kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Jon Evans <jon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Clemens,

On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 9:34 AM Clemens Koller <cko@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hello!
>
> This is related to the previous thread: "Automatic assignment of footprint
> with a database"
>
> I would generally prefer assemble real components on a real PCB right from
> the beginning instead of first placing generic components and then assign
> footprints + manufacturers + types + x manually. This seems extra work for
> each component which could possibly be avoided.
>

Me too!


> So, regarding on the Kicad codebase, I would very likely not recomment to
> embed a full component management / database system, since this might vary
> from site to site and even from project/assembly house to project/house.
> But it would be great to be able to have an interface to grab a component
> out of a database and Kicad grabs all desired / a selection of individual
> columns out of the database as needed.
> This might include the actual footprints stored in the database as well.
>

What I plan on implementing is not a "full" database management system, but
rather an interface to grab info out of a database, just like you say.
The only difference is, there are no plans to store actual symbols or
footprints in the database.
The symbols and footprints will still be stored in "normal" KiCad library
files; the database will just contain "pointers" telling KiCad which symbol
to use (and what library it can be found in).

BTW, the example schema in your email looks very familiar to me.  This is
the kind of data source that can be used with the feature I am talking
about: just add columns to the schema for tracking which KiCad symbol and
footprint(s) should be used for a part.

Regarding the advanced features you mention, some of them sound like they
would be handled by a PLM tool.
Some of the PLM tools I have worked with can interface to external
databases for managing this kind of component library for an EDA or
mechanical CAD tool.

Best,
Jon