SOLIDWORKS BOM Tutorial: Part Numbers and Configurations

Direct answer: check the component’s referenced configuration, that configuration’s BOM part-number setting, the BOM column definition and the table’s grouping rules. A filename, configuration name, custom property and displayed BOM part number can be different values. Decide which field owns the approved part identity before changing the table.

This tutorial helps a CAD engineer map a small native model library to a reviewable BOM. The worked example uses invented part numbers and desktop SOLIDWORKS configuration behavior; 3DEXPERIENCE-connected workflows can use different options.

Step 1: identify the four values

• Document: the model file being referenced.
• Configuration: the particular variant used by an assembly component.
• Approved part identity: the part number and revision controlled by your engineering/PDM process.
• BOM display: the value the relevant table column actually shows.

Keep a mapping row containing all four. If a team has only renamed a file to look like a part number, it has not necessarily changed the configuration’s BOM setting or the table’s property source.

Step 2: inspect the configuration setting

In ConfigurationManager, open the relevant configuration’s Properties and inspect its Bill of Materials options. The official configuration documentation describes document-name, configuration-name and user-specified-name choices, plus the parent option for derived configurations. Available behavior depends on the environment.

Choose the option that agrees with the team’s part-master policy. Do not create a new part identity just to make a table look tidy. Record the configuration and setting you changed.

Step 3: test a two-configuration example

Suppose the sample file valve-body.SLDPRT has configurations PORT_A and PORT_B. Your invented approved identities are DEMO-101 and DEMO-102. The assembly contains two instances of PORT_A and one of PORT_B.

1. Confirm each assembly instance references the intended configuration.
2. In a disposable copy, set each configuration’s BOM part-number option to the intended example identity where that option is supported.
3. Insert or refresh the BOM and inspect the column’s actual definition.
4. Check whether the table distinguishes the two configurations under its grouping rules.
5. Compare the expected three component instances with the quantities and exclusions actually represented in the table.

For a table configured to list these variants separately, the intended exercise result is two DEMO-101 instances and one DEMO-102 instance. If the rows merge or a name differs, investigate the configuration references, display source and grouping before editing a quantity manually.

Step 4: inspect grouping and subassembly behavior

The SOLIDWORKS multiple-configuration BOM guide explains how configurations may appear separately or combine under the selected rules. Also inspect exclusion and subassembly child-display settings together with the BOM type. A top-level-only view and a parts-only view answer different questions.

Do not interpret a missing row as proof that the component is missing from CAD. Conversely, a correct-looking row does not prove the correct native model and revision were used.

Step 5: turn the exercise into a library check

For each approved library entry, record part number, revision, file reference, configuration, lifecycle status and the source that authorizes that mapping. Then sample an assembly and trace from each component instance to the model/configuration and onward to its BOM representation.

Keep ambiguous matches visible. Two files with similar names may represent different revisions; two configurations may intentionally share an identity. The correct answer comes from the controlled master, not from a filename heuristic.

Continue learning

Read how to build a P&ID connection worksheet before mapping process tags into a component library, and use the mate troubleshooting exercise to inspect the assembled result. The P&ID-to-native-CAD proof chain explains how these identities support automation.

Scope: this example explains identity and display checks. It is not a PDM migration procedure, a purchasing release or proof that a particular component is suitable for a process.

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