First Look – OpenBOM Design Projects

In the world of engineering, the seamless flow of information is pivotal to innovation. From conceptualization to prototyping and final design, engineers heavily rely on design files to bring their creations to life. However, with increasing file sizes, complex revision cycles, and the need for global collaboration, managing these files can become a cumbersome task. 

At OpenBOM we look at how to simplify everyday tasks for engineers and the entire team. We always look at how to provide a seamless way to manage information between engineers all other members of the team and other stakeholders in a company, contractors, and suppliers. Enter the OpenBOM Design Project — a simple solution designed to cater to these challenges. 

Design Projects is a new way at OpenBOM to organize all your design project data (CAD files, specifications, and connection information) together. If you missed my blog last week, please check this out – Unveiling OpenBOM Design Projects (FREE), Custom Objects, and Design Cloud Integrations. 

Today, we are going to speak about Design Projects.  

Welcome to a new Design Dashboard 

You probably noticed the Design dashboard in OpenBOM, which showed up a few months ago. Until now, it provided you with access to Drive – a collaborative tool to store and work collaboratively on CAD and other files. 

Today, I want to preview two enhancements to the Design Dashboard: 

1. Design Projects –  a simple and shared cloud storage space to manage all design information, upload, download files, manage revisions, and share it between team members. 
2. Connections to cloud design systems (eg. Autodesk Fusion360, Autodesk Construction Cloud). More cloud storage systems will be connected here in the future.  

The new Design Dashboard user interface allows you to define what tools you want to make available. By default Design Projects is available. Also, you can control other tools available such as Drive or integrations with cloud design systems (in the first release Fusion 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud connectivity is coming). In the future, you can expect more systems and design cloud connectors to electronic design (e.g. Altium 365), enterprise storage (e.g. Share Point), and other storage (e.g. Google Drive and Dropbox) 

Check the following video with a very quick preview of the NEW Design Dashboard. 

To sum up, OpenBOM Design Projects is a cloud storage solution for your projects. All your files can go here. Let’s take a deeper look at how it works. 

Design Projects First Look

A new design projects function allows you to create projects that can be shared automatically with team members. Administrators can create these projects and they will automatically show up in front of all users. 

A special Workspace Manager tool you can install on a Windows computer that allows you to keep your local folders in sync with your OpenBOM Design Projects. Look at the first demo preview of the OpenBOM Projects video: 

As you can see from the video, the Design Projects tool provides you with an easy way to store all your design information, load it to the cloud, keep it in sync with your local folder, share files, and manage revisions. 

Beyond storage and management, collaboration is the heartbeat of any successful design project. OpenBOM’s platform is built to foster real-time collaboration, allowing engineers from across the globe to work cohesively, share insights, and provide feedback. This not only accelerates the design process but also ensures that the best minds can contribute, irrespective of geographical constraints.

In an age where time is of the essence and innovation is paramount, the OpenBOM Design Project stands as a beacon for engineers, simplifying complexities and paving the way for a more collaborative, efficient, and streamlined design experience.

What about licenses? To whom will it be available? 

Still looking for a GrabCAD Workbench replacement? A new Design Project is exactly what you need. 

OpenBOM Design Projects will become a part of the OpenBOM FREE subscription. We are working on the latest details and licensing. Stay tuned and subscribe to our Community Website – we will be sharing more information there. 

Conclusion: 

Design Projects is a new FREE function of OpenBOM to support all engineers with a reliable and simple solution to manage all design files, keep them synchronized and up to date with the cloud storage, and manage their revisions. The key element of this function is simplicity combined with the flexibility of the OpenBOM platform and the availability of other functions. 

Interested to learn more about OpenBOM Design Projects. Subscribe to our Community to stay in touch and to know firsthand when the Design Projects function will become available. It will happen in the next few weeks. We will gradually make it available to all OpenBOM users. 

In the meantime REGISTER FOR FREE and check out OpenBOM. We will give priority to existing OpenBOM accounts. 

Best, Oleg