VIDEO Intro: In-Depth Overview of the New OpenBOM for Onshape Integration

We are thrilled to bring you a detailed update on the latest enhancements to OpenBOM for Onshape! Over the years, we’ve collected invaluable feedback from our users and have been hard at work making improvements. These updates focus on performance, user experience, and seamless integration with the new features Onshape has introduced. In this blog, we’ll walk through the major improvements, our ongoing commitment to Onshape, and showcase a video demo highlighting the new functionalities.

A Long-Standing Partnership with Onshape

Since its initial release, OpenBOM’s integration with Onshape has grown and enhanced, becoming a solid solution for users looking to streamline their bill of materials (BOM) management directly and optimize quotation process and inventory management. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of gathering feedback from our users, which has provided us with a source of enhancements and improvements. We understand the importance of making your workflow efficient and intuitive, so we’ve carefully crafted these updates to address the specific pain points you’ve shared with us.

Our team has gone through several iterations of improvements, focusing on three key areas: performance optimization, user interface enhancements, and support for new Onshape features. These efforts culminate in an even more seamless and powerful integration.

Keeping Up with Onshape’s Rapid Evolution

Onshape has been a pioneer in cloud-native browser-based CAD, setting a new standard in the CAD industry with continuous releases (every 3 weeks), and constantly rolling out new features and capabilities to help engineers and manufacturers excel. OpenBOM is committed to ensuring that our platform evolves alongside Onshape, providing timely support for all new features. 

The list of enhancements is too big to mention in this article, but OpenBOM’s commitment was to continue and enhance OpenBOM support for Onshape with OpenBOM monthly releases. But sometimes, you need to make a big shift and this is what the current release of OpenBOM for Onshape does. 

We simplified settings, provided faster and more seamless data transfer, and improved user experience of data updates with additional visualization helping OpenBOM and Onshape customers to understand the status of data transfer, which is extremely important for large derivative file transfers (eg. when PDF, STEP, DXF files are transferred to OpenBOM cloud storage). 

Key Enhancements in OpenBOM for Onshape

Let’s dive into the core improvements you’ll experience with the new OpenBOM for Onshape:

Seamless BOM Generation and Updates

We’ve put a lot of effort into optimizing the speed and ease of generating and updating BOMs. The user experience has been significantly improved, with faster load times and real-time status updates. Whether you’re working with large assemblies or detailed component lists, OpenBOM ensures a fluid experience, eliminating delays and making sure your BOM is always up-to-date with the latest data from Onshape.

In addition, we’ve enhanced the interface to be more intuitive, providing clear and concise information about BOM statuses, so you always know when your BOMs are synced, up-to-date, or need revision.

Seamless Non-model item handle. Managing items in product structure that are added outside of Onshape. 

Improved Support for Onshape Features

We’ve expanded OpenBOM’s support for Onshape’s core features, making the integration even more robust. This includes tighter support for assemblies, configurations, derivative files, and mass property calculations. This means that as your Onshape designs grow in complexity, OpenBOM adapts seamlessly, helping you keep your data in sync and easily accessible.

Assemblies and their subcomponents are now better managed within OpenBOM, with improved structure handling, allowing for greater control and visibility into the hierarchy of parts and materials. Derivative file support ensures that you can easily manage exports and related files directly through OpenBOM.

Drawing Support – New Flyout Interface

We’ve completely revamped the drawing support interface, replacing the old system with a more modern and intuitive flyout menu (instead of the Onshape tab). This change provides quicker access to drawings, allowing you to manage them more effectively alongside your BOMs and other design data. 

Whether you’re generating new drawings or working with existing ones, the flyout interface brings all the essential tools right to your fingertips, making your workflow more efficient.

Video Preview: See the Features in Action

To help you better understand and experience these changes, we’ve prepared a detailed video that walks you through the main improvements in OpenBOM for Onshape. In the video, we showcase how to seamlessly create and update BOMs, work with configurations, manage assembly structures, and utilize the new drawing flyout interface.

This demonstration is a great way to see firsthand how these updates can help you in your day-to-day work. Whether you’re a current user or new to OpenBOM, this video will give you valuable insights into how you can optimize your workflow with the new features.

Conclusion: A Seamless and CAD-Agnostic Future

At OpenBOM, we remain committed to our vision of providing seamless support for all CAD systems while maintaining a CAD-agnostic approach. This allows our users to work in whatever CAD environment they choose while still enjoying the full benefits of OpenBOM’s powerful BOM management tools. Our focus is to provide dedicated, tailored support for each platform, ensuring the integration is as immersive and smooth as possible.

With this release, we’ve reaffirmed our commitment to PTC Onshape, delivering deeper integrations, enhanced performance, and improved user experiences. As we move forward, we’ll continue to develop and refine these integrations, keeping pace with Onshape’s innovations and your evolving needs.

Thank you for your continued support, and we hope you find these updates valuable! As always, we’re eager to hear your feedback and look forward to continuing this journey with you.

Are you using Onshape right now? REGISTER FOR FREE and check how OpenBOM can help you. 

Best, Oleg