Octo for aerospace PLM
In product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, Windchill and Aras expose OData, an open web query protocol; Teamcenter and 3DEXPERIENCE, JSON web services. With a read-only account, Octo can extract bills of materials (BOM), compare views and revisions, check the configuration and summarize open changes, all prepared for human review. The configuration engineer approves; the client's export compliance team grants access.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. All start from a read-only account and a machine that can reach the server; none changes released data, and all go to a person for review.
It can read a part's structure through the API (GetPartStructure in Windchill, $expand in Aras, BOM window in Teamcenter) and flatten it into CSV, with the configuration criterion (view, effectivity, revision) noted in each extraction.
It can compare revisions, engineering (eBOM) and manufacturing (mBOM) views or different effectivities and flag what was added, removed or changed quantity. The eBOM × mBOM comparison uses the manufacturing module, which must be licensed.
Deliverable: line-by-line difference reportIt can look for parts without a released revision inside a released structure, quantities that differ between views, orphan items and unapproved alternates. The result is a list; the configuration engineer decides.
Deliverable: list of inconsistencies for decisionIt can read the change APIs (ChangeMgmt in Windchill, /Affected_Item in Aras, Change Management in Teamcenter) and summarize changes by age, affected items and pending approvers.
It can read the OData $metadata and your installation's custom types and propose the integration guide that usually doesn't exist: types, attributes, views, navigation criteria.
Proposes the extraction from the old product data management (PDM) system, the attribute mapping and the load through the new one's API (OData or SOA, service-oriented architecture, services), with a count reconciliation trial between the two.
Deliverable: scripts + count reconciliationThe same Octo cycle, applied to PLM. Each arm has a narrow role; approvals and access are granted by people at your company.
Which PLM, which version, on-premises or cloud, which modules are licensed. Reads the $metadata and custom types: each site configures types, attributes and views its own way.
Which view (engineering, manufacturing, service), which effectivity and which revision apply to each extraction. Without an explicit criterion, two BOMs can't be compared.
Nothing is read before sign-off from the client's export compliance team. Read-only account, respecting Windchill security labels, 3DEXPERIENCE IP Security Manager or Teamcenter access control (ADA).
OData in Windchill and Aras; SOA services in JSON in Teamcenter; web services with a CSRF token in 3DEXPERIENCE. For a no-code dashboard, Windchill's read-only PDM domain.
Prepares Python scripts with each platform's authentication (Basic and CSRF_NONCE, OAuth 2.0 in Aras 14+, 3DPassport and CAS login), paging with $skiptoken and CSV output.
Compares the extraction with what the PLM screen shows for the same part and the same criterion: line count, quantities, revisions. Checks by content, not by the HTTP response.
Only with your OK, it runs on the machine the client approved, inside the client's network, and leaves the spreadsheet or report right there for review.
Routes, domains, custom types and what was confirmed on your version. The next report starts from this record, and a script from one site isn't assumed ready for another.
Octo doesn't approve changes or decide export classification. Sending controlled data (ITAR/EAR, US export control regulations) to any external service, including AI, must first be assessed by the client's compliance team.
The criteria Octo uses to choose, platform by platform. Read-only, with an explicit configuration criterion.
| Task | Path | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Compare eBOM × mBOM | Windchill BomTransformation and MfgProcMgmt; Teamcenter and 3DEXPERIENCE in the manufacturing structures | Requires a manufacturing module license |
| List open changes and affected items | Windchill ChangeMgmt; Aras /Affected_Item; Teamcenter Change Management | Basis for the weekly change report |
| Read-only dashboard in Power BI or Excel | Windchill PDM domain (OData, read-only); Teamcenter 2606 Power BI integration (June 2026) | No code to write |
| Check what a foreign user can see | Windchill security labels; 3DEXPERIENCE IP Security Manager; Teamcenter ADA | Administrators only; AI doesn't decide classification |
| Legacy PDM migration | Native export + load through the target's API (OData or SOA) | With a count reconciliation trial |
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results in your operation and cleared export compliance.
A proposal, not a promise
With a read-only account and an authorized machine, you ask in business terms and Octo proposes the script and the spreadsheet.
The change report and the configuration check can run on a schedule, in the client's environment.
Your site's data model can become a guide, and a legacy PDM (product data management) migration can count on extraction and reconciliation prepared for review.
$metadata and the custom typesEvery point below has a source published by the vendor, the project or the responsible agency. The sources are in the next section.
4
points with a published source, each with its reference alongside.
/Windchill/servlet/odata/<Domain>/, with domains such as ProdMgmt, ChangeMgmt and EffectivityMgmt; Aras at /server/odata/, with $filter, $expand and OAuth 2.0 since version 14.Source: Windchill REST help (domains, 13.1.2.0); “Aras Innovator 34 – RESTful API”GetBOM is out, GetPartStructure staysGetPartStructure with $levels=max and the CSRF_NONCE header; versions 1 to 5 of the domain were discontinued as of REST Services 2.6.Source: Windchill REST help, GetPartStructure (12.0.2.0)Octo prepares everything, but does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: spreadsheets, reports, drawings and drafts.
Deliverable: material ready to checkThe licensed professional checks what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the signerOcto does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT (Brazil's professional responsibility records), accountability reports and any official document are still signed by the company's or agency's licensed professional: here, the responsible engineer and the certification authority.
Sign-off: responsible engineer and certification authorityDocumentation and announcements from the vendors themselves used in the research.
The assessment starts with your export compliance team and a read-only account, without changing anything. You get a proposal of what can be extracted and checked in your PLM and decide with it in hand.