Solidworks PDM

SOLIDWORKS PDM is a data management system that helps users store, organize and manage engineering data and documents. Learn more at www.solidworks.com.

We provide two methods for integrating Solidworks PDM part and assembly data into Violet:

1. Manual Upload - via .csv file import

2. Live Fetch - via direct query to your SQL database

Manual Upload - .csv File Import

In this method, you'll need to export a .csv file of your Bill of Materials (BOM) from Solidworks PDM. When exporting, make sure to:

• Remove any header/title info from your BOM .csv file for proper import. The first row should contain the names of each column.

• Either the 'File Name' or 'Part Number' field should be populated in order to generate a unique identifier for each row.

Then, follow the instructions below to import:

1. In Violet (or VioletGov), navigate to Apps and click to add a new integration.

1. Select Solidworks PDM

2. Click Upload File, locate your exported BOM, and click Open.

[Optional] You can also provide a unique name for the connection based on the credentials you're using, and you can create restricted permissions to users or groups:

1. Click Create. You're done!

2. Each subsequent import will intelligently map and update part data based on either filename or part number.

Live Fetch - Direct Query

In this method, Violet will query the SQL server hosting your PDM vault directly. To enable this:

1. Allow Violet to connect to your SQL server This can be done via IP address allowlisting or by setting up a VPN tunnel. These options are described in further detail here.

2. Provide read-only access to BOM data on the SQL server

   1. Create a SQL login

   CREATE LOGIN swpdm_bom_user WITH PASSWORD = 'StrongPasswordHere!';

   1. Create a user in the PDM database

   USE YourPDMDatabase;
   CREATE USER swpdm_bom_user FOR LOGIN swpdm_bom_user;

   1. Add the user to the db_datareader role

   EXEC sp_addrolemember 'db_datareader', 'swpdm_bom_user';

Note, this allows Violet to read all data in your database and determine the naming and structure of your tables. It is the recommended approach for most cases. If you have sensitive, non-BOM-related data on your server that you need to safeguard, follow the instructions for Advanced Setup. Note, this will require knowledge of the exact names of your tables.

Advanced Setup

1. Create a SQL login

CREATE LOGIN swpdm_bom_user WITH PASSWORD = 'StrongPasswordHere!';

1. Create a user in the PDM database

USE YourPDMDatabase;
CREATE USER swpdm_bom_user FOR LOGIN swpdm_bom_user;

1. Grant read-only access to required BOM-related tables*

GRANT SELECT ON dbo.Documents          TO swpdm_bom_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.DocumentReferences TO swpdm_bom_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.Configurations     TO swpdm_bom_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.CardVariables      TO swpdm_bom_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.Users              TO swpdm_bom_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.States             TO swpdm_bom_user;

*The specific names of your tables may be different from what is listed here. You can use the below query to list all the tables in your PDM database. We'll then identify which ones correspond to the tables we need.

SELECT name 
FROM sys.tables 
ORDER BY name;