Add a part with no footprint to an autogenerated BOM?

Drawing Schematics, Hierarchical Design, BOM, Exporting net-lists, etc.
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jeremyh
Posts: 8
Joined: 07 Oct 2016, 02:54

Add a part with no footprint to an autogenerated BOM?

#1 Post by jeremyh » 02 Nov 2017, 15:39

Hi,

Is it possible to have a part on the schematic with no footprint such that it will be added to the BOM, but not present in the PCB? For example, I would like to add a flat flex cable so that when I generate the BOM for the schematic, it is included. I realise I can have a part with no attached pattern, but then I get an error when moving to the PCB.

Thanks,
Jeremy

Alex
Technical Support
Posts: 3897
Joined: 13 Jun 2010, 23:43

Re: Add a part with no footprint to an autogenerated BOM?

#2 Post by Alex » 03 Nov 2017, 02:21

Hi Jeremy,

Of course it it possible to add a part without attached pattern. The part will be added to BOM but will be absent in PCB Layout.

jeremyh
Posts: 8
Joined: 07 Oct 2016, 02:54

Re: Add a part with no footprint to an autogenerated BOM?

#3 Post by jeremyh » 03 Nov 2017, 03:30

Yes, I realise this, but when going to PCB I receive an error stating that the component has no footprint. Is there a way to suppress this error for certain components? I'd still like to have the error in case I did indeed forget to add a footprint to a real component, but the false positive is likely to make me ignore the error.

Thanks,
Jeremy

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

Re: Add a part with no footprint to an autogenerated BOM?

#4 Post by Tomg » 03 Nov 2017, 06:14

If you don't mind a "dummy" pattern on or next to your PCB layout, the following work-around will give you a non-electrical component with a non-electrical pattern that will also show up in the BOM...
1) In the Pattern Editor, open a custom pattern library and create a new, non-electrical pattern that will represent your cable using only drawing objects on the Top Assy layer (do not add pads or any other copper). The pattern must have at least two drawing objects (e.g. lines/rectangles/etc). Give it a name (e.g. "cable_5") and a reference designator prefix (e.g. "W") and resave the custom library.
2) In the Component Editor, open a custom component library and create a new, non-electrical schematic symbol that will represent your cable using only the drawing tools (do not add pins). Give it a name (e.g. "cable_5") and a reference designator prefix (e.g. "W"), attach the new, non-electrical custom pattern to it (see above) and resave the custom component library.
3) Drop the new, non-electrical, custom cable component into your schematic and resave it.
4) In your PCB layout use the Renew Layout from Schematic (By Components...) tool to bring in the new, non-electrical, custom cable component, place it where you need it and resave the PCB.

Or you could put these things on a custom layer that will not be included with the Gerber files. Anyway, food for thought.
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