in column A of the spreadsheet.
  • The text Import Data must appear in column A above the Level heading.
  • The spreadsheet may include a heading and comments above the data but these are not required.
  • EBOM Import supports all the fields listed in the table above and the available columns in the BOM Custom View table and database stored values.

Note: To update an existing EBOM, do not include a Level 0 entry in your spreadsheet.

The <<Headings>> and <<Comments>> fields are ignored during import and can be any text.

The text Import Data identifies the beginning of the data to be imported and is required. Include this in Column A and in a row above all other data. Some data columns are required as indicated in the table above.

Importing / Re-Importing a BOM

Whether you import or re-import a BOM, duplicate F/N and Reference Designator values must not exist in the BOM. Part entries that contain duplicate F/N values are imported as additional rows in the existing BOM and the duplicate F/N values are replaced in the imported data with new, generated F/N numbers.

Note: The part into which you import data must be in the correct lifecycle state, as follows:
  • Development phase parts must be in a state before the Released state.
  • Production phase parts must be in the In Work state or earlier.

Part Revisions

When the file is imported, Engineering BOM Management compares the part revision in the Excel file to the revision in the app. It then determines how or whether to import the part based on these factors:

  • If you do not specify a revision in the Excel file and there are no existing revisions for the given type or name in the system, the first revision for the policy of the given type is used.
  • If you do not specify a revision in the Excel files and there are existing revisions in the system for the specified type or name:
    • For released parts, the latest revision is updated when the Excel file is imported. For example, if a released part, Part A, has rev1 and rev2, Part A rev2 will be updated.
    • For unreleased parts, the first revision is updated when the Excel file is imported. For example, if an unreleased, Part B, has rev1 and rev2, Part B rev1 will be updated.
  • If you specify the revision in the Excel file and there are revisions in the system for the specified name or type:
    • If the latest released revision does not match the revision in the Excel file, the file will not be imported and an error will occur.
    • If there is no latest released part in the system, the revision in the Excel file must be the first unreleased revision. Otherwise, the file will not be imported and an error will occur.
    • If the latest released revision matches the revision in the Excel file, the version in the Excel file will be imported. However, child parts will not be imported.

Work Under

You can indicate whether the imported BOM is to be change-required by selecting a Work Under change action (CA). With a work under CA selected, all components in the spreadsheet will be change-required during import; otherwise, change-required for all the components will be disabled.

Configured Parts

EBOM Import does not support configured parts. You cannot import parts that have the configured parts policy.