Changing BOM to be in order of assembly

[dbolden]

I would like my BOM to reflect the order in which I assembled the components in my model.  How do I do this? 

[StephenW]

Remove the sort order.

Go to the table table tab, repeat region, sort regions, (choose the table),  clear all

Default sort is assembled order, I think.

[dbolden]

My Clear All is greyed out.

The only way to choose the table is to pick a corner.  It seems to grab the entire table and moves to the next list of options.  I tried picking the table from the feature tree but it does not recognize that.  Once I pick the table itself it gives me:  Add, Edit, Show.  Clear is greyed out.

[StephenW]

If Clear All is grayed out, it means you don't have a sort order defined in your BOM table. You can verify this by selecting SHOW in the same menu and it should come up say in the message bar "No sorting keys are specified for this region."

You may want to try adding a sort region, make sure the table actually does sort by that column and then remove it and see if it sorts in to assembly order.

And as Krystal pointed out, you can always fix each item to a specific item # using fix index, which I like to do anyway because it eliminates reordering if you add something to your assembly.

How is it sorting currently?

[dbolden]

It is sorting on the correct column.  It did not have a sort key so I assigned one and removed it as suggested.  The only issue I have is that it only lets me sort Forward or Backward.  I cannot get it to sort by assembly order.  When I Remove it seems to default to lowest number as item 1.  I tried regen with no change.

I can do as Krystal suggested but with 40+ parts this seems crazy.  I guess in the time that it has taken to try different things I could have done this but would like to find a real solution for future projects.

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

do you output a BOM in Assembly mode or in Drawing mode ? Please describe steps to produce BOM.

MH

[dbolden]

I select Table from File,  select the BOM template we have set up and drop on drawing face.  This is all being done on the drawing level.

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

please prepare some test data (assembly, 2 parts, assembly drawing) and upload them. Use How to attach file when you Reply to a discussion. procedure.

MH

[MartinHanak]

Donald,

if you share your data, then you will get a solution very quickly .

MH

[kmitchell]

Table tab, repeat region, fix index, select region (BOM table), specify order of components. 

[dbolden]

Why does my BOM not change order when I do the steps shown below by kmitchell?  I thought I used this process before on this drawing.  I "Replaced" 3 o-rings and they went to the top of the BOM.  I need to put them back in there previous location.

Table/Repeat Region/Fix Index/select table/select item and add new index number

[BenLoosli]

Is your BOM fixed?

If it is, new items will go to the top by default.

In order to get the new o-rings to be the same find number as the old o-rings, you will need to assign the new ones the old find number and then resort by find number.

[dbolden]

How do I assign the new number the old number?  Is that not done by "Fix Index" and typing in the desired item number?

[dbolden]

I finally got the BOM straightened out by Unfixing the Region and then reassigning every item using the FIX Index.  That worked great except one item had no arrow point to it's component.  As I fiddled with trying to get reattach the balloon, the entire BOM disappeared except for the table itself.  How do I repopulate the BOM table?

[dschenken]

You have selected Unfix - by Index - and then it prompts for an Index number. In this case, because the desired number no longer has a related entry in the BOM because there is no component, so you type in the old number.

If the entries of the table have gone then either you deleted the Repeat Region and left the titles, which I think should have left a line of empty cells, or you switched to show the parameters, so there is a row that has just the parameter names.

[dbolden]

You are probably correct that I switched to Show.  How do I switch back?  See the screen shot attached. 

[dbolden]

"Switch Symbols" is the correct fix.  Hit that and the BOM comes back.  Not in the order that it was left though.  I had to re-index everything again.  A real short coming with this software.

[StephenW]

Switch symbols doesn't mess up fix index. Not sure why you lost the "fix" though. I don't think I've ever lost the index if I've fixed them, with the exception of components that have been replaced.

[dschenken]

I bet that "Unfix All" was used because the index that was fixed could not be found in the Repeat Region.

[RonSt.Pierre]

Perhaps this will help

Fast Facts! Quick Tips for Using PTC Creo - Drawings Part 3

[kmitchell]

Using the fix index method does not take long to do.  You can fix the indices of all 40+ parts in one execution of this command. 

(Disclaimer:  If you are not familiar with this operation, be sure to read your message lines as you perform the operation.  After you assign your first item, you are prompted for the next assignment.  If you automatically hit enter twice, you will need to execute the operation again.)

If the model tree is showing on the left, I believe you can use the model tree to assign/select indices order.  (Sorry, I don't have Creo open to verify.)  I believe you can also select components in drawing views.  If so, query select may be required for sub-assembly component selection.

Personally, eliminating automatic reordering of parts, as Stephen stated, always makes it worth the small amount of time to perform this task.

[TomD.inPDX]

Can I pose the question as to what you do on the BOM when the same screw is used at different steps.

Now you have to duplicate the entry and manually manipulate the quantities?

In general, this is not a recommended direction for BOM generation. 

[Sourabh_G]

You can follow this steps for sorting the BOM table as per assembly model tree-

1) You have inserted BOM table in drawing sheet.

2) Click on Repeat Region from ribbon

3) Click on Attributes from menu and select BOM  table inserted in the sheet

4) Click on No Dup/Level from menu

5) Click on Start index from menu

6) Click on Bln by Comp from menu

7) Click on Done/Return

[cgorni · Accepted solution]

To close this community thread on Changing BOM to be in order of assembly

Summary of the exchanges and list of solutions:

• Repeat regions are not following the Assembly tree order if its attributes are set to No Duplicates
  • You can go to the Table tab, Repeat Region > Attributes and set Duplicates or No Dup/Level if this solution is acceptable (eg global quantity is not mandatory), as suggested by the article CS23600
• Some alternate methods:
  • You can Fix Index per Record in the repeat region as suggested in different replies, and highlighted in article CS23196. You may need to Unfix all records first.
  • You may create your own component parameter in the assembly and manually input its value for each one, then use it as index to sort the repeat region, see article CS51354

[MagTarget]

Thanks for the nice summary!

FYI, I created an enhancement request to have BOM sorted in order of assembly (by 1st instance of each component).

If you like the idea please up-vote:

https://community.ptc.com/t5/Creo-Parametric-Ideas/Sort-drawing-BOM-to-be-in-order-of-assembly-by-1st-instance-of/idi-p/897771