Who Overwrote My Part? Lock, Change and Track CAD Versions in OpenBOM

You spend the afternoon reworking the motor mount for the drone. New hole pattern, thinner wall, everything fits. You save. Twenty minutes later, a colleague saves their own copy of the same part, and your afternoon is gone.

Most teams have lived some version of this. The shared folder fills up with motor_mount_v3_final_FINAL.SLDPRT, nobody is sure which file is current, and the only way to find out who is editing what is to ask in the team chat. That is the problem CAD version control exists to solve: one person changes a file at a time, and every saved step is kept.

At OpenBOM, we think the answer should be a simple task, not a heavy PDM rollout. Your CAD files live in OpenBOM’s Cloud PDM, you keep working in SOLIDWORKS, and three moves cover the day: lock the part before you change it, sync when you’re done, and let OpenBOM keep every version. There is no vault server to install and a complex system to configure. 

How do you stop engineers from overwriting each other’s CAD files?

Lock the file before you change it. In the traditional language of PDM, this is called check-out. While a file is locked, only the person who locked it can send changes to the shared copy, and everyone else can see who has it. When the work is done, they unlock it and the next person picks it up. Every save along the way is kept as a version.

Traditional PDM systems did this by a time consuming check-out process, the file turned out not to be updated and the only option was to force check-in or use a copy from vault manual command. OpenBOM’s lock is built for a team that works fast. If someone tries to change a file you have locked, OpenBOM alerts them and shows who has it, so the next step is a quick conversation instead of an overwrite. Here is how Cloud PDM works in OpenBOM.

Lock the part before you change it

You can do it directly in SOLIDWORKS. Open the OpenBOM File Manager embedded in the SOLIDWORKS panel, select the part you are about to change, here the motor mount of the demo drone assembly, and select Lock. From that moment, only you can send changes to that file.

Sometimes OpenBOM has a newer copy than the one on your computer, because a colleague synced a change since you last opened the file. Before it locks, OpenBOM asks what you want to do: take the OpenBOM version and then lock, keep your copy and lock, or don’t lock yet. Your unsaved work is never touched, so you make the choice with the facts in front of you.

If SOLIDWORKS isn’t connected to OpenBOM yet, start with Don’t Rebuild Your BOM, which sends the same drone assembly to OpenBOM.

You can work online and offline with the same speed

One of the most important elements of OpenBOM cloud PDM is to allow users to work with local files in a regular way – your SolidWorks speed won’t be affected at all and keep files protected (locked). 

You can even disconnect your computer from the internet (think of working on a shopfloor or facilities with a bad internet connection and then sync it when you connect back. 

 See who is working on what

A lock only helps if everyone can see it. As soon as you lock the motor mount, your colleague sees that it is locked, and by whom, in the Lock column.

That one column replaces a lot of messages. Nobody has to ask “is anyone in the motor mount?” in the team chat, and nobody finds out by losing their work. If a colleague needs the part urgently, they know exactly who to ask.

Make the change, save and sync

Now do the work you locked the part for. Make the change in SOLIDWORKS and save, as you always do. Then select Smart Sync.

Smart Sync sends your saved files to OpenBOM’s cloud storage and keeps your local folder and the cloud project in sync. You keep working on your own computer, with your files where you expect them, and the shared copy updates when you decide it should.

Look back through every version

Every sync leaves a trail. In the browser, select the motor mount and open Versions. The panel lists every version of the file, when it was saved and by whom.

That trail answers the questions that used to start an argument. When did the hole pattern change? Who saved the copy the shop printed last week? What did the part look like before the wall got thinner? You no longer need “final” in a file name to find out.

Unlock and hand it on

When you’re done, unlock the part, and the next person can lock it and pick up from the latest version: yours.

Unlock as soon as you finish. A file left locked overnight brings back the old problem in a new form: the team waits, and someone has to chase you.

What is the difference between a version and a revision?

A version is a saved step. Every time you save and sync a CAD file, OpenBOM keeps a new version, with who saved it and when. A revision is a decision: a state of the item and its BOM that the team releases for others to use, through your change process. Versions record the work. Revisions record what is approved.

They answer different questions. Versions let engineers move fast without losing anything. Revisions tell purchasing, manufacturing and suppliers which definition to build. The motor mount can go through ten versions in a week and stay at the same released revision until the change is reviewed and signed off. See how revision control works in OpenBOM.

Your lock, change and sync routine

1. Lock before you change.In File Manager, select the part and select Lock.

2. Answer the lock check. If OpenBOM has a newer copy, take it, keep yours, or wait.

3. Change and save. Work in SOLIDWORKS as usual.

4. Smart Sync. Send your saved work to OpenBOM, which keeps it as a new version.

5. Check Versions. Your version is there, with your name and the time.

6. Unlock. Hand the part on as soon as you finish.

Two engineers, one part, no overwrites. That is the whole point: a simple routine that lets a team work on the same design without stepping on each other, and a history that remembers every step.

Start an OpenBOM free trial to explore file locking and version history with your own CAD files.

Best, Oleg