How AI-Powered BOM Management with OpenBOM Enhances SOLIDWORKS Collaboration Beyond CAD

SOLIDWORKS is one of the most widely used mechanical CAD platforms in the world, and for good reason—it is powerful, mature, and deeply capable when it comes to 3D design. However, once the design phase ends and product data needs to move into planning, sourcing, and manufacturing, engineers often encounter a major gap. This is where AI-assisted data management and cloud collaboration begin to play a crucial role. By combining SOLIDWORKS with the OpenBOM add-in, teams can transform traditional Bill of Materials (BOM) workflows into intelligent, data-driven processes that automatically organize product structures, synchronize information, and enable smarter collaboration across engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing teams. 

The OpenBOM add-in for SOLIDWORKS was built specifically to close this gap. It connects SOLIDWORKS directly to OpenBOM’s cloud platform, turning the BOM from a static export into a live, collaborative data structure that the entire team—engineers, purchasing, manufacturing, and suppliers—can work from simultaneously. 

Who Is OpenBOM Add In for Solidworks For?

The add-in is relevant to a wide range of SOLIDWORKS users, but it delivers the most immediate value to a few specific groups.

Mechanical engineers who regularly need to hand off BOM data to people outside of SOLIDWORKS will feel the benefit right away. Instead of exporting to Excel, cleaning up the file, emailing it out, and then managing the inevitable flood of questions about which version is current, the add-in makes that entire process a single synchronized step.

Small and mid-sized manufacturers are a particularly strong fit. These are companies that have outgrown spreadsheets but are not ready – financially or operationally – to take on a full enterprise PLM implementation. The OpenBOM add-in gives them structured BOM management, cost rollups, and supplier data tracking without a lengthy deployment or a steep learning curve.

Teams already running SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional will also find value here. PDM manages files and versions inside the vault effectively, but it was never designed to make that data accessible to purchasing departments, contract manufacturers, or supply chain partners. OpenBOM bridges that gap by pulling data out of the PDM environment and making it visible and actionable downstream.

Finally, the add-in suits any engineering team that wants clean, part-number-driven product data without having to manually maintain it in a separate system.

How It Works: The Basics

The add-in embeds directly inside the SOLIDWORKS interface as a flyout panel, which means engineers work with it in the same environment they already use for design – no context switching, no separate application to open.

Installation is straightforward. After creating a free OpenBOM account, users navigate to the integration dashboard inside OpenBOM and download the SOLIDWORKS add-in installer. The installation process requires no complex configuration and no IT involvement for most setups. Once installed, the add-in appears as a toolbar and panel inside SOLIDWORKS, and the engineer logs in with their OpenBOM credentials to connect the two systems.

The add-in operates in two distinct modes. The primary mode is the full SOLIDWORKS add-in, which works from within an open SOLIDWORKS assembly and has access to the complete range of features. The second mode is a Windows File Explorer integration – a lighter extractor that allows users to create BOMs and catalogs directly from SOLIDWORKS files on disk, without needing to have SOLIDWORKS open or even installed on the same machine. This is particularly useful for roles that handle file management or data processing but do not work inside SOLIDWORKS directly. It is worth noting that some features are only available in the full add-in and not in the File Explorer integration.

Once connected, the core workflow is simple: open a SOLIDWORKS assembly, configure your templates once, and then use the add-in controls to extract BOM and catalog data into OpenBOM with a single click.

Key Features of the OpenBOM Add-in

1. Automatic BOM creation. The add-in reads the active SOLIDWORKS assembly and extracts the full product structure into OpenBOM automatically. Engineers can choose between single-level, multi-level indented, and flattened BOM formats. Quantities are calculated automatically across all levels, which eliminates one of the most error-prone steps in manual BOM preparation. High-resolution thumbnails of parts and assemblies are included in the BOM as well, making it easier for non-engineering reviewers to quickly identify components.
2. Catalog extraction. Alongside the BOM, the add-in creates or updates a parts catalog in OpenBOM – a central database of all items in the assembly. The catalog stores data that does not belong in the CAD file itself, such as supplier names, manufacturer part numbers, unit costs, and lead times. By keeping catalog data separate from BOM structure, OpenBOM allows the same part to appear across multiple BOMs while its core properties are managed in one place.
3. Bi-directional property sync. Data does not only flow from SOLIDWORKS into OpenBOM – it can also flow back. If a production planner or purchasing manager adds information to a part in OpenBOM (for example, assigning a machine center or updating a cost), that value can be written back into the original SOLIDWORKS file using the Update CAD Properties command in the add-in. This makes OpenBOM a genuine two-way bridge between design and operations, not just a one-way export tool.
4. Derivative file generation. When creating or updating a catalog, the add-in can automatically generate derivative files from SOLIDWORKS – PDFs, STEP files, DXF and DWG drawings – and store reference links to those files inside the BOM. This means anyone reviewing the BOM in OpenBOM can access the associated drawing or 3D file directly, without needing to request it separately.
5. Part number management. Part number handling is one of the areas where many SOLIDWORKS teams run into trouble, and the add-in addresses it with flexibility. It supports all three standard SOLIDWORKS part number approaches – document name, configuration name, or custom property – and also allows custom property mapping directly from the add-in settings without needing to modify individual SOLIDWORKS files. More recently, OpenBOM added automatic part number generation, which allows the add-in to pull the next available part number from an OpenBOM catalog with automatic numbering enabled and write it directly into the SOLIDWORKS file. It also introduced part number validation, which checks for duplicate or malformed part numbers before data is sent to OpenBOM – catching errors at the source rather than after the fact.
6. Configuration support. SOLIDWORKS configurations allow engineers to represent design variants of the same assembly within a single file. The add-in supports this by allowing different configurations to be processed and aggregated within the same BOM, making it possible to manage product variants cleanly without creating separate files or BOMs for each variation.
7. Simultaneous selection. When working with the OpenBOM BOM panel embedded inside SOLIDWORKS, selecting a component in the BOM grid automatically highlights the corresponding part in the SOLIDWORKS feature tree and the 3D model – and the reverse is also true. This bidirectional synchronization is particularly useful when working with large, complex assemblies where navigating between the BOM and the model manually would otherwise be slow and error-prone.
8. Templates. BOM and catalog templates store all configuration settings – which properties to extract, how to map part numbers, which derivative files to generate – so that they can be reused across projects. For teams working on similar products repeatedly, this means a new BOM can be produced from a new assembly in minutes, with no reconfiguration required.

Collaboration Beyond SOLIDWORKS

Once BOM and catalog data is in OpenBOM, it is no longer tied to the SOLIDWORKS environment. Any team member – regardless of whether they have a SOLIDWORKS license – can access the data through the OpenBOM web interface in real time.

This is where the add-in’s value extends well beyond the engineering team. A purchasing manager can open the BOM, review part costs, add supplier information, and create a purchase order without ever touching a CAD file. A production planner can check quantities and inventory levels against what is needed for a build. A contract manufacturer can be given controlled access to exactly the parts and drawings they need, with no more and no less visibility than the team decides to grant.

For teams running SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, OpenBOM also offers a dedicated PDM integration that connects the vault directly to OpenBOM – either on demand or triggered automatically through PDM workflow processes. This means companies that rely on PDM for internal file management do not have to choose between their existing system and better downstream collaboration; the two work together.

The collaborative workspace in OpenBOM functions similarly to Google Docs – multiple users can make changes simultaneously without record locking, and all updates are visible in real time. An engineer can update the design structure in SOLIDWORKS and sync it while a procurement team member is simultaneously working on sourcing the same components in OpenBOM, with neither blocking the other.

How to Get Started with OpenBOM Add-In

Getting the add-in up and running does not require a lengthy setup process. Here is the typical path from zero to a working BOM:

Step 1: Create a free OpenBOM account. Register at openbom.com. No credit card is required, and a 14-day trial with full functionality is included automatically.

Step 2: Download the add-in. From the OpenBOM dashboard, navigate to the Integrations page and download the SOLIDWORKS add-in installer package.

Step 3: Install and connect. Run the installer on the machine where SOLIDWORKS is installed. Once installation is complete, the OpenBOM toolbar and panel will appear inside SOLIDWORKS. Log in with your OpenBOM credentials to establish the connection.

Step 4: Configure templates and part number settings. Before creating your first BOM, spend a few minutes setting up a BOM template and a catalog template. Define which SOLIDWORKS properties should be extracted, how part numbers should be handled, and which derivative files should be generated. These settings are saved and reused for every project going forward.

Step 5: Create your first BOM. Open a SOLIDWORKS assembly, click Create / Update Catalog to extract part data, then click Create / Update BOM to generate the product structure. OpenBOM will process the assembly and the BOM will appear in the cloud within seconds, ready to be shared with the rest of the team.

For detailed documentation and video walkthroughs, the OpenBOM training library at help.openbom.com covers every step of the SOLIDWORKS integration in depth.

Conclusion

The gap between SOLIDWORKS and the rest of the business – purchasing, manufacturing, supply chain – has always been one of the more frustrating realities of engineering in smaller organizations. The design data exists inside the CAD tool, but getting it out accurately, keeping it up to date, and making it useful for people who do not work in SOLIDWORKS has historically required a lot of manual effort and produced a lot of errors.

The OpenBOM add-in for SOLIDWORKS addresses this in a way that is practical rather than aspirational. It does not require a multi-month implementation or a dedicated administrator to maintain. It works within the SOLIDWORKS environment engineers already use, adds meaningful capabilities without adding complexity, and connects the design data to a cloud platform that the entire team – and external partners – can access in real time.

For SOLIDWORKS engineers and the manufacturing teams they support, it is one of the more direct and low-friction paths available from CAD data to a fully connected, collaborative product data workflow.