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Joint Design and Managing Part Libraries

EM202501131943

Hi,

I'm new to Orcad CIS and working to integrate our old ODBC part library with our team. We've traditionally designed in-house but have spent the last five years collaborating with contract manufacturers.

One recurring challenge is that our contract manufacturers use a different part library, leading to mismatches in symbols, suppliers, and footprint names. As a result, we struggle to align internal part numbers and maintain a unified library for our supply chain.

How do other teams manage this workflow? Are there best practices or tools we should consider to streamline part library management and improve collaboration with our contract manufacturers?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

  • 0

    It appears that you have two separate databases, one containing information about contract manufacturers with their respective properties (e.g., symbols, footprints, and manufacturers), and another database with your own properties, are you looking to merge these databases ?

    Also which type of database you are using?

  • 0 in reply to Jeet

    Hi,

    We are currently using a 32-bit Microsoft Access database with a driver converting it to 64-bit ODBC. I'm pushing our IT team to migrate this to MySQL or a similar for easier maintenance.

    Here’s a quick overview of our workflow:

    • Previous Process:
      Our company originally focused solely on organic design. We built an internal database where our part numbers served as the primary key, storing parametric data, manufacturing part numbers, footprints, etc. When creating a BOM in CIS for export to our PLM software, everything remained well-synchronized.

    • Current Challenge:
      We have transitioned to a joint design approach, where our contract manufacturer (CM) handles sourcing and design alongside our engineers. Now, we receive a DSN file and an Excel BOM from the CM. We must manually cross-reference each part and update/create manufacturing part numbers in our database—an extremely time-consuming process. However, this system was originally intended to give us better control over BOMs and sourcing information.

    My Question:
    Is there a recommended workflow—such as sharing a common library or another method—that could streamline database management and BOM generation, making the process less chaotic?

  • 0 in reply to EM202501131943

    You can share the library with the designers with the required permissions on a network drive.

    Also, you can read about Library and Part Management in OrCAD X Capture 24.1

    URL: Library and Part Management in OrCAD X Capture -- Component Caching

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