Windchill provides multiple tools for viewing and editing product structures. Each tool is built for a specific use. The Advanced Table Editor is specially designed to edit multiple object structures at the same time. The Advanced Assembly Editor uses this technology to edit multiple product structures in a single user interface.

The capabilities provided by the Advanced Assembly Editor are most useful when the product structures to be edited are similar. The tool is directed toward manufacturing companies with a large number of similar products organized into product families. Some example usage scenarios include:

Here is an example to illustrate the value of the Advanced Assembly Editor. Imagine that your company manufactures cellular telephones. You have just successfully negotiated a contract with a new mobile service provider to resell your telephones with their cellular service packages. The contract requires that your telephone be altered to display the logo of the service provider on both the exterior case and the inside plastic face surrounding the screen. The rest of the components in the product structure of the telephone remain the same. The customer also wants to add a new phone color to match their specific company colors and branding.

The product structure author can use the Advanced Assembly Editor to locate and display a specific variation of the model of telephone close to the one purchased by the new customer. They copy this product structure as many times as necessary to create the required number of new variations. Each new variation is edited to remove existing parts and replace them with new parts required by the customer.