At present, we add parts to schematic and with each part we can add a field to specify the part for the BOM.
In a common use case, we export the parts list as a CSV file and upload it to Digikey or similar to create a list or an order.
There is just one column that gets loaded as the part numbers. Therefore we get to list just one part number for each part.
But, there are many parts that require that more than item in the BOM. For example, a socketed chip requires both the chip and the socket.
And there are parts for which we need ancillary items, ribbon cables and idc sockets for example.
At present all we have to work with the symbols field table. The BOM comes from that, as far as I know.
It has gotten a lot better. But we really MUST have a way to generate the BOM with these extra items, i,e, more than one item for certain parts, and ancillary items.
The standard way to handle this is by adding extra symbols (marked “excluded from board”) in your schematic. This is the same in KiCad and other CAD tools I’ve used.
I made a “misc box” schematic symbol. It doesn’t push to PCB but will to BOM. Has the parameters that I want to push. Sometimes I get fancy and draw an item that will look like the item (screw, nut, heatsink) other times I’m lazy and just leave it as a box. Usually I try to give it a designator similar to that which it’s associated with (“Socket_U1” for instance), that way on the BOM it’s clear what it goes to (can’t always do that but it’s great when I can).
Been a while since I made the symbol for KiCAD, I’ve already forgotten how, but I have a separate folder for personal libraries and it is filed away in there. Just a simple box. Failing that, you could find a symbol that is simple, set to Exclude from board, and edit the fields to push what you want.
I create multiple dummy symbols depending on the type of item. I think it’s nice to have graphics representing the thing that needs to be installed rather than a blank box for everything. I have a fuse, screw, PCB, etc
That’s a lot of work. I think we should be able to just manually enter a “no-symbol” item into the bulk edit form for symbols and have it create a small text box in the schematic and include the part in the BOM.
It’s really not. Each symbol took me like 2-3 minutes to draw and there are like 5 of them. Once they are drawn they are in the library for use on any future project. I also didn’t do them all at once, I added them one by one when a new situation came up and I thought “I could just draw a fuse-shaped symbol”
May be you will find it being interested how I do it. When I was waiting for KiCad V5 (was told to be soon) to design my first PCB I spend time preparing my libraries and everything needed to make documentations. What I have done those time I still use, but version after version some tasks can be done easier.
I have written about it here (with zip containing example):
It was for V7. With V7 I was going with it via csv. With V8 I found that I can just copy what I need directly from KiCad window without even saving csv file.
As someone said he has some problems with my previous description I have written more detailed description:
