01 · Data model
Every installation has its own API
The REST reference is generated from each installation's data model. Custom attributes and classes differ between customers, so tools are written against your local OpenAPI spec, not a generic one.
For machinery manufacturers running CONTACT Elements
A CONTACT Elements MCP server for parts, BOMs and engineering changes under each user's own PLM permissions
A CONTACT Elements MCP server gives Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot tools for parts, BOMs, engineering changes and documents. CONTACT Elements generates an OpenAPI-documented REST API from each installation's data model. CONTACT ships no MCP server as of 21 September 2026, so Pexon builds one against your local spec.
Why CONTACT Elements is hard for agents
Where a CONTACT Elements connection needs engineering, not configuration
02 · Deployment
On premises and cloud are two worlds
On-premises CONTACT Elements and the SaaS CIM Database Cloud expose different surfaces. Functions and Webhooks exist only in the cloud, so the tool list depends on which one you run.
03 · Fourier AI
The vendor already ships AI inside
Fourier AI covers summaries and geometry search inside Elements. An external agent earns its place only across systems, for example PLM next to ERP or MES, not as a second assistant for the same screen.
04 · Revisions
Released and in-work look alike
Parts and documents carry an index, and released and in-work revisions sit side by side. Unless every tool asks for the index and release status explicitly, the agent quotes the wrong revision.
Checked 21 September 2026
CONTACT Elements at a glance: interfaces, access and what exists for AI
| What we found | |
|---|---|
| Interfaces | CONTACT Elements REST API (REST/JSON, docs behind customer or partner login): OpenAPI documentation generated from the installation's own data model and shipped with the product, not hosted publicly · CIM Database Cloud Functions and Webhooks (REST/JSON, docs public): public Python SDK for event-driven logic such as part_released or change_order_released; SaaS only, credentials via the CONTACT Portal · OSLC services (REST/JSON, docs public): for PLM and ALM linking; CONTACT maintains pyoslc on GitHub |
| Authentication | CONTACT's integration platform names OAuth and OIDC; CIM Database Cloud Functions use developer credentials from the CONTACT Portal. Authentication per REST endpoint is not documented publicly and is confirmed in the blueprint. |
| Vendor MCP server | No vendor server. No CONTACT MCP server found on contact-software.com or in the cslab GitHub organisation; the Elements 2026.2 release notes on Fourier AI do not mention MCP. |
| Vendor AI assistant | Fourier AI, embedded across CONTACT Elements 2026.2 since 28 May 2026, summarises documents and finds similar 3D geometry, combining market LLMs with CONTACT's own domain models. |
| Other connectors | None found. |
CONTACT Software GmbH (DE). Machinery, automotive and industrial manufacturers using CONTACT Elements as PLM for parts, BOMs, documents and change management, on premises or as the SaaS CIM Database Cloud.
What we build
A first CONTACT Elements tool list, written as the manifest your IT team signs
Built on what CONTACT Software GmbH documents: parts, BOM items, documents and CAD documents, projects, engineering changes, change requests and change orders, classification, materials, workflows and workflow tasks. Backends named below are documented resources; "confirmed in blueprint" means the vendor documentation sits behind a login and the resource is checked against your release first.
# contact-elements-mcp-server: tool manifest, draft for blueprint week 1
# Every tool runs as the person asking. Nothing is written without a person confirming.
tools:
get_part: # part number, index -> attributes, status, classification
backend: Elements REST part resource, path from your local OpenAPI, confirmed in blueprint
mode: read
get_bom: # part number, index -> BOM items with quantities
backend: Elements REST BOM resource, confirmed in blueprint
mode: read
list_engineering_changes: # part or project, status -> engineering changes with workflow state
backend: confirmed in blueprint
mode: read
search_documents: # project or part, type -> documents with index and release status
backend: Elements REST document resource, confirmed in blueprint
mode: read
draft_change_request: # part, description -> change request draft for an engineer to confirm
backend: confirmed in blueprint
mode: propose
audit: every call logged with user, tool, arguments and the CONTACT Elements responseThe manifest is the contract. A question that needs an operation not on it gets a new line and a review, not a wider permission.
CONTACT Elements holds the records. An assistant without a governed way in answers from whatever someone pasted into the chat. The connector is the governed way in: named operations, the person's own permissions, every call logged.
What the connector answers, and what it will not do
Questions it answers
- Which released BOM is valid for part 4711, and which positions changed in the last engineering change?
- Which engineering changes affecting assembly X are still open, and who owns the current workflow task?
- Which test specifications are linked to project P-123?
What it will not do
- Release, change or delete anything by itself: the only write tool drafts a change request and an engineer confirms it in CONTACT Elements.
- Read more than the asking user may read in CONTACT Elements; permissions come from Elements, not from the connector.
- Quote an in-work revision as released: every answer names the index and release status it comes from.
When this is the wrong page
If people want document summaries or similar-geometry search inside CONTACT Elements, Fourier AI is the shorter path and CONTACT maintains it. A connector is right when the assistant lives in Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot, or has to combine PLM data with ERP or MES.
Start with the Readiness Blueprint.
Two weeks, €4,900 fixed price. Week one agrees the tool list with your CONTACT Elements owners and checks every backend against your release and licence. Week two tests whether a person's own CONTACT Elements permissions reach through the connector. You keep the manifest and a costed build plan, whoever builds it. All prices are net and exclude VAT.
What we need from you: a named CONTACT Elements administrator, a test or sandbox system we may call, and one business owner who can say which questions the assistant should answer first. The first production connector is usually a use-case pilot from €15,000; it runs in your environment, and the code is yours.
Related
- Connectors for 100 source systems — the dated catalogue this page belongs to
- Claude MCP server development — how we build an MCP server for any internal system
Questions CONTACT Elements teams ask before the first tool call
Does CONTACT Elements have its own MCP server?
Not as of 21 September 2026. CONTACT ships Fourier AI inside Elements 2026.2 for summaries and geometry search, and its release notes do not mention MCP. An MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot has to be built against the Elements REST API.
Do we need extra CONTACT licences or access for an AI connector?
CONTACT does not publish licence terms for REST API access. On CIM Database Cloud, Functions and Webhooks need developer credentials from the CONTACT Portal. Check API access for your installation with CONTACT before the build.
Can the assistant see data a user is not allowed to see in CONTACT Elements?
No. Each call runs under the asking person's CONTACT Elements identity, so Elements' own permission check decides every answer. Two users asking the same question can get two different answers, and that is tested before go-live.
What does a CONTACT Elements connector cost?
The two-week Readiness Blueprint is fixed at €4,900: agreed tool list, backends checked against your release, identity tested end to end, costed build plan. The production connector is usually a use-case pilot from €15,000. Prices are net, excluding VAT.
Next step
Not a sales call. An architecture call.
Thirty minutes with the engineer who would build the connector, with your CONTACT Elements administrator in the room if you like.