Adding Complex Materials
A complex material or subassembly is a material with a BOM on it. Complex materials are created from the Materials tab on the Materials window. The complex material must already be created to be added to a product BOM.
Subassembly Insertion Mode
You can insert complex materials into the product BOM by inserting a copy or link of the complex material. Insertion of complex materials is controlled by the subassembly insertion mode.
The mode controls how a subassembly is handled when a user selects a subassembly for insertion into the BOM. The mode also controls whether the subassembly is automatically copied, linked, or if the user is prompted to choose.
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Mode
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Action
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Always Insert Copy
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Automatically inserts a copy of the subassembly in the current BOM
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Always Link
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Adds the subassembly on a single row in the BOM. The subassembly appears as a simple material.
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Ignore
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Adds the subassembly on a single row in the BOM. The subassembly appears as a simple material.
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Prompt User for Link or Copy
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Prompts the user to select whether to link or copy the subassembly. This is the default mode, unless you edit it in the Header Attributes.
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Working with Complex Materials
How you can work with a complex material is determined by whether it is copied or linked.
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Action
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Copied
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Linked
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Icon
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Indicated by the complex material icon  |
Indicated by the material expand icon  |
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Expand or collapse of subcomponents
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Yes
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No
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Display of subcomponents
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Yes
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No
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Edit subcomponents from the Edit BOM page
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Yes
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No
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Create overrides for subcomponents from the Edit BOM page
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Yes
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No
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Complex material indicated on the main BOM information page
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Yes
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No
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There are a number of key points to keep in mind when working with complex materials.
• You cannot break up the components of a subassembly. Complex material subcomponents cannot be deleted, and you cannot insert rows within a subassembly.
• The default color control mode is Existing Only for all complex materials.
• You cannot convert a linked subassembly into a copied subassembly. Once a subassembly has been inserted as either linked or copied, its insertion mode cannot be altered.
• Updates to subcomponents of linked complex materials must be made through the Materials window. These updates are not reflected in the linked complex material.