Most manufacturing teams track parts and tooling in spreadsheets or scattered notes that live outside the instructions where they’re actually used. In Threaded, Parts and Tools are organization-wide tables that connect directly into your work instructions through @mentions. This means your instruction set doesn’t just describe how to build, it describes what it takes to build, with full traceability from individual work steps up through your entire value stream.

#The Parts Table

The Parts table is your organization’s master list of components used across your value stream. Each part record includes fields for part number, description, unit of measure, make or buy, supplier, supplier part number, supplier lead time, minimum order quantity, one time cost, cost, and notes. Together these fields give you a complete picture of your supply chain in the context of how and where each part is used in production. The Usage column tracks where the part is referenced across your instruction set automatically.

#Adding Parts

Parts can be added in three ways:

Manually: Click “Add Part” in the Parts table. The creation dialog asks for a part number and description to get started. The remaining fields can be filled in from the table or detail view after the part is created.
In bulk via AI: Provide a CSV or BOM to the AI Assistant and ask it to create parts from it. This is the fastest way to populate your table from existing data.
Inline from a work step: While editing a step, type @ followed by the part name. If no match exists, a “Create Part” option appears, letting you add the part without leaving the instruction you’re writing.

#Part Details

Clicking on a part in the table opens its detail view, where you can edit all fields and see everywhere the part is referenced across your instruction set. This usage view makes it easy to understand the full scope of a part’s role in your process: which procedures use it, in what quantities, and at which operations.

#The Tools Table

The Tools table maintains a library of equipment and tooling used across your instruction set. Each tool record includes a name, description, cost, and notes. The Usage column tracks where each tool is referenced across your procedures automatically, so you can see not just what tools are needed but where they appear and what it costs to run the system.

#Adding Tools

Tools can be added the same three ways as parts:

Manually: Click “Add Tool” in the Tools table. The creation dialog includes name, description, cost, and notes, so you can fill in the full record upfront.
In bulk via AI: Describe the tools or provide a list, and the AI Assistant can create them for you.
Inline from a work step: Type @ followed by the tool name while editing a step, and select “Create Tool” if no match exists.

#Tool Details

Like parts, clicking on a tool opens its detail view showing all fields and a usage summary of where the tool is referenced across your instruction set. This makes it straightforward to understand which operations depend on a given piece of equipment.

#Linking Parts and Tools in Work Steps

Parts and tools tables come to life when linked directly into work steps using @mentions. While editing a step, type @ to open the mention menu and link to any part or tool in your tables.

When linking a part, you specify the quantity used in that step, or “ref” if the part is only referenced but not consumed. This distinction matters for rollup: consumed parts contribute to the bill of materials for a procedure, while referenced parts are tracked for traceability without inflating material counts.

Linked parts and tools automatically appear in the procedure summary on the right-hand side and roll up to the Summary Page for the instruction set. Usage is tracked in the tables themselves, so you can see everywhere a specific part or tool is referenced across your entire value stream from a single view.

For more on @mentions and linking, see Search and Mentions.

#Traceability and Change Tracking

Because parts and tools are linked references rather than free text, changes to the tables are consistent and traceable across the entire instruction set. If a part number changes, a supplier is updated, or a tool is replaced, the update is made once in the table and reflected everywhere it’s referenced.

These changes are captured in the diff during a Change Request review, just like edits to procedures and work steps. Reviewers can see exactly what changed in the parts or tools tables alongside instruction changes, ensuring nothing is missed when a CR is processed through Version Control.

#AI-Powered Analysis

The AI Assistant can work directly with your parts and tools data to support deeper analysis of your process. A few examples:

Audit parts usage: Ask the AI to identify parts that are used in only one or two procedures, flagging potential single-point dependencies in your supply chain.
Clean up a tools table: Have the AI review your tools for duplicates, missing specs, or tools that appear in work steps but aren’t in the table.
Supply chain risk: Ask the AI to analyze your parts table and summarize supplier concentration, lead time exposure, or cost risks across your value stream.
Bulk import: Provide a CSV or BOM and ask the AI to create all parts at once, mapping columns to the right fields.

For more prompts and use cases, see AI Assistant Use Cases.

#Why This Matters

When parts and tools are linked into your work instructions, your instruction set becomes more than a collection of procedures. It becomes a connected description of your production system. Engineers can analyze where specific parts are used, understand the cost and lead time implications of process changes, and identify supply chain dependencies directly from the instruction set. This is the kind of operational intelligence that typically requires cross-referencing multiple systems, but in Threaded it’s built into the instructions themselves.

Parts and Tools