How You Process Converted Components

You can reuse a PLM item with suitable variations in your concepts structure. While you can't edit the PLM item directly, you can convert it to a concept component and make your required modifications accordingly.

The original PLM item remains unchanged, while the newly-created concept component contains all the specification attributes of the item converted, as well as a reference link to the original item.

Settings That Affect Conversion of an Item to a Concept Component

There are two main factors that decide the scope of item conversion:

• Attachments, Documents, and Designs

  If you include attachments during the conversion process, all the file attachments of the item are copied as attachments of the newly created concept component.

  Document relationships are preserved during the conversion process.

  If you include designs, links to the design object residing in the PLM application are copied to the concept component.

• Item structure

  You can convert only the linked item and its first-level of items links during a single conversion process. Second-level of items in an item structure remain item links in the concept structure.

  Note: While you can convert second-level item links also to concept components, you must aim for data reuse, and try to avoid creating too many concept components.

How Items Are Converted to Components

To convert an item to a concept component, select the item in your concept structure, and click Actions > Convert to Concept Component.

The following table details the levels of conversion of an item assembly and lower-level items in a single conversion step.

Item Assembly Structure	Convert to Component?	Content Type Post Conversion	Comments
Item Assembly	Yes	Concept Component	None
Part 1	Yes	Concept Component	None
Part 2	No	Item link	Since Part 2 wasn't selected for conversion, it remains an item link in the item structure
Part 3 Part 3.1 Part 3.2	Yes Note: Doesn't apply to the lower-level items	Concept Component Parts 3.1 and 3.2 remain item links	Select the item links and click Convert to Concept Component to change the lower-level items to concept components.