Change types
Version, Revision, Replacement Part, and New Part — the per-affected-item choice that decides what you can edit and what release creates.
Change type is set per affected item (default Version) and is the most load-bearing field on the whole change notice. It decides two things at once: what you're allowed to edit on the draft, and what release creates from it. Two axes tell the four types apart: is there a predecessor item, and does the result keep the same part number.
The four types
| Change type | You edit | Release creates | Auto-supersession |
|---|---|---|---|
| Version | BoM and BoP on the same item | A new method version; the prior Active version is archived | None |
| Revision | Attributes, documents, BoM and BoP | A new item revision (same Part ID, next revision) | Old revision → new revision |
| Replacement Part | Attributes, documents, BoM and BoP | A new part number derived from the affected part | Affected part → new part |
| New Part | Attributes, documents, BoM and BoP | A net-new part minted under the change notice | None — it has no predecessor |
A Version bumps the method; the two replacement types mint a new item; New Part is net-new.
Don't conflate them. A Version produces a new method version on the same item row, so existing stock and item history are untouched and nothing is superseded. A Revision and a Replacement Part each mint a new item derived from the affected part and leave the old one intact, so each auto-writes a from old to new. A New Part has no predecessor at all — it introduces a brand-new part, so it supersedes nothing. See Supersession & cutover.
When to use which
- Version — the design is the same part, made a little differently. A tweaked operation, a swapped component, a corrected quantity. There's no drawing-revision story and no reason to phase over stock.
- Revision — the part is formally revising (new drawing revision, new dimension) and you want old and new
to coexist while stock phases over. This is the everyday engineering-change case. You can name the revision
(for example
A) when you add the item, or leave it blank to take the next revision automatically. - Replacement Part — the change warrants a new part number, derived from the old one, with the old part superseded by the new. The 1:1 replacement.
- New Part — you're introducing a genuinely new part under change control, with no old part behind it. Nothing is superseded. This is also how a consolidation is modeled: when several components collapse into one, the consolidated "1" is added as a New Part and the old lines are dropped from the parent assembly's draft BoM.
A New Part's change type is fixed.
Because a New Part is net-new by construction, you can't switch it to another change type after you add it, and it shows no cutover card. The other three types can be switched, but switching discards the draft and mints a fresh one, so any edits are reset.
What each type gates
Change type also controls the editable surface on the affected item:
- Version exposes the Bill of Material and Bill of Process editors on the draft method.
- Revision, Replacement Part, and New Part add Part Properties (attributes) and documents on top of BoM and BoP, because each is producing a genuinely new item, not just a new recipe.
Change notices operate on Parts only.
The Add Affected Item picker accepts Parts only — the existing-item selector is filtered to Parts, and the New Part mini-form always mints a Part. There's no Tool path in the change-notice UI.
A purchased item can't take a Version.
A purchased (Buy) item has no bill of materials or process, so a Version is meaningless for it. The picker hides Version for Buy items and restricts a Version's item selector to Make parts; adding a Buy item defaults its change type to Revision instead.
Add a net-new part
Choosing New Part in the change-type selector swaps the affected-item modal to a short mint-a-part form:
... to pull the next id in the Part sequence.Submitting mints an inactive Part under the change notice and adds it as a New Part affected item. It stays hidden until release reveals it.
Supplier parts on a purchased line
A Revision, Replacement Part, or New Part whose draft item is purchased (Buy or Buy and Make) gets a Supplier Parts grid on its line, right alongside the properties editor. You use it to set up how the new part or revision is bought: Supplier, Supplier ID (the supplier's own part number), Unit Price, Unit of Measure, Minimum Order Quantity, and Conversion Factor. Add, edit, and delete rows here the same way you would on a live part.
Set suppliers up before you release, or the released part can't be bought.
A draft item starts with no supplier parts — the source item's suppliers aren't copied onto the draft. If a purchased Revision, Replacement Part, or New Part releases with an empty grid, the new part is stocked but has no way to buy it, so a purchase order can't reference it. Fill the grid on the line first. The suppliers you add show up in the change notice's changes as additions.