About Instance Mode

In Instance mode, each instance of a part in the BOM where the unit of measure is 'EA (each)' is represented in its own row, has its own Find Number, and has a quantity of '1.' Instance mode is most useful when design collaboration is applied. It maintains a one-to-one part relationship with the product structure; each instance of a part is clearly represented in the product structure and in the BOM. This lets you see which instances in the part structure are affected whenever you change the EBOM. Only parts with the 'EA (each') unit of measure appear this way. Other parts are listed in the EBOM with whatever quantity and unit of measure you enter. Anyone who has access to create a BOM can create a BOM in Instance Mode.

This page discusses:

See Also
About Quantity Mode
Editing Part Bill of Materials
In Other Guides
Creating a Part
Note: To switch to Instance mode, contact your administrator.

Change Collaboration in Instance Mode

Change collaboration works only in Instance mode. For information, see About EBOM Collaboration Modification Rights.

Parts in Instance Mode

Before you can edit a part in Instance mode, the EBOM must be in Instance view. Click the Instance View command in the EBOM toolbar (if the Quantity Rollup view command appears, you are already in Instance view). When adding a part to a BOM, you enter the Find Number (must be a whole number value) and quantity. In Instance mode, if you enter a quantity greater than 0, a row is added for each part instance when you save your changes. After which, you cannot change the quantity values but you can add or remove rows as required.

The Find Number for each part instance consists of the find number you entered. This applies only to parts with unit of measure 'EA (each)' and when you use the 'Create New Part' or 'Add Existing Part' (Edit mode) commands. Once created, these find numbers cannot be updated.

In Instance mode, when you create a BOM markup with the 'EA (each)' unit of measure, you must enter a positive whole number quantity of 100 or less. The instances are added to the BOM only when the markup is applied.

When you add an instance of a part, the instance is assigned a find number that is one more than the highest existing find number of the current BOM level. If you add child parts to the BOM with QTY>1, the generated find number for the added instances will be integers and duplicates. You can enter duplicate find numbers for the same instances of part if the below conditions are met:

  • The added instances all have the same part type, name, and revision.
  • The unit of measure for all added instances is EA(each).
  • A reference designator is assigned to all instances or the reference designator is empty for all instances.
  • The Design collaboration setting is the same for all instances.

After you add the instances, you can manually select a find number for each instance. See Insert Part Menu Options.

When you replace a part instance, the find number for the replacement part is used in the EBOM but the EBOM retains the instance title and instance description of the original part. You can edit the original content as required. See Replace By Menu Options.

When you remove a BOM instance, the instance retains its title.

BOM Import

If an imported BOM includes parts with unit of measure 'EA (each)' and quantity greater than 0, each instance is given its own row in the BOM after you import the file.

EBOM in Instance Mode

Instance mode supports Instance view and Quantity Rollup view. In the EBOM tab toolbar, click the 'Quantity Rollup' / 'Instance' command (the command name indicates which command is NOT the current view) to switch between views. In Instance mode, an EBOM will be in Instance view when you open it. In Quantity Rollup view, EBOM components that share the same Type, Name, and Revision are merged into one row. Their Reference Designators are shown as a comma-delimited list. To edit the EBOM, you must be in Instance view; Quantity Rollup is view-only.

Note: To be synchronized to ENOVIA Product Finder, EBOM structures that were created with a unit of measure of 'EA (each)' and a quantity > 0 in earlier releases of Engineering BOM Management must have a whole number value. If your structure contains a value for the EA (each) type that is not a whole number, you must change the value.

EBOM Made in Quantity Mode

In Quantity mode, you can create an EBOM where components can have a unit of measure of 'EA (each)' and a whole number quantity > 0. If you try to edit the EBOM in Instance mode, these are some of the limitations that apply to rows with unit of measure of 'EA (each)' and a whole number quantity > 0:

  • You cannot modify the rows.
  • You cannot add new child parts to the rows.
  • You cannot replace child parts for these rows.

To edit these rows, either change the quantity value to 1 or change 'EA (each)' to a different unit of measure.

Note: These same limitations also apply for EBOM structures that were created with a unit of measure of 'EA (each)' and a whole number quantity > 0 in other apps or in earlier releases of Engineering BOM Management.