Editing a BoM

When a BoM has been created or opened, you can edit it in various ways.

You can:
  • Add components (parts or assemblies) to the BoM - either by defining them explicitly in the BoM, or by assigning them from the Parts and products table of your Granta MI database
  • Assign materials and other data items from your database, either as new items in the BoM, or to replace existing items. See Finding data to add to a BoM.
  • Use copy, cut, and paste to delete BoM items, duplicate them, or move them from one location to another. See Moving BoM items.

Editing before and after analysis

When a BoM has been analyzed (see Viewing a Product Compliance analysis), the BoM structure is expanded to include linked records found in the Granta MI database that are relevant to the analysis, and additional columns are added to the BoM display to show calculated mass values and indicators.

You can edit the BoM at any time, either before or after it has been analyzed. To re-run the analysis after editing the BoM, click Analyze in the toolbar.

Note: When a BoM has been analyzed, BoM items that represent data retrieved from the database by the analysis are shown as 'locked', and cannot be edited, deleted, or replaced. However, you can edit, delete, or replace items that were in the original BoM before analysis.

For example: In the analyzed BoM below (for a Restricted Substances analysis), you cannot edit the substance '7440-31-5' because it represents a substance that has been found by the analysis to be present in the material 'aluminum-380-0-diecast-f'. However, you can edit the material 'aluminum-380-0-diecast-f' and the part 'ENG_BLOCK_REAR', because these were both specified in the original BoM.

Data specified in the BoM for each item

The following columns are shown in the BoM display before it is analyzed, and are unchanged when the BoM is analyzed.
  • The Item and Name columns show the identity of each BoM item
  • The Quantity, Unit of Measure, Mass per UoM, and Mass Unit columns specify its quantity and mass at that location in the BoM.

These columns represent data that is either specified as part of the BoM before it is analyzed, or retrieved from linked records when the BoM is analyzed. Mass values and indicators calculated by the analysis are shown in additional columns to the right of these - see Viewing a Product Compliance analysis for details.

The Item and Name can be edited for assemblies and parts (including any parts that have been added from the database), but cannot be edited for other assigned data types (such as materials, processes, specifications, or substances), or for any BoM items retrieved from the database by the analysis. To edit a part name or identifier, double-click it.

If you add a new component or assignment to a BoM, or edit or replace an existing item, you must ensure that its quantity and mass are correctly specified using the Quantity, Unit of Measure, Mass per UoM, and Mass Unit columns. This can be done in different ways, depending on the type of item (part, material, specification, or substance). For details, see Specifying quantity and mass for a BoM item.