For machine builders
Two tools for SolidWorks PDM and Autodesk Vault. One pulls every drawing on your purchasing list out of the vault in seconds. The other sorts them by process and fills in the quote data. Your buyer gets release week back.
In daily use at machine builders. At one, a day of retrieval per release is now 30 seconds. Runs on your network, nothing leaves after setup.
The Problem
Engineering releases a machine. Purchasing gets a list of part numbers and the only way to get the files is one at a time.
Retrieval one part at a time, then every drawing opened again to decide which shop quotes it. The RFQs wait the whole time, and so does the ship date.
Some are a thousand. Every one searched in PDM, loaded, and three files copied into a folder by hand.
Longer when a part is misnamed, a file is missing, or the vault is slow.
At one machine a month, in retrieval and sorting alone. The lead time lost on every release costs more than that.
The Tools
VaultPull pulls the files. PartRoute sorts any folder of drawings, whether VaultPull pulled them or your own export did. Both run entirely on your network. Configured to your part number scheme and your drawing standards. Download the two page overview →
Step 01 · Get the files
Bulk Drawing Retrieval from PDM
Give it the purchasing list. It pulls every PDF, STEP, DXF and DWG for those parts, and only those parts, from SolidWorks PDM or Autodesk Vault into a structured folder, ready to send.
Step 02 · Sort and extract · 100% Local
Process Classification and Data Extraction
Reads each drawing in a folder and tags it by process: sheet metal, machined, 3D printed, weldment, purchased, in your own terms. Then it writes what the quote needs into a CSV or Excel sheet, one row per part: material, thickness, geometry fields, and weight where the drawing states it. Your buyer sorts the set, builds supplier packages and sends an RFQ with the line items already filled.
In Daily Use
Two of the shops running the tools today.
Before. Each release went to purchasing as roughly 300 part numbers. A buyer searched PDM one number at a time and copied three files per part into a quote folder. Most of a day per machine; two to three days for the occasional 700 part pull.
Now. The buyer drops in the purchasing list. VaultPull returns every file in 20 to 30 seconds. Quotes go out the same day the machine is released.
~80 hrs/yr Buyer time returned, before revisionsIn daily use since setup. Part number rules validated in the first week, full release in the second. No change to how engineering works in PDM.
Before. Several hundred drawings per system, spanning machined parts, sheet metal, weldments and purchased components. Retrieval took most of a day. Then every drawing had to be opened to decide which supplier should quote it, two to three more days before packages were ready.
Now. VaultPull returns the set in about a minute. PartRoute tags every drawing by process and writes material and dimensions to a sheet. Supplier packages are assembled the same morning.
3 days → 1 morning Release to supplier packagesBoth tools in regular use on every release. Classification refined with the client as new part types appear.
| Part no | Description | Process | Material | Thickness | Weight | Files |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-10432 | Guard panel, left | Sheet metal | 304 SS | 3.0 mm | 1.8 kg | pdf step dxf |
| A-10433 | Guard panel, right | Sheet metal | 304 SS | 3.0 mm | 1.8 kg | pdf step dxf |
| B-20071 | Bearing housing | Machined | 6061 Al | 0.8 kg | pdf step | |
| B-20118 | Drive shaft | Machined | 1045 | 2.1 kg | pdf step | |
| C-30555 | Base frame | Weldment | A36 | 14 kg | pdf step dxf | |
| C-30556 | Cable clip | 3D printed | Nylon 12 | 60 g | pdf step | |
| D-40012 | Shoulder bolt | Purchased | McMaster 91251A |
Built by someone who did the job. John Solorzano, P.Eng, spent his career on both sides of the drawing: mechanical and process engineering, then global sourcing and commodity management. VaultPull and PartRoute exist because the manual version got done too many times. About Soltas →
How Setup Works
Setup and the first year are one fixed price. Each year after that is a fixed annual licence. Nothing is paid at signing.
What it costs. A one time setup fee and an annual site licence. It's a purchasing manager's budget, not a capital request. Exact numbers on the call.
01
See both tools run. We map your part numbers and tell you if it fits.
02
Rules sheet approved, sample list pulled raw. PartRoute's first pass rate approved.
03
Set up on your network, full list pulled with every rule. PartRoute output on a list you pick.
04
Rule changes and new part types included. Then the annual licence carries on.
Also From Soltas
Indirect spend review on a pay on results basis, and strategic sourcing support for RFQ execution, negotiation and contract drafting. Read about the services →
Questions Buyers Ask
SolidWorks PDM Professional and Autodesk Vault Professional, on Windows. Both tools work through the vault API, which the Standard and Basic editions don't expose. The current or prior major release is fine.
VaultPull is a set of files in a shared folder IT chooses. Nothing is installed on workstations and nothing is added to the vault server. Each buyer signs in with their own PDM or Vault login. For setup, IT gives Soltas a read only vault login. PartRoute needs one free program on the machine that runs it, ODA File Converter, which IT installs. No database changes, no cloud connection.
No. VaultPull reads your vault. It does not check out, edit, release or delete anything. The one thing it can add, if you turn that option on, is a PDF your vault's Job Processor makes for a released drawing that has none. Only released revisions are pulled; anything still in review is flagged on the results, not pulled.
That's what Milestone 1 is for. Prefix rules and revision handling are set to your scheme on a one page rules sheet your buyer fills in and your manager approves, and we pull a sample list against it before anything is billed. If the scheme has cases we can't model, we tell you then.
200 of your drawings, covering each type of part you buy: sheet metal, machined, weldments, 3D printed, purchased. PartRoute learns your title blocks and conventions from that set: the first 100 train it and the first pass rate is approved before the second 100 go in. The set is shared under the confidentiality terms in your order, used only for your setup and deleted at the end of the four weeks of setup adjustments. After that, both tools run on your network and nothing leaves.
Yes. Each is licensed on its own. PartRoute works on any folder of your drawings, whether VaultPull pulled them or your own export did. VaultPull is added when the pull itself is still manual. One site licence covers everyone at the site: buyers, planners or engineers.
Soltas, by email or phone, business hours Eastern time. Your configuration is documented and lives on your network, so support picks up from your setup, not from a blank page.
Updates, compatibility with the current and prior major release of PDM and Vault, and email and phone support with a reply within two business days. Rule changes during the four weeks of setup adjustments are included; after that, new requests are quoted before any work starts.
Not ready for a call?
Leave an email and we'll send the two page overview. Nothing else.
About Soltas
Soltas Group builds procurement tools for manufacturers and backs them with hands on sourcing experience. Founder John Solorzano, P.Eng, spent his career on both sides of the drawing: mechanical and process engineering at Husky Injection Molding Systems, then global sourcing and commodity management there and sourcing management at PURIS. VaultPull and PartRoute exist because the manual version got done too many times. We build the tools, configure them for each client and support them directly. Email and phone support during business hours, Eastern time, and updates for the current and prior release of PDM and Vault are included in every licence.
Get Started
Twenty minutes on a live vault, then setup on your own vault in two milestones, billed as each one is passed.
Book the 20 Minute CallDownload the two page overview (PDF)
Or reach us directly at john.solorzano@soltasgroup.com
