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Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

MatStream is a natural fit for Product Lifecycle Management. It provides engineering teams with the structured data model, revision control, BOM traceability, and approval workflows that PLM requires — without the cost and complexity of traditional PLM systems.

What is PLM?

Product Lifecycle Management is the discipline of managing a product's data and processes from initial concept through design, release, production, and eventual retirement.

PLM sits above PDM (Product Data Management) tools like Autodesk Vault:

Layer Tool Focus
PLM MatStream Lifecycle, approvals, BOM traceability, structured data
PDM Autodesk Vault CAD files, file versions, check-in/check-out
CAD Autodesk Inventor Design and engineering

MatStream does not replace Vault or Inventor. Your designers continue working in their familiar tools — MatStream adds the PLM layer on top.

What MatStream manages in a PLM context

Parts and assemblies

Parts and assemblies are the core objects in any PLM implementation. In MatStream they are configured as entity categories — for example:

  • Raw Material — bulk materials with material grade, density, and supplier properties
  • Purchased Part — bought components with manufacturer, part number, and lead time properties
  • Manufactured Part — internally produced parts with manufacturing process and tooling properties
  • Assembly — multi-level assemblies with BOM children linked via the Uses relationship
  • Drawing — technical drawings linked to the part or assembly they describe

Each category carries the exact properties your engineering process requires — configured by your administrator, not hardcoded by the vendor.

Bills of Materials (BOM)

MatStream tracks the relationships between assemblies and their components as links between entities. This gives you:

  • Uses view — a flat or tree view of everything an assembly directly or indirectly uses
  • Where-used view — which assemblies reference a given part, at any level of the BOM
  • Multi-level BOM tree — the full assembly structure expanded on demand, lazy-loaded for performance on large assemblies
  • Impact analysis — when a part changes, instantly see every assembly affected via the where-used tree

Engineering drawings

Drawings are entities in MatStream — linked to the part or assembly they describe. When a part is revised, the associated drawing revision is tracked independently, giving you full control over drawing release alongside part release.

PDF drawings can be viewed directly in MatStream via the built-in PDF viewer — no need to open a separate application.

Revision control

Every formal release of a part or assembly is captured as a revision with a permanent, immutable label. Revision schemes are configurable per category:

  • Mechanical parts: A → B → C → ...
  • Documents and drawings: 1 → 2 → 3 → ...
  • Long-lived items: AA → AB → ... → AZ → BA → ...

The full revision history is always available — you can view the exact state of any part at any previous revision, including its properties, files, and the BOM structure at that point in time.

Lifecycle and approval workflows

Every part and assembly moves through a configurable lifecycle. A typical engineering lifecycle might look like: Draft → In Review → Released → Obsolete ↓ Rejected → Draft (rework)

At each transition: - Only authorised user groups can trigger the transition - The transition is permanently logged - Lifecycle state permissions control what can be edited and by whom

This gives you a formal, auditable approval process without the complexity of a traditional PLM workflow engine.

Integration with Autodesk Vault

If your engineering team uses Autodesk Vault, MatStream can synchronise parts, assemblies, and property data from Vault automatically via the Vault integration plugin.

The sync pipeline:

  1. The Vault plugin exports part and assembly data from Vault
  2. Data is sent to MatStream via a secure REST endpoint
  3. MatStream creates or updates entities using GUID-based matching — so renames in Vault do not break the sync
  4. Property values are mapped to MatStream properties
  5. Assembly structures (parent-child relationships) are preserved

This means your Vault catalogue becomes the source of truth for CAD data, and MatStream becomes the source of truth for lifecycle status, formal revision history, and structured PLM data.

See Syncing with Vault for full details.

A typical PLM workflow in MatStream

Part created in Inventor and checked into Vault by designer Vault sync pushes part data into MatStream automatically Engineer enriches the MatStream entity with PLM properties (supplier, material grade, lead time) Engineer submits the part for review Quality engineer reviews and approves Part released as revision A in MatStream Part linked to the assembly that uses it Six months later — supplier changes component New revision B created in MatStream Updated datasheet attached Re-submitted, re-approved, re-released as revision B All assemblies using the part are visible via where-used

Who uses MatStream in a PLM context?

Role How they use MatStream
Design engineer Creates entities, fills in properties, attaches drawings
Senior engineer Submits parts for review, manages BOM links
Quality engineer Reviews and approves lifecycle transitions
Procurement Views released parts, supplier data, and lead times
Management Views released product data and approval status
Administrator Configures categories, lifecycles, and numbering schemes

Getting started with PLM in MatStream

  1. Configure categories — define your part and assembly types with the properties your process requires. See Categories.
  2. Configure lifecycle definitions — define your approval states and transitions. See Lifecycle.
  3. Configure numbering schemes — define your part numbering templates. See Numbering schemes.
  4. Set up user groups — define who can create, review, and approve. See Users & groups.
  5. Connect Vault — if you use Autodesk Vault, set up the sync pipeline. See Syncing with Vault.
  6. Create your first part — follow the Quick start guide for a step-by-step walkthrough.

Next steps