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Parts and EBOMs
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The parts library is the canonical source for EBOMs, procedure part requirements, and the part definitions referenced by inventory. A part has a part number and a revision, the combination of part number and revision must be unique. Factorial represents raw materials, subassemblies, and final assemblies as parts.
EBOMs
An engineering bill of materials, or EBOM, lists the materials needed to build a part. The materials specify both the part needed and the quantity needed to build that part. An EBOM may contain multiple levels of depth. For example, a car EBOM may contain an engine, chassis, and wheels, while the engine has its own child items.
EBOMs are best managed outside Factorial in dedicated product lifecycle management (PLM) software such as Teamcenter, Autodesk Fusion Manage, Arena, or Duro. Factorial officially supports integrations with these systems and can provide additional integrations on request. These integrations keep the Factorial EBOM synchronized with the PLM EBOM. New parts in the EBOM unknown to Factorial are automatically made via our integrations.
Part numbers and revisions after an EBOM change
Factorial is designed with the assumption that when an EBOM changes without affecting the parent part's form, fit, or function, the part number and revision should remain the same. Factorial stores the change as a new EBOM version and preserves previously received versions for auditing purposes.
If an EBOM change affects the part's form, fit, or function, it is recommended that a new part number should be issued. The original part would remain unchanged.
Read more: How EBOMs relate to MBOMs.
Part pages
The parts library lists the newest parts first. Pickers that select a part, such as a procedure's part, list parts by part number.
Each part page shows editable part number, revision, and base unit fields, followed by its description. This header stays visible across five tabs:
- Procedures lists every procedure whose output or associated part is this part, build procedures first. Each procedure shows its newest released revision, or its newest revision when none is released. Every revision is available, including archived ones, so earlier processes remain easy to inspect.
- Clear to build checks material availability for a build quantity of this part. Change the quantity to recalculate, or refresh inventory to check current availability. Results are a snapshot and do not reserve inventory.
- Work orders lists the to do and in progress work orders of any revision of those procedures, including nested work orders.
- EBOM lists the part's EBOM lines.
- 3D models lists the part's CAD models and the steps that show them. See Models on a Part.
Procedures, Work orders, EBOM, and 3D models show counts. Open Clear to build from the part page; the selected part is always the subject of the calculation.
A part page opens on Procedures. A part that no procedure uses yet opens on EBOM, and its Procedures tab is disabled.
Each procedure can show the MBOM of its selected revision. The MBOM lists the part requirements of each step in step order, including those of embedded procedures that have no part of their own. Embedded procedures with their own part are left out, as they are in the EBOM comparison. A build procedure also shows whether its MBOM has open conflicts with the EBOM.
Global part substitutes
By default in Factorial, parts are not interchangeable, even parts with the same part number but different revision. To make one part always interchangeable for another, configure global substitutes in the parts library.
A global substitute defines a directional relationship; they are not bidirectional. For example, if Wheel, Rev A can always satisfy a requirement for Wheel, Rev B, define Rev A as a global substitute for Rev B. A requirement for Rev B can then be satisfied with Rev A, but the reverse is not true.
Global substitute relationships are bidirectional. If Wheel, Rev A is a substitute for Wheel, Rev B, and Wheel, Rev B is a substitute for Wheel, Rev C, Factorial automatically makes Wheel, Rev A a substitute for Wheel, Rev C. This helps keep substitute relationships logically consistent.
Sometimes substitutes may not be global. Local substitutes, can be defined at the part requirement level for the context just of a single procedure as well. When a part can substitute for another only within a specific part requirement, define it as a local substitute on the part requirement instead.
Read more: Local substitutes.