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Structure tab

The Structure tab displays items that are used to create or assemble the current item. For instance, a part assembly can have a list of parts (with quantities) that are required to build that assembly. An inspection procedure may list industry standards that were used to create the procedure. Either parts or documents may be listed on an item's structure, so you can have an assembly inspection procedure document listed on the part assembly along with the components used to assemble the item.

If an item has not yet been released, then the Current list will remain hidden until the item (or its currently-pending revision) has been formally released on a change form. The structure is never changed directly, but only by specifying the desired result on the Markup list, and then releasing the item.

After an item has been released, the Current list will display the latest released revision of a child item. Therefore, when a revised child item is released, it will appear on the released item's structure without explicitly processing a change.

Since an item's most recently released revision is always displayed, you must follow this best practice rule: parts with the same identifying number are interchangeable, and non-interchangeability cannot be controlled using only a revision. If a part is not interchangeable with its previous iteration, the modified part must be assigned a new identifying number - not a new revision.

Some organizations put vendors' proprietary part numbers into their internal manufacturing/purchasing system (ERP) and reference them directly on their product structures. While this approach may appear simplest in the short-term, it can be very risky because vendors may not change their catalog part number even when one revision is not interchangeable with another. Furthermore, this limits your purchasing department to exactly one source for each item, and may cause some assemblies to carry one vendor part while other assemblies carry a different but equivalent part. The better method is to create an internal item with your own document/part number, list the various sources that can supply items that meet the specified requirements, and use this internal item on structures. Adding or removing a specific vendor part from one internal item's source list is often much faster than changing all structures where the vendor part is used.

When an item is canceled, the Current list will display the child item revision that was valid at the time the parent was canceled. If a child item is subsequently revised, that later revision will not appear on the canceled item's structure.

Current tab

You can see all of the items that have been formally approved for use on the item and, using the display filter buttons, selectively view certain categories of items. Drill down to deeper levels by clicking on the expansion icons ( and ) on the left edge of each panel.

The most recent released revision of a child item will be displayed on a released (but not canceled) parent. A canceled parent item will display child item revisions that were current at the time when the parent was canceled.

Only released children are displayed on the Current list. If a child item has no released revision available - that is, the only pending revision is not released, or a released revision is canceled without being formally removed from the parent item - then that child item will be shown with the latest available pending or canceled revision. If that child subsequently has a revision released, then that revision will automatically be shown on the Current list without processing any change to the parent.

Markup tab

Items that have not yet been formally approved for use on the item are listed, along with the items previously approved. The mark-up represents a particular iteration of the parent item.

A child item's most recent pending or released revision will be displayed until the parent item is released. Once the parent revision has been released on a change form, the released child item that was active when the parent item was released will be permanently shown on the Markup tab.

Provided that the parent item has never been released, you can freely arrange the items on the markup list by dragging them to new locations. Depending on the item's type, various fields will be available; for example, parts will allow you to enter part quantity and unit of measure, whereas documents will not. However, if the current item has been released, then items already formally on the structure cannot be modified; instead, you replace them with other (or the same) items, whose values you then edit.

Creating the new structure

You create an item's first structure (bill of material and/or document list) by dragging items from the Search tab or Previous tab of the Item Explorer and dropping them onto the Markup list. Change the find-item number, set quantity and units of measure, add reference designators and notes as required. Releasing the parent item transfers the Markup list to the Current list.

Modifying a released structure

After the first parent release is approved, you can create new revisions and then change the structure, again using the parent item's pending revision. Specifically, you can:

remove an item from the Markup list by selecting the item, then pressing the keyboard Delete key; or
replace an item with another item by dragging the replacement from the Item Explorer onto the existing item; or
add a new item by dragging it onto a blank area of the Markup list.

You can only drop documents and parts onto item types that will accept them, as defined in the Document Types and Part Types collections' Structure will accept documents and Structure will accept parts checkboxes.

Markup and Current data fields

These fields are locked on the released ("current") list, and can be edited on a parent item's pending revision ("markup").

Find: This column contains the child item's find-item number. (These may also be called "bubble" numbers or "call-outs", since the item row is often tied to the circled number that calls out a component on an assembly drawing).; Find numbers are stable for the life of the parent assembly, and are not re-assigned as the structure changes. A specific row's find-item number is locked once the parent has been released.; A structure's find-item values are zero for all documents, 1 or greater for parts, and unique for each row.
Quantity (value, units of measure): You can indicate the quantity of child items that are required to assemble the parent item.; This set of values is disabled if the item is a document rather than a part.
BOM quantity category: Specify whether the item on the structure is used for each parent item (a typical component), once per production setup (such as a batch of epoxy), or irrelevant for costing or other purposes (for instance, machine screws as floor stock). Where PDXpert provides roll-up calculations in markup and structure reports, these preferences will be followed.
Exclude cost: This checkbox will zero out the cost of the current item for purposes of cost rollup calculations. For instance, if the item is floor stock (such as a machine screw) and is expensed in manufacturing overhead, you may want to exclude it from the unit assembly cost. The default value of this checkbox is copied from the similar checkbox on the child part's Attributes tab. If you exclude the cost for a subassembly, then the costs for all items within its lower-level structure(s) will be ignored.; This checkbox is cleared and disabled if the item is a document rather than a part.
Ref des: Reference designators are used to identify a part's physical location in an assembly or its logical location on a schematic. Reference designators may also be used to identify unique document objects, such as a chapter in a user manual or a section of a requirements document.; The contents of this field are not indexed.
Notes: You may use this text for any purpose.; The contents of this field are indexed, and will return the child item.

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