Bommer vs Fusion BOM

Autodesk Fusion has created its own built-in bill of materials, and here at Bommer, we are excited about what this means for existing users and what this will allow us to develop in the future. Let’s dive in to see what this built-in BOM offers.

Working with the Fusion BOM

Autodesk Fusion's built-in Bill of Materials (BOM) feature is a powerful tool for managing product components and assemblies. It automatically generates a list of all parts, their quantities, and other crucial information directly from your 3D model. This ensures that your BOM stays up to date with design changes, reducing errors and saving time in the product development process.

Released BOMs

When a design reaches a milestone or is ready for production, you can create a Released BOM in Fusion. This feature allows you to capture a snapshot of your BOM at a specific point in time, ensuring that everyone has access to the same approved version of the component list. Released BOMs are particularly useful for version control, especially when working with manufacturers or when you need to maintain records of different product iterations.

Historical BOMs

Fusion's Historical BOMs feature enables you to track changes in your BOM over time. This functionality helps identify when specific components were added or removed, maintaining a clear audit trail of design decisions. By comparing historical BOMs, you can quickly spot differences between versions and make informed decisions about your product's development.

Sharing BOM Content

Fusion makes it easy to share your BOM content with team members, suppliers, and other stakeholders. You can control access levels, ensuring that the right people have the right information at the right time. Whether you need to share the entire BOM or just specific sections, Fusion's sharing capabilities streamline communication and reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings in the supply chain.

Exporting Fusion BOM Content

When you need to use your BOM data outside of Fusion, the software offers flexible export options. You can export your BOM to various formats, including CSV, Excel, and PDF, making it compatible with other systems and software used in your workflow. This feature is particularly useful when you need to send BOMs to suppliers who might not use Fusion, or when you want to incorporate the data into reports or other documents. The ability to customize export templates ensures that your exported BOMs meet specific formatting requirements.

Why consider Bommer?

While the built-in BOM has some powerful connectivity features with the Manage extension and offers the ease of coming right out of the box, Bommer can accomplish these tasks and provides additional functionalities that some users have described as “life-saving,” such as the following:

Custom properties

We allow the creation of custom Bommer properties that range from numerical to text, as well as built-in properties pulled straight from the depths of Fusion. This gives users the ability to enhance their BOM and improve their design process.

Built-in formulas

Not only do we have custom properties, but we also offer the ability to create live formulas within your Bommer table that update in real-time and can use Fusion parameters as variables. This allows our users to ensure their data is up to date in their BOM before they even need to open it.

Enhanced drawings tables and callouts

Expanding on custom properties, Bommer allows you to incorporate those properties into fully customizable tables in the drawings space. You can customize the size, columns, data, and row items displayed, as well as add and edit custom balloons.

Exporting a filtered BOM

Sometimes, you don’t want to export the entire design to the BOM; instead, you might need a specific subset of data or want to filter out only the made parts for an internal export. With Bommer, we provide the ability to export exactly what you need, every time.

So should you use Fusion’s built-in BOM or Bommer?

We always recommend Bommer because we believe it’s the best tool for most users. However, both options are excellent BOM tools. Fusion BOM is an outstanding built-in feature. Users or companies needing to quickly extract design data will benefit from either Bommer or Fusion BOM. While Fusion BOM’s integration with Manage is excellent (whereas Bommer's is simply good), Fusion BOM is built directly into Fusion. Users or companies with established workflows, or those requiring custom properties or more flexible export options, will benefit most from Bommer, which is also easy to set up.

Both tools allow users to export a BOM, but Bommer also enables users to export subsets of data at a time. Additionally, only Bommer supports calculated fields, providing automation within your BOM. Ultimately, you can even choose to use both tools, as Fusion BOM and Bommer pull from the same source of truth.

If you think Bommer would be a good fit for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to support@bommer.io—we’d be happy to discuss what Bommer can offer!

Have an awesome day!