Electronics > Altium Designer

How to organize company parts library

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Varal:
Hello Everyone,

I’ve been entrusted with a task to create a common Altium Designer library to use by every designer in the company I work for. So far the idea is to go with a MySQL server to store all the necessary info like datasheet location, manufacturer part number, supplier part number, footprint location, etc. and an SVN server to store all the physical files like SchLib, PcbLib and datasheet PDFs. My only concern for now is how to make it possible for designers to upload their own components to the database / SVN server but without the possibility of altering any other data residing within. Also some sort of information that the newly uploaded component needs revision is necessary.

Can anyone of you please share your experience on how your company databases are organized? I know that the new Vault technology has the capabilities to do everything I need but that is not an option for now due to costs.

Thanks a lot for all your answers :)

HWgeek:
With 130 views, no one can comment on how their company organizes the libraries?   We are actually in the same boat, and investigating the "how best" to do this too.   Hoping some folks here can chime in with their experience(s).

ohmineer:
This is a topic that I had interest for some months ago. I did not have enough time to do a complete research but I found some applications you might want to look at.
Sorry, I could not test any of them, so I don't know whether they meet your requirements:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/billofmaterialsmanagement/
http://www.ecdb.net/about.php
http://www.partkeepr.org/about/screenshots/

To my knowledge, when you use a Version Control System, there is less danger when uploading changes on the repository because you can always (unless disaster) go back and recover the original file.

I hope it helps...

HackedFridgeMagnet:
I have never come across a system like you describe though I would imagine larger companies have this de rigeur.

But I think you have the building blocks of your system in front of you, ie source control and a DB.

All you really need is a front end so users can easily do what they need to do while minimising mistakes.
If you cant find a 3rd party app, which is likely, you will have to roll your own.
If you do find something off the shelf which fits your needs then let us know.

Could be web or it could be a thick client. I think I would go thick client.
Maybe you could even dispense with SVN as it is really only a db and a front end itself.
If you did start to develop something like this then you could do in as small a chunks as possible, sort of Agile fashion.
 

free_electron:
why do you want to roll your own crazy system ?

That is what the Vault is for.
Deploy the vault server , set admins for the vault and start plugging away parts in the vault. you can attach all data to a vault item. schematic symbol , pcb footprint, vendors, alternate vendors, datasheets, simulation models, mechanical models . everything.

Your users simply connect to the vault and when they place a part everything is populated automatically.
you can release parts, set parts as obsolete or deprecated and it all propagates automatically to designs.

when a design is to be released the vault engine will pull and verify all data and flag if parts have gone out of sync.

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