How to Round Up Length in SOLIDWORKS Electrical BOMs

In SOLIDWORKS Electrical, generating an accurate bill of materials (BOM) is crucial for ensuring precise material estimates and minimizing waste. However, raw length values often include decimal points, which may not be ideal for manufacturing and purchasing. To standardize lengths, configuring the bill of material to round up length can be a practical approach. This guide walks you through the steps to round up length values in your BOM report.

Step 1: Ensure the Length Column is Enabled

Before being able to round up length, you need to make sure that the length column is visible in your BOM report:

1. Open your BOM Report Properties in SOLIDWORKS Electrical.
2. Locate the “Length (mm)” column in the properties panel.
3. If the length column isn’t toggled on, check it on to enable it.

Step 2: Edit the Length Column Formula

Once the length column is visible, the next step is to modify its formula to round up length values:

1. Click on the Content section of the “Length” column to begin editing its formula.
2. The Column properties window will open.
3. Click the fx button to access the Formula Management window.

Electrical Column properties window

Step 3: Creating the Formula to Round Up Length

In the Formula Management section, you’ll need to apply the equation that rounds up the length values. This can be done by using the following formula: bom_length – FRAC(bom_length) + 1. To help you better understand what each part of the formula does:

• bom_length represents the raw length value.
• FRAC(bom_length) extracts the decimal portion of the length.
• Subtracting FRAC(bom_length) removes the decimal, leaving only the whole number.
• Adding 1 ensures the value is always rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Applying rounding formula

Step 4: Save and Apply Changes

1. Click OK to confirm the formula.
2. Click OK again to exit the formula editor.
3. In the Report Configuration Edition, click Apply to finalize the changes.

Step 5: Verify the Changes

1. Open the Report Preview and review the length values.
2. Confirm that all lengths have been correctly rounded up.

By adjusting the formula for the length bill of material value, you can ensure that all length values in your SOLIDWORKS Electrical BOM report are rounded up to the nearest whole number. This helps in material estimation, reduces errors in procurement, and simplifies communication with suppliers and manufacturers. With this small adjustment, your BOM reports can be more practical and efficient for real-world applications.

If you run into any errors when customizing your SOLIDWORKS Electrical report, contact our Client Success Team here.