BOM Compare is used to identify differences or changes between two product structures. We may be interested in changes to immediate components at single level assembly or we may want to know the difference between all the piece parts in the complete structure. Comparison between two product structures can be done at different levels of structure. Depending on the configuration and view used for product structure, suitable comparison mode (level) can be used.

BOM Comparison can be done in two ways:

BOM Compare-Product Structure Tree

BOM Comparison can be done only for displayed state in the two product structures. Any assembly that is not required for comparison can be collapsed.

The two product structures to be compared are loaded side by side in structure manager by clicking on Split Window button . Appropriate revision rule and variant rule (if applicable) is set to configure structure in each of the window. Unconfigured components should be hidden, if variant rule is applied.

Apart from comparing components, BOM compare is used to compare features (GDE, signals , connections etc.) as well.

The list of supporting objects that can be used in BOM compare is as follows:

• Item Elements(GDE)
• Connections
• Signals
• Reference Designator
• Find Number
• Vendor Parts(if vendor management is installed)
• Substitutes
• Multi-Field Key properties(For example, Part{item_id})

Comparison mode for BOM Compare is as follows:

Criteria for matching components

For components to match, it should have:

• Same Item
• Same Revision and
• Same quantity(For multiple occurrences of same item, quantity summed up before comparison)

Displayed Differences while comparing in Structure tree

Following table lists the type of differences that can be displayed, while comparing two structures with a comparison mode:

The default color value can be changed through PSEAdditionColorPref and PSEChangedColor preferences.

Displayed Difference in Report

This is an additional pane at the bottom of window that lists the difference between two product structures. Selecting a report line will highlight the corresponding changed lines in the two structure panes. Type of changes indicated in report is as follows:

• Added for additions
• Qty for quantity changes
• Rev for revision changes

Choose Tools→Compare…. to display the BOM Compare dialog box .Select the comparison mode from the dropdown .Select the Report checkbox, to display BOM Compare Report in the bottom pane.

Single Level Mode

Only the first-level of product structure is compared. Comparison mode can optionally include changes to find number, reference designator or substitutes and these changes are considered as additions in structure.

Single level mode is used basically to identify component changes between the two assemblies.

Multiple Level Mode

This mode is used to identify differences between two configurations of a product. If comparison process matches two subassemblies in the two configurations, it proceeds to further compare the two subassemblies. If the comparison process does not match the two subassemblies, it stops and no further comparison is done for the two subassemblies. Comparison process continues down the product structure this way, till no matching subassemblies are found.

This mode is most suitable to identify component differences between two configurations of the same product .Multiple level mode is used also to identify component differences when variants are applied.

Lowest Level Mode

This mode is used to compare only lowest level items in two product structure, ignoring the intermediate structure. Find numbers are not considered in this mode. It ignores find number and reports only additions, quantity changes and revision changes. Quantity is calculated for each item in product structure before comparing.

This mode is most suitable to compare two views of the same product , testing consistency of items in the views.

Understanding the three comparison mode

Though different comparison mode is suitable based on the product structure, below is depicted the comparison, when each of the mode is applied on the same structure. This is done to understand, how each mode compares components differently for the same structure.

Graphical BOM Compare

Two structures or two revisions of the same structure can be compared in the embedded viewer pane. Any differences are displayed by color coding parts or assemblies to indicate the type of change made.

This capability allows isolation of changed parts from common parts and visualizes the differences.Graphical comparison can be done for assemblies with effectivity and also for assemblies under change management having supersedures.

Pre-requisites to configure & use graphical comparison

• Lifecycle Visualization license level should be set to the Advanced level
• Visualization (JT) files must be available for the piece parts or assemblies to compare.

Initiating Graphical Comparison

• To compare, load the two structures in split window of structure manager.
• Choose Tools→Graphical BOM Compare to display Graphical BOM Compare dialog box

Comparison Slider in dialog box:

Comparison slider is used to dynamically view the changes. Parts that are added, canceled, moved, or reshaped from one revision to another move across the window as the respective slider is slid from one revision to another. Color coding of parts represents the type of changes made (add, cancel, move or reshape).

The extreme right end of slider position as shown in dialog, displays graphics with changed parts for target revision. As the slider is moved from right towards left, graphics of parts are displayed , before the changes were made to target revision.

Comparison results color

The default colors for add, cancel, move, reshape are shown in the dialog above. These colors can be changed by clicking the Icons/Colors Legend button under BOM Tracking entry in Change Management folder of Options dialog box

Show and hide common parts

Parts that remain unchanged between two structures are not displayed by default, so that changes to two structures can be easily distinguished. These common parts can be displayed during graphical comparison of changes, to understand the context of change. Select Show Common Parts to shows them, whenever required.

Common parts should be used while comparing two revisions of the same assembly and not two different assemblies . To always display common parts set CM_show_common_parts preference under Graphical History in Change Management folder of Options dialog box.

Also Read:

Supersedure in Teamcenter

Teamcenter BOM Markup & Highlighting Edits

Substitute Components in Teamcenter

Editing Structure in Teamcenter

Understanding BOM with Product in Mind

Viewing & Browsing Structure

Revision Effectivity in Teamcenter

Teamcenter Classic Variant Configuration

Teamcenter Modular Variant Configuration

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