Autodesk Vault integration procedure at BOM level

In terms of BOM, Autodesk Inventor can categorize the created components of the assembly, i.e. components can be Normal, Purchased, Inseparable, Phantom and Reference. When assigning its materials to Autodesk Inventor parts, Woodwork for Inventor plug-in creates additional information, which allows categorizing the Autodesk Inventor component slightly differently. That is, in Woodwork for Inventor BOM, the component can be recognized as:

▪Assembly and Part - component of an assembly or part:

✓Assembly - assembly component.

✓Part - normal part.

✓Composite Part - composite part.

✓Purchased Component - purchased component.

✓Sheet part - sheet metal type part.

✓Sweep Part - sweep profile type part.

Moreover, Woodwork for Inventor treats part of a piece of furniture as an assembly, which consists of:

▪Workpiece - workpiece, which is further sub-categorized:

✓Fill Workpiece - fill workpieces, which may be:

➢Composite Workpiece - composite workpiece made up of different parts.

➢Multilayer Workpiece - workpiece made of multilayer material.

➢Solid Workpiece - workpiece made of solid wood.

➢Board Workpiece - board type workpiece.

➢Rod Workpiece - rod or profile type workpiece.

➢Desktop Workpiece - desktop type workpiece.

✓Cover Workpiece - cover workpieces, which can be:

➢Veneer Workpiece - veneer type workpieces.

➢Edge Band Workpiece - edge band type workpieces.

➢Paint Workpiece - paint.

The user is free to decide on the number of categories and sub-categories of items in their BOM. It depends on whether they need to know if the item is workpiece-type or if it is fill workpiece or cover workpiece. The user may find it necessary to use even more detailed categorization: that fill workpiece is made of solid wood or board, etc. Depending on the user’s decision additional categories of BOM items are created.

Let us say that the link is configured in a way making it clear that the item is a part or assembly, and workpieces are only categorized into fill and cover workpieces. So, in Autodesk Vault Professional category administration dialog box, the relevant categories are created:

Tools -> Administration -> Vault settings -> Behaviors -> Edit and Manage Categories -> Categories

Here, you can create and edit the necessary categories of BOM items. In the given example, we create the following categories:

▪Assembly - assembly component

▪Part - normal part

▪Purchased - purchased component

▪Fill Workpiece - fill workpiece

▪Cover Workpiece - cover workpiece

Additional fields for BOM items are created the same way as those for file card. The only difference is that these property fields have to be associated with BOM items. If property field applies to both files and BOM items, such property field can be associated with both categories at the same time. For example, in our example, Length is such field, because length is necessary as a property in the file card. Moreover, length is also characteristic of a part and can be found in workpiece description. Therefore, fields created for file card can be additionally associated with our additionally created categories (see above).

Depending on the type of material, Woodwork for Inventor presents measurements in units, in which the appropriate material is measured. For example, boards are measured in square meters, desktops are measured in meters, etc. Autodesk Vault system also allows using various units of measurement to indicate measurements. By default, basic units of measurement are given in Autodesk Vault system. If the user needs any other units of measurement, they can create additional units expressed via the basic ones. Woodwork for Inventor plug-in uses the following units of measurement:

▪Millimeter, Square Millimeter, Cubic Millimeter

▪Centimeter, Square Centimeter, Cubic Centimeter

▪Meter, Square Meter, Cubic Meter

▪Inch, Square Inch, Cubic Meter

▪Foot, Square Foot, Cubic Foot

Make sure that the appropriate units of measurement are also included in the list of units of measurement in Autodesk Vault. Units of measurement are managed through administration of Autodesk Vault category units:

Tools -> Administration -> Vault Settings -> Items -> Configure Units -> Configure

For more information on how to configure units of measurement, go to Help system of Autodesk Vault.

Mapping categories between Woodwork for Inventor and Autodesk Vault Professional BOMs is performed in Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator. To do this, open Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator and run the command:

 
- Settings

 
Select Categories tab and select Vault Professional category analogue for each Woodwork for Inventor plug-in category from the pull-down list.

For the mapping of Woodwork for Inventor and Autodesk Vault units of measurement, open Woodwork for Inventor BOM generator and run the command:

- Settings

Select Units tab and map to Woodwork for Inventor units with Autodesk Vault units here.

For the mapping of properties exported from Woodwork for Inventor with Autodesk Vault properties, open the command:

- Settings

Select Properties tab and on its left side enter Woodwork for Inventor BOM keywords. On the right, from the pull-down list, select property field, in which the specification value obtained using the keyword will be entered.