Printed circuit board (PCB) design involves managing enormous complexity. Hundreds or thousands of components must be integrated into a complex board layout with multiple schematics, layers, and electrical connections. Maintaining an accurate bill of materials (BOM) is critical throughout the PCB design process.
A dedicated BOM management system provides major advantages over spreadsheet BOMs for electronics design engineers. This article explores the capabilities and benefits of a BOM management tool for PCB development.
Challenges with Spreadsheet BOMs for PCB Design
Traditionally, many PCB designers use Excel spreadsheets to list components and track BOMs. But spreadsheets quickly become unwieldy with hundreds of parts and multiple schematics.
Common pain points with spreadsheet BOMs include:
- Difficulty navigating large, complex component lists
- Hard to visualize hierarchy across schematics, assemblies, and boards
- Labor intensive manual work copying data between tools
- High risk of human error during manual updates
- No linkage between BOM and CAD design
- Collaboration difficulties across teams
- No integrations with supply chain/ERP systems
- Weak change management and version control
- Limited reporting and analytics
These limitations reduce engineering productivity, introduce errors, and make it hard to scale the design process.
Capabilities of a BOM Management System
A dedicated BOM management tool overcomes the shortcomings of spreadsheets. Key capabilities include:
Centralized database – All component data is stored in a centralized database accessible to authorized users, not in siloed spreadsheets.
CAD integrations – Native integrations with ECAD tools like Altium, Eagle, OrCad, and KiCad avoid manual data entry and synchronization between systems.
Automated data flows – Data flows between schematics, layouts, libraries, and BOM automatically avoiding copying errors.
Visual hierarchy modelling – Intuitive visualization of complex hierarchies and component relationships across schematics and assemblies.
Configurable templates – Define reusable templates for parts numbering, categorization, attribute fields, and more.
Revision control – Manage, audit, and report on component and BOM changes at each design revision.
Version comparison – Identify BOM differences across versions to see incremental changes during design maturity.
Collaborative workflow – Securely collaborate on BOMs across teams with controls over edits and approvals.
Custom reporting – Generate BOM reports tailored to the needs of engineering, manufacturing, quality teams, and other stakeholders.
Supply chain integration – Link BOM data to procurement systems for quoting, ordering, and inventory visibility.
Manufacturing outputs – Automated generation of manufacturing deliverables like assembly drawings, work instructions, and test procedures from the BOM.
Benefits of BOM Management Software for PCB Design
Using a dedicated tool brings major productivity and quality benefits compared to spreadsheets:
1. Faster Design Cycles
BOM tools streamline PCB design work by eliminating tedious manual work. They also enable faster iteration by simplifying component management across design revisions.
2. Improved Quality
Automated BOM updates and data flows reduce human errors like mismatched references, incorrect part substitutions, and outdated component data that result in expensive design re-spins.
3. Better Design Insights
Advanced reporting provides real-time visibility into key design metrics like component costs, sourcing risks, lifecycle status, compliance issues, etc.
4. Smoother Handoff to Manufacturing
Manufacturing teams get accurate, up-to-date BOMs in the formats they need to start prototyping and production without delays or mistakes.
5. Simplified Supply Chain Management
Integrations with procurement systems ease parts sourcing, quoting, and ordering. Component data stays synced across systems.
6. Seamless Team Collaboration
All stakeholders can securely access and collaborate on a single source of truth for component data to achieve design objectives faster.
7. Improved Compliance
The revision history, audit trails, access controls, and reporting aid regulatory compliance for industries like medical devices.
8. Easier Design Reuse
Component data and BOM templates make it simpler to repurpose existing designs for new product variants.
9. Enhanced Change Management
Engineering change orders and product variants are faster by reusing previous component data with automated BOM updates.
10. Scalability for Complexity
BOM tools easily handle exponentially greater complexity as component counts, schematics, design layers, and product configurations increase.
Key BOM Management Features for PCB Design
Leading PCB BOM management systems offer these capabilities tailored for electronics:
Component database – Centralized database of standardized parts with attributes like manufacturer, datasheets, lifecycle status, compliance data, cost, and lead times.
Parametric component creation – Quickly generate parametric component templates to reuse with varying values.
Component cross-referencing – Automated linkage of components used across schematics and layouts.
Part number incrementing – Auto-numbering of parts and assemblies using configurable sequences.
Part substitution management – Ability to replace components while maintaining design integrity and BOM accuracy.
Design data integrations – Bi-directional integrations with Altium, Eagle, OrCAD, and other ECAD tools to synchronize component data.
Real-time BOM synchronization – Immediately reflect component changes from the schematic editor in the BOM.
multi-channel – Support for multi-channel design with automated BOM synchronization across all channels.
Design variants – Manage BOM differences across hardware revisions and design variants.
Supply chain integration – Automate BOM data transfer to procurement and manufacturing systems.
Compliance reporting – Reports to quickly identify components that are obsolete, missing data, high risk, etc.
Cost rollup reporting – Instantly roll up component costs at various assembly levels for analysis.
BOM comparison – Compare old and new BOM versions to see incremental differences between revisions.
Engineering change documentation – Auto-generate ECO documentation including redline drawings from BOM changes.
Advantages Over PCB Design Software BOM Tools
Many PCB design suites like Altium, Eagle, and OrCAD have integrated BOM management modules. But standalone BOM systems offer some key advantages:
- Deeper capabilities to manage complex BOM hierarchies across multi-level designs
- Integrations with a wider range of design tools, not just a single vendor
- Easy collaboration across internal teams and external supply chain partners
- Advanced reporting for actionable design insights
- Superior integrations with manufacturing execution systems
- Built-in workflows to coordinate BOM processes across the organization
- Centralized component database avoids replicating parts libraries in multiple CAD systems
- Unified platform to manage BOMs as products transition from design to production
- Standards library ensures consistency in parts data attributes
For organizations with basic BOM needs, the integrated BOM tools within ECAD software may suffice. But the enhanced capabilities of a dedicated BOM platform becomes more valuable as design complexity increases.
Steps to Implementing a BOM Management System
Follow these best practices when rolling out an electronics BOM management solution:
Set up component database – Build a standard component library to unify parts data attributes across designs. Leverage component data from suppliers.
Define templates and workflows – Configure the tool with your preferred BOM templates, attribute fields, workflows and integrations.
Clean up existing BOMs – Take time to clean up and standardize legacy BOMs before importing them.
Map out hierarchy – Plan the component and assembly hierarchy framework to enable BOM scalability.
Integrate with authoring tools – Establish real-time data exchange between the BOM system and ECAD front-ends.
Onboard design teams – Train engineers on using the tool within their normal CAD workflows.
Refine through pilot projects – Improve templates and processes using pilot PCB projects to catch issues early.
Expand access – Gradually open up access to read-only BOM views for non-engineering stakeholders.
Iterate capabilities over time – Prioritize new integrations and capabilities based on evolving needs.
Conclusion
Using modern BOM management software instead of spreadsheets provides major productivity and quality advantages for PCB design teams. The automation, accuracy, collaboration capabilities, integrations with CAD tools and supply chain systems, and advanced reporting lead to better design outcomes.
Leading electronics companies use solutions like Arena PLM and Altium 365 to achieve order-of-magnitude improvements in BOM efficiency across complex, multi-level PCB projects. For mission-critical PCB designs, the ROI from implementing a robust BOM management platform is substantial.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How suitable are BOM management tools for double-sided or multilayer PCB designs?
A: BOM tools easily handle multilayer PCB designs by tracing components across layers and automatically aggregating them into the BOM. This avoids tedious manual work.
Q: Do BOM systems help manage counterfeit component risks?
A: Yes, leading BOM tools integrate with supply chain platforms to access component lifecycle data. Designers can identify risky end-of-life or gray market parts and take mitigation steps.
Q: Can I collaborate with contract manufacturers on BOMs?
A: Collaboration capabilities like vendor portals allow secure external access so you can smoothly share BOM data with your EMS partners during handoff.
Q: How do BOM systems help with component availability issues?
A: By integrating with procurement systems, you get early visibility into sourcing risks due to shortages or obsolescence to make component substitutions.
Q: Do we need a BOM tool if we use an enterprise PLM system?
A: Many PLM systems have BOM capabilities. But electronics focused BOM tools often have deeper features tailored to ECAD tool integration and electrical component management.
