Micro-Connectors — From CAD to ERP, without the chaos

The Problem

Manual CAD-to-ERP handoff breaks projects

Every discrete manufacturer running CAD and ERP knows the pain. The data exists — it just doesn't get there reliably.

3–5 days

Lost per project to manual re-entry

Engineers spend hours re-entering BOM data, manually mapping descriptions, and fixing ERP validation errors. That time belongs in design, not spreadsheets.

4×

Duplicate items and naming chaos

Without a naming convention engine, the same component gets created 4 different ways across 6 projects. Procurement doesn't know which to buy.

Zero

Audit trail when things go wrong

When an ERP item is wrong, nobody knows who created it, which revision of the CAD it came from, or what changed. Every investigation starts from scratch.

Pipeline Overview

A controlled pipeline, not a blind export

Every BOM goes through six validated stages. Nothing reaches your ERP without passing all of them.

1 — Ingest

Accept CAD/PDM files, assign intake ID

2 — Extract

Pull metadata from STEP, DWG, DXF, PDF, IFC

3 — Normalise

Convert raw structure to standard BOM schema

4 — Validate

Check completeness, naming, ERP readiness

5 — Classify

Determine make/buy/procure for each line item

6 — Sync

Write to D365/SAP with approval gate and audit trail

See the full 10-phase pipeline

Capabilities

Everything between your CAD system and your ERP

Six core capabilities that handle the hardest parts of CAD-to-ERP integration automatically.

Classification

14-Type Item Classification

Automatically classifies every BOM line: fabricated, machined, bought-out, phantom, raw material, fastener, and 8 more. No manual tagging.

Comparison

BOMDiff — Revision Comparison

Structural diff between any two BOM versions. See exactly what changed, what was added, what was removed — before you touch the ERP.

Compliance

Hash-Chained Audit Trail

Every connector run, approval decision, and ERP write is recorded in a tamper-evident chain. SHA-256 verified. Full traceability from CAD file to ERP record.

Testing

Dry-Run Simulation

Run the full pipeline against your ERP in simulation mode. See exactly what would be created, updated, or flagged — before a single record is written.

Governance

Human Approval Gates

Nine mandatory approval checkpoints. No BOM reaches your ERP without an engineer signing off. Automation assists; humans decide.

Procurement

Procurement-Aware Classification

The system doesn't just move data — it classifies each item for procurement action: RFQ required, existing vendor PN, fabricate in-house, or catalogue match.

Detailed feature documentation

Case Studies

Built for heavy manufacturing

Real pipeline runs on real engineering assemblies — from conveyor components to rotating machinery.

Conveyor System

Carry Roller Frame

32-line BOM with mixed make/buy — processed in under 4 minutes

A standard conveyor carry roller frame assembly ingested from Autodesk Vault. Phantom sub-components were automatically detected and suppressed from ERP creation. Fabricated items routed to the workshop; bought-out items to procurement with vendor PN suggestions. All 32 lines classified without manual intervention.

32

BOM Lines

0

Manual Entries

<4 min

Pipeline Time

Rotating Equipment

Head Shaft Assembly

Revision delta caught before procurement — stale vendor PN flagged

A Rev C head shaft assembly was submitted after a bearing specification change. BOMDiff identified the delta against the Rev B ERP record: one bearing PN had changed, and the shaft diameter tolerance had been tightened. The stale vendor PN from Rev B was flagged before any purchase order was raised. Procurement was notified via the approval gate workflow rather than discovering the discrepancy on delivery.

1

Revision Delta

$0

Wrong Parts Ordered

Full

Audit Trail

Drive Train

Gearbox Selection

12 phantom sub-components suppressed, 1 bought-out item created correctly

A third-party gearbox assembly was provided as a fully detailed CAD model — including internal components that exist only for simulation purposes, not procurement. The classification engine identified all 12 internal components as phantom assemblies and suppressed them from ERP creation. The single top-level gearbox was created as a bought-out item with the correct vendor catalogue number, ready for a purchase order.

12

Phantoms Suppressed

1

ERP Item Created

Auto

Vendor PN Matched

Pricing

Credit-based pricing that scales with your projects

Micro-Connector Units (MCU) are consumed per pipeline run. Pay for what you use — stop when a project ends.

Starter

AU$199

per month, billed monthly

For teams validating the integration before committing to full rollout.

500 MCU credits per month
Up to 5 active connectors
Sandbox environment access
Email support
BOMDiff revision comparison

Get Started

Integrates with your existing stack

Micro-Connectors is built around adapters — we connect to your PDM and ERP systems without replacing them.

Autodesk Vault

Autodesk Platform Services

Microsoft Dynamics 365

SAP S/4HANA

Oracle NetSuite

SolidWorks PDM

Your CAD data belongs in your ERP. We make that happen — correctly.