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A bill of materials is one of the most important records in any manufacturing business. It defines what goes into...

AI-Powered CAD File Management Beyond PDM Engineering teams create an enormous amount of knowledge in the course of building a...

A bill of materials is where product definition begins. Creating a bill of materials is a collaborative effort that typically...

Every time an engineer opens a product data management system, they face a small but real cognitive task before any...

OpenBOM will be presenting at Threaded in Miami, the startup gathering space hosted by Aras ACE 2026 at the Hilton...

In manufacturing, quality standards are not optional. They shape product quality, customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, and the overall success of...

I’m coming to Share PLM Summit 2026, taking place on May 19–20 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. It the...

If you design, build, source, manufacture, or service products, the bill of materials is one of the most important documents...

For many SOLIDWORKS teams, the challenge was never the design work itself. It was everything that came after: configuring tools,...

A SolidWorks model is essential. A BOM is essential. Drawings, PDFs, STEP files, and DXFs are essential too. Many teams...

In the previous article, I wrote that engineering teams usually do not lose control because CAD design is wrong. The...

In my experience, manufacturing companies that rush a new product introduction process usually pay for it later. They see production...

How file-based workflows, disconnected BOMs, and the limits of PDM combine to create a product data problem most engineering teams...

Last week I wrote about where product lifecycle knowledge gets lost, and I also published a longer piece on Beyond...

How to define part number strategy, revision control, and BOM types early in your OpenBOM rollout When companies start an...

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “what type of bill of materials do I actually need?”, you’re not alone. In my...

This guide explains the product release process in manufacturing – what it is, how it works, and how PLM software...

This guide explains how revision control works in multi-level Bills of Materials (BOMs): what it is, why it’s complex, and...

Why CAD, BOM, ERP, Excel, and even PLM don’t actually own your product knowledge. Everyone knows who owns CAD. Engineering....

Most engineers understand change management the way it’s been taught for decades: you identify something that needs to change, you...

Product lifecycle knowledge is not created in a single system or at a single moment. It emerges across discussions, iterations,...

Bill of Materials (BOM) management is one of the most critical and most underestimated aspects of product development. In my...

If you work with CAD systems—SolidWorks, Altium, anything in that CAD family—you already know the reflex. Something doesn’t add up....

There’s a moment every modern product company eventually hits, and it’s usually not pretty. Someone asks a seemingly simple question...