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Bill of Materials / BOM

Get the Help you Need Selecting PCB Components with Bill of Materials Software

Get the Help you Need Selecting PCB Components with Bill of Materials Software I’m in the middle of replacing the electric motor in my bathroom fan, but, unfortunately, I have no idea what to purchase. A 30-year-old ventilation fan part replacement is proving to be a real chore. I am amazed at how many different types of motor and fan combinations there are to choose from. One has the hardware bolts on the correct side, but the fan turns the wrong direction. The next turns correctly with the wrong shaft length. You may have Read Article

PCB Fabrication and Assembly Processes and Where Wave Soldering Fits In

PCB Fabrication and Assembly Processes and Where Wave Soldering Fits In Growing up, I sometimes felt like an Army brat. My dad was in the Air Force, not the Army and we only moved a couple of times. Nevertheless, every time we relocated to a new city I had the same issues to struggle with. Basically, trying to fit into a new environment with new people. From a PCB designer’s perspective, trying to learn about the PCB fabrication and assembly and what role certain processes play can be similar. It is advantageous to Read Article

Automating Your BOM System for PCB CAD Library Quality and Compliance

Automating Your BOM System for PCB CAD Library Quality and Compliance Some years back I was helping my son organize his finances, and he was explaining to me how he didn’t need to track anything because all of that information was available to him online. The benefits that online banking provides are fantastic for sure, but they don’t quite cover everything. I asked him how he was tracking the checks that he had written which hadn’t cleared yet, and he dismissed me with a wave of his hand. These days, after several Read Article

Using a BOM Tool Enables You to Create Your Design with Confidence

Using a BOM Tool Enables You to Create Your Design with Confidence My dog is so old that he sleeps 20 hours a day and naps the other four. Therefore it was with great surprise the other day when he attacked another dog while we were out on a walk. This other smaller dog had simply come over to say “hi,” and my dog suddenly lunged at him. Fortunately, his bark really is bigger than his bite and the other dog wasn’t hurt in the least. I’ve got to admit though that I admire his confidence because at his age a Read Article

Put the Power of a BOM Template to Work for You

Put the Power of a BOM Template to Work for You One of the dictionary definitions of the word “template” is; anything that determines or serves as a pattern or a model. Without realizing it, I bet that we all rely on a lot of templates in our lives. I have certain document templates that I use for work, and my wife has hundreds of patterns that she uses when sewing. I even have a designated pattern set for my Christmas decorations so that I can quickly put them up and then easily take them Read Article

Remote BOM Access Makes Work as Easy as Hitting a Button

Remote BOM Access Makes Work as Easy as Hitting a Button It seems like you can’t purchase any electronic device anymore without it coming with a remote control. TVs, radios, and computers all have them, and you can even find them on fireplaces and air conditioners. This is not a complaint, I love having the ability to control things remotely. I have enough years behind me that I remember having to get up and walk over to the TV to change the channel. In my opinion the more remote control the better off Read Article

Single-Sided Versus Double-Sided PCB Costs Are Necessary Comparisons

Difference Between Single-Sided and Double-Sided PCBs: Necessary Costs Comparisons Duck hunters cherish their favorite call. With hundreds of available calls at our fingertips, choosing the right call can challenge anyone. Single and double reed duck calls perform differently and vary in cost. Conventional wisdom might conclude that “double” translates into “more value.” Yet, professional and experienced duck callers prefer single reed calls. Since many beginners don’t have time to practice, many choose a double reed duck call Read Article

BOM Control: Setting up your PCB Documentation for Success

BOM Control: Setting up your PCB Documentation for Success Years ago I ventured into the world of remote control helicopters. Not the ready-to-fly-out-of-the-box drones that they sell today, but a gas-engine, Bell-Hiller mix, remote-controlled helicopter. What the salesman didn’t tell me though was about all the other items that I would need to purchase in order to complete it. I was going to have to purchase the engine, muffler, radio components, servos, starter, battery, as well as much more. As you Read Article

Bill of Materials Management Strategies: Automation is Your Friend

Bill of Materials Management Strategies: Automation is Your Friend When I was a boy I really enjoyed reading the “Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators” mystery books. These books were a contemporary to “The Hardy Boys” mystery books and I filled a lot of my free time reading about “The Secret of Terror Castle”, “The Mystery of the Screaming Clock”, and many other frightful enigmas. A few years ago I ran across some of these books, and now I collect as many as I can find. Another avid fan I know said it Read Article

How to Create a Bill of Materials That Meets Your Needs

How to Create a Bill of Materials That Meets Your Needs Sometimes when pressed to answer a question that I’m not prepared for like, “what do you want for your birthday”, I’ll respond flippantly; “small stacks of hundreds please!” I don’t even remember where I got this quote from, but I tend to use it a lot. It often kills the conversation and in the case of my wife, it earns me an immediate “annoyed wife glare” in response. Wouldn’t it be nice though if just for once someone actually honored my Read Article

Optimizing Your BOM for Rapid Prototype Manufacturing

BOM Optimization for Rapid Prototype Manufacturing Your BOM can make your manufacturing speeds, especially if you want your prototyping to be done quick and smooth. Read Article

Learn to Manage Your BOM Inventory for Smooth Production Runs

Learn to Manage Your BOM Inventory for Smooth Production Runs I’ve recently gotten into fermenting kombucha (which, I am well aware, is about the most hipster thing I could have said), and I ordered a handful of different-sized mason jars online in order to store it. Mason jars are reliable as ever but with the increasing popularity of home-fermenting and brewing, they’re one part of an industry trying to optimize how we store. During my ordering process alone, I had twelve tabs open of marginally different Read Article

Create a BOM That Works for Everyone

Create a BOM That Works for Everyone For me, socks have always been about utility: they keep my feet from getting blisters. Yet for years I have spent far too much time sorting and organizing my socks to match up the colors. Browns with browns, blues with blues, and yellows with… well, to tell the truth, I would just throw those away. Yellow socks were just too weird for me. Then one day I decided to simplify my life and I replaced all my colored socks with plain black socks Read Article

From Shack to Shed: What is a Bill of Materials and How Does it Help

From Shack to Shed: What is a Bill of Materials and How Does it Help I’m planning on building a new utility shed in my backyard; the original shed was old and worn out when I first bought the house 20 years ago and it absolutely has to be replaced now. In fact, if it wasn’t for the thick coating of rust that seems to be protecting it, I’m not sure that it would even be standing anymore. I haven’t used a hammer and nails in my PCB designs before, so I ordered some plans on how to build this “Deluxe Backyard Storage Read Article

Pass The Baton Well to PCB Design Successors

Pass The Baton Well to PCB Design Successors Have you ever walked into a new job, first-day energy rolling through your shoulders, only to sit down and look at the notes left from the person who last had your job and know exactly what the problem was: poor organization. Poor organization is usually pretty noticeable in any work process; however, it takes on its most detrimental final form when you are trying to train someone based on the poorly organized leftovers of someone else. Early in Read Article

Bill of Materials for PCB: Part Number System and Organization, or Packing Tetris?

Bill of Materials for PCB: Part Numbering Systems and Organization, or Packing Tetris? It would be great if spending a day at the beach didn’t require gathering towels and chairs, fixing lunch, and making sure there was enough sunscreen to go around. Swimsuit selection, packing up, and traveling are also unpleasant chores. It would be nice to just think “beach” while sitting on the couch, and suddenly be comfortably working on a tan with your toes in the sand. That’s the thing about organization though; it’s what really gets us Read Article

BOM Cost Analysis Shows PCB Design Savings Just Over the Horizon

BOM Cost Analysis Shows PCB Design Savings Just Over the Horizon Ever have a rocky day? Or have the wind taken out of your sails? These and many other phrases have some of their roots as nautical expression but have been adapted for everyday use. “Keeping a weather eye,” for example, means to pay attention to the weather regardless of what else you might be doing. Sailors might not have intended to start this linguistic drifting, but at sea, overlooking a rapidly approaching cloud or a brief drop in the wind Read Article