Hi Carl...
Martin's method uses the Bill of Material information screen in conjunction with the "bom_format" config setting to export data that can be pulled into Excel. Actually that "bom_format" file is quite tricky and doesn't do a very good job unless you're familiar with text file formatting circa 1995. If you want to try this route, I can actually help with this as I've wasted countless hours fiddling with the bom_format files.
Kshetrabasi Mahanta's method is cleaner. To use his method you'll need to generate a bill of material on a drawing format OR create a report format to generate a bill of materials. From here, you can save the contents of the table as a CSV file and read that directly into Excel. BOMs are relatively easy to create. Almost no one uses report formats but I can help with either of these if you decide to go this route.
Finally, if you have Windchill, you can export a "CSV" file directly from the "Information" screen of your assembly. If you decide to go this route, it would help to know which version of Windchill or Pro/INTRALINK you're running so we can give better directions.
Those are the 3 main ways to pull BOM data into an Excel file. The fastest way is directly through Windchill... and this requires no table, drawing, or report. It's very simple. The most flexible way is via the drawing table or report... because you can really customize the data you're exporting to Excel. The worst way in my humble opinion is the bom_format file because it's absoilutely archaic and tough to work with. The best use for that bom_format file is to re-arrange the data that appears in the on-screen report generated by the "Bill of Materials" report from the Info screens.
I hope this sort of "ties it all together" for you. If you need additional help, let us know which technique you'd like to use. It's relatively easy to get a BOM into Excel once you know what you want and make a decision on how much work you're willing to go through to get the data.
Thanks!
-Brian
