Model the product family
Declare the inputs and their units, the engineering tables, the calculations and the components. Import tables from CSV, and keep ordered, finished and cut sizes clearly apart.
Early-access requests open
Dimensions and options in.
MANUFACTURING BOMS FOR CONFIGURED PRODUCTS
Dimensions and options in.
The MBOM out.
FactorySpec applies your approved product rules to each unit’s dimensions and options and produces its manufacturing bill of materials: the components, whole counts, cut lengths and panel sizes your factory needs. Describe the rules in plain English, prove them with worked examples, and every unit is calculated the same way.
No payment. Start with one product family.
FACTORYSPEC · ILLUSTRATION
Frame kit, release 1
Manufacturing BOM for one unitValid
Horizontal railFRAME-N natural, cut at 760.0 mm
× 2Vertical railFRAME-N, cut at 960.0 mm
× 2CornerCORNER
× 4ScrewSCREW
× 8Width 800 mm less the 40 mm deduction gives a 760.0 mm cut length. Every line traces back to the approved rule that produced it.
Fictional frame kit. Illustrative values only, not engineering instructions.
Change the unit. See the BOM it gets.
WHO IT IS FOR
Manufacturers who make repeatable products in many sizes, finishes and options, such as frames, blinds and screens, access panels and enclosures, and work out each unit’s parts by hand or in spreadsheets.
FROM ORDER TO MANUFACTURING BOM
Every size and option changes the bill of materials.
A made-to-measure order is not a fixed parts list. Widths change cut lengths, options add or remove parts, and some combinations cannot be made at all. When that knowledge lives in spreadsheets and experienced heads, each unit is worked out again by hand. FactorySpec gives it one reviewed home and applies it to every unit.
Prove it with worked examples
Add examples your product expert calculated independently, including boundaries and combinations that must be refused. A separate reviewer approves the release before it is used.
Evaluate each unit
Enter a unit’s dimensions and options. FactorySpec checks them, then returns its bill of materials with counts, cut lengths and panel sizes, and the trace behind every value.
WHAT EACH UNIT'S MBOM CONTAINS
Exact parts, lengths and sizes for one unit.
Each evaluated unit gets a flat bill of materials. Every line is a component, a whole count and, where it applies, a cut length or a panel size.
The right parts
Each line names a component by your own code, revision and description. Optional lines appear only when an approved condition includes them, never as lines with a count of zero.
Whole counts per unit
Counts are whole numbers for one configured unit, ready for your order system to multiply by the quantity ordered.
Lengths after deductions
Linear parts carry a cut length in millimetres, calculated from the finished size with each deduction applied once, and only once.
Width by height
Sheet and panel parts carry their width and height. Sizes stay exactly as calculated: they are not nested or converted to area.
RULES IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Say when a part changes. Approve the rule once.
Describe a condition in plain English, such as when a support or an extra fixing is needed. SmartFACT proposes a precise rule over your declared fields, your product expert tests it against worked examples, and a separate reviewer approves the release. Units are then evaluated against the approved rules exactly, with no AI call, so the same inputs always give the same BOM.
See more BOM rule examplesEXAMPLE RULE
“Add a centre support when the finished width is more than 1,200 mm.”
Describe→Test→Approve→Evaluate
Result at the bench: A frame 1,200.1 mm wide gets a centre support, two clips and four more screws. At exactly 1,200 mm it does not.
BUILT FOR ENGINEERING TRUST
The same inputs. The same BOM. Every time.
Exact arithmetic
Lengths are calculated exactly, not in floating point. Rounding happens only where your model says so, and the trace keeps the value before rounding.
Nothing rounded to fit
Inputs in millimetres, centimetres, metres or inches are converted at exact factors. A value more precise than the family allows is refused, with the original shown.
Refusals, not guesses
A blocked combination or a missing table row stops the unit with a reason. It never produces an empty or partial BOM that looks valid.
Independent review
Rules, tables and components are released together and approved by someone who did not write them. A new release never rewrites results already accepted.
A trace for every value
Each result shows the inputs, calculations, table rows, component revisions and release behind every line.
An engineering pack
Accepted results are issued as a PDF and a JSON file, bound by a manifest. Scanning the PDF’s code shows the result’s current status.
IS IT A FIT?
Start with one product family.
A good starting point
- You make a known product family in many sizes, finishes and options.
- A product expert can supply the engineering rules, components and worked examples, and approve them.
- Each unit’s parts come down to components, counts, cut lengths and panel sizes.
What it does not do
- No multi-level assemblies, routings or operations: the BOM is flat, for one unit.
- No pricing, quotations, stock allocation, CAD drawings, nesting or scheduling.
- It does not decide whether a new design is safe to make. Engineering knowledge and approval stay with your experts.
BEFORE YOU START
A few useful answers.
What is an MBOM?
A manufacturing bill of materials: the components, quantities and sizes needed to make a product as it is built in the factory. For configured products it changes with every size and option. What is an MBOM?
Does AI design our product or calculate the BOM?
No. AI helps turn a plain English condition into a precise rule while you set up the model, and your experts test and approve it. Calculations, components and tables are yours. Each unit is evaluated against the approved release exactly, with no AI call.
Can we import our existing tables?
Yes. Engineering tables import from UTF-8 CSV files as values, and whole models from JSON. Spreadsheet formulas are not run: calculations live in the reviewed model, where they can be tested.
How do results reach our other systems?
Each accepted result is issued as an engineering pack: a PDF for people and a JSON file for systems. How results reach your ERP or order system is agreed during onboarding.
What happens when a rule changes?
The change goes into a new release with its own worked examples and review. Results accepted under an earlier release keep the release they were made with, and an amended unit is evaluated afresh.
What does it cost?
Pricing, implementation and support are agreed with you before you commit. Requesting early access is free.
GUIDES
Find the part you care about.
MBOM BASICS
What is an MBOM?
What a manufacturing bill of materials contains, how it differs from an engineering BOM, and why configured products need one for every unit.
MBOM BASICSEBOM vs MBOM
How an engineering BOM and a manufacturing BOM differ, who usually owns each, and where a rules-based MBOM for configured products fits.
MBOM BASICSBOMs for configure-to-order products
How to produce the right BOM for every configured order: approved inputs, conditions and calculations instead of a parts list for each variant.
HOW FACTORYSPEC WORKSCut lengths from finished sizes
Calculate cut lengths and panel sizes from ordered and finished dimensions, with each deduction applied once and every value traced.
HOW FACTORYSPEC WORKSBOM rule examples
Example product rules in plain English, and what each does to a unit’s bill of materials: include a part, allow an option or block a combination.
HOW FACTORYSPEC WORKSHow FactorySpec works
From a modelled product family and worked examples to an approved release, an evaluated unit and its engineering pack.
EARLY ACCESS
Tell us how each unit’s parts are worked out today.
Describe what you make and where the rules live. We review the fit and agree a first product family with you.
Request early access
Start with your products. No payment.
THE SMARTFACT SUITE
One suite for the factory floor.
FactorySpec is part of SmartFACT, a set of focused services and free tools for manufacturers. People sign in through SmartFACT Accounts, with two-factor checks for the roles that approve and accept.
Other SmartFACT services check kits, guide work steps and print labels with the same approach: describe the rule in plain English, test and approve it, then let approved rules handle the routine work.
Explore SmartFACT