Define the build method
Open the released job to inspect the product structure and the process used to build it.
PLM defines the parts. The method defines how each part is supplied: manufactured, purchased, or issued from inventory.
The bill of materials
A (BoM) is hierarchical. SAT-1000 contains subassemblies such as the BUS-STR-001 structural frame and EPS-001 electrical power subsystem. Each subassembly contains its own components. Carbon displays the complete structure and identifies how each node is supplied.
Method types
Each item has one of three method types. The value determines how Carbon supplies the item:
- : manufacture the item on a with its own operations.
- : buy the item through a purchase order.
- : issue existing stock when building the parent, regardless of how that stock was replenished.
The method type is defined on the item, not independently on each BoM line. Changing it updates every BoM that uses the item.
Method type and replenishment system aren't the same axis.
Method type determines how a component enters its parent: Make to Order, Purchase to Order, or Pull from Inventory. The determines how the item is stocked and which planning queue receives demand: Buy, Make, or Buy and Make. A part can be manufactured for one parent and issued from stock for another.
Kits & subassemblies
A Make to Order component can be configured as a subassembly or a kit:
- : built and completed on a separate job with its own . It can be released independently of the parent job.
- : a group of components issued directly to the parent job. Carbon creates no separate job or operation for the kit.
Use a subassembly when the component requires an independently tracked build. Use a kit when grouped components should be issued together without a separate build.
Methods on the job
The job contains a working copy of the method. Expand any component to inspect its nested method and supply type. The hierarchy can contain as many levels as the product requires.
Methods are versioned as Draft, Active, or Archived. Only a Draft can be edited. To change an Active method, create and publish a new version. Existing jobs retain the version copied when they were created.
Live work builds against a version that can't change mid-stream.
Draft is editable, Active is published and locked, and Archived is retained for history. New versions affect future jobs, not jobs already in progress.