Our engineering team was spending 4-6 hours per ECN manually extracting BOM data from CAD files and entering it into Agile. This led to frequent data entry errors and delayed ECN approvals by 2-3 days on average.
We implemented an automated solution using Agile SDK and Process Extensions that monitors a designated folder for CAD file uploads. When engineers attach CAD files to ECNs, the PX automatically extracts BOM structure, validates part numbers against our master data, and populates the affected items table.
The automation handles SolidWorks and Creo files, performs attachment validation to ensure file integrity, and flags any discrepancies for manual review. Our ECN cycle time dropped from 7 days to 3 days, and data accuracy improved significantly. Manual entry errors decreased by 85% in the first quarter after deployment.
We use event-based triggering through PX rather than scheduled batches. The PX subscribes to the attachment add event on ECN objects. When a CAD file is attached, it fires immediately and processes the file. This gives near real-time feedback to engineers.
We added validation logic to check file types first - only CAD formats trigger the BOM extraction. For SolidWorks, we parse the assembly structure directly. For Creo, we extract the BOM report that’s generated during check-in. The SDK integration queries existing part numbers to validate before populating affected items.
Did you encounter any performance issues with large assemblies? We have some products with 500+ components and I’m concerned about processing time.
How do you handle version mismatches? We’ve had issues where CAD BOMs reference part revisions that don’t match what’s in Agile, causing the ECN to reference wrong versions.
We did hit performance walls initially with assemblies over 300 parts. The PX was timing out. We optimized by implementing batch processing within the PX - instead of querying Agile for each part individually, we collect all part numbers from the CAD BOM first, then do a single bulk query. This reduced processing time from 8 minutes to under 2 minutes for large assemblies.
For extremely large assemblies (800+ parts), we added an asynchronous processing option where the PX queues the job and sends an email notification when complete. Engineers can continue working while the extraction runs in background.
Great question. Our attachment validation includes revision checking. When extracting BOM data, we compare the CAD file’s part revision against Agile’s latest released revision. If there’s a mismatch, the PX flags it in a custom attribute on the ECN called ‘BOM Validation Status’ with details about which parts have version conflicts.
We also implemented a reconciliation report that engineers can run before submitting the ECN. It shows a side-by-side comparison of CAD BOM versus Agile data. This catches issues early rather than during approval workflow. The validation logic reduced our revision-related ECN rejections by 70%.