What is PDM?

PDM stands for product data management and sits in the engineering department. The system records who has a file checked out, which version is saved, which revision is released, which parts make up an assembly and what changed between two revisions; besides models and drawings it manages the related documents. Release usually runs through a defined workflow. Companies without PDM use folders and naming rules for the same purpose, with less control.

How does PDM work in practice?

A price belongs to one revision of model and drawing. If an outdated file reaches the request, the estimate works with a shape or requirement that no longer applies. On a repeat order the first question is whether drawing number and revision match the previous order, before anyone copies the previous price. The STEP and PDF a subcontractor receives are often an export from the customer's PDM; the revision in the title block is then the reference point.

What is PDM often confused with?

PDM is not PLM: PDM manages design data and their versions, PLM also covers the processes around a product over its whole life, such as change management, requirements and the handover to production and service. PDM is often part of PLM. Nor is a version in PDM a revision: a version is usually created at each check-in, a revision at a released change; how revisions are numbered differs per company.