Can I get a BOM in PCB?

Making PCB Layouts, Manual routing, Auto-routing, Copper pouring, Updating from Schematic, Manufacturing Output
Post Reply
Message
Author
unshaven
Posts: 31
Joined: 25 Dec 2012, 12:12

Can I get a BOM in PCB?

#1 Post by unshaven » 29 Jul 2017, 08:05

Hey,

I recently copy & pasted some different small PCB layouts (different circuits) into one PCB project to get a bigger PCB comprising the smaller ones.
The things is that Diprace PCB renumbered all the components, presumably because it doesn't allow duplicate names.
Perhaps this is not the best way of doing this or generally rather uncommon (different circuits on one "quasi panel").
But that's the way that seemed to work.

Now, if the program does renumbering, it would be nice to also get the BOM for this, as they don't exist outside the PCB. There is no compound schematic.
I don't find BOM anywhere in the menu of Schematic, nor in its help.

Is there a way to back-convert a PCB into a schematic, so I can generate a BOM?

Tomg
Expert
Posts: 2028
Joined: 20 Jun 2015, 07:39

Re: Can I get a BOM in PCB?

#2 Post by Tomg » 29 Jul 2017, 12:20

unshaven wrote:"...Diprace PCB renumbered all the components..."
In the PCB Layout editor try using Edit > Keep RefDes while Pasting when bringing in the other PCBs to see if that helps. As far as I know, the BOM can't be generated from the PCB Layout editor. To generate the BOM from the Schematic Editor, select Objects > Bill of Materials... to bring up the BOM dialog window.
unshaven wrote:"...Is there a way to back-convert a PCB into a schematic, so I can generate a BOM?"...
According to the Help files, the Schematic Editor's Back Annotate "...feature has limited functionality (only updates the reference designators, values and types of components, net names, and net classes) and is not capable to add new components or create new nets on the principal circuit..."
Tom

unshaven
Posts: 31
Joined: 25 Dec 2012, 12:12

Re: Can I get a BOM in PCB?

#3 Post by unshaven » 29 Jul 2017, 22:47

"Edit > Keep RefDes while Pasting"

Damn, I somehow overlooked that.
Thanks, will try that for next time.

Now it's too late, I was in a hurry as my go-to cheapo PCB maker has now closed some weeks for summer holidays, so I had them made with the funny refdes numbers with the idea in my mind I'd use the compound board file to get the BOM from ;-) Which would have been bearable for those prototypes.

As I see there's "diptrace ASCII" export, looks like I need to write a parser for that to extract the BOM from ;-) (yeeeah I could manually write them down from the list to the right, like, write down a couple, scroll down, repeat... but writing the parser is more fun)

Post Reply