PDM2Excel is a task add-in for SOLIDWORKS PDM that allows you to automatically export Bills of Materials (BOMs) from PDM into formatted Excel files. It can be triggered manually or as part of a workflow, and it supports custom templates and computed columns.

This guide explains how to properly configure a SOLIDWORKS PDM Bill of Materials (BOM) template for use with the PDM2Excel task. The goal is to ensure that the exported Excel file contains accurate quantities and expected metadata.

Step 1: Create or Edit the BOM Template

Open the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration Tool and expand the “Bills of Materials” section. Double-click an existing BOM template, or right-click and select “New Bill of Materials” to create one.

Name the BOM template appropriately (for example: Engineering BOM) and set the type to “Bill of Materials”.

Ensure the following columns are included:

• <Name>
• <Description>
• <Configuration>
• <Part Number>
• Revision
• <Reference Count>

Step 2: Use <Reference Count> for Quantity

It is critical that the column used for quantity is <Reference Count>. This field shows the actual number of times a component is referenced in an assembly.
Do not use “<Reference Count (BOM Quantity disregarded)>”, as that is meant for weldment cut lists and does not behave correctly in standard BOM exports.

Step 3: Configure the Template in the PDM2Excel Task

When creating or editing a PDM2Excel task in the Administration Tool, go to the Options tab and set the Template field to the BOM template you configured (e.g., Engineering BOM).
This step is required. If no template is selected, the task will fail:

Output:

In the output example below, we created a Parts Only Bill Of Materials with two quantity columns, one using <Reference Count> and the other using <Reference Count BOM Quantity disgarded> to illustrate the difference. Notice that <Reference Count> has the quantities rolled from the parent assemblies.

For questions or assistance, contact Blue Byte Systems Inc. at amen@bluebyte.biz