Linking Components to Manufacturer Part Numbers Using a Reusable Table in KiCad

[conducteur]

Hi everyone,

I’ve created a PCB design in KiCad, and I’m looking for the best way to efficiently link my components to their manufacturer part numbers, second source options, and ordering information.

At the moment, I’m manually adding extra fields to each component like MPN, supplier, and alternatives to each component, but this is very time-consuming. I’m also concerned about reusability—if I need the same component (like a JST PH header) in another project, I don’t want to re-enter all that information again.

I was thinking of managing all this component metadata in an external table (like an Excel spreadsheet or similar) and then linking it to my KiCad project to avoid duplicating work.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of workflow, or know of tools or methods to manage and reuse component information efficiently in KiCad?

Thanks in advance for your tips!

[Doctorandus_P]

KiCad has support for integration with an external database. I've read posts about people who had an existing database with some other EDA program, then coupled it with KiCad and then just kept on continuing their work in KiCad.

Setting up such a database from the beginning does require some effort and knowledge in that direction though. The database itself is not a part of KiCad. KiCad only has the interface. I have no experience with this myself, but the link below may help.

https://forum.kicad.info/t/my-kicad-component-database/56000/

[JohnG]

KiCad has support for integration with an external database. I've read posts about people who had an existing database with some other EDA program, then coupled it with KiCad and then just kept on continuing their work in KiCad.

This is the way, the truth, and the... whoops, wrong forum!

More seriously, if you have a lot of components with a much smaller set of footprints and symbols, i.e. resistors, capacitors, jelly bean ICs, etc., then an external database is the way to go. We set one up for my company using sqlite, and it works with both KiCad and Altium. The only thing needed to meet both is an extra footprint field and and extra symbol field.

It was a pain to set up, but the pain is in the past and now it's great. Want a new resistor in an existing footprint? You just duplicate an old resistor, edit the fields as needed, and you're done. Want a new footprint that might be reused, just put it in your footprints folder, and whenever you want to use it, just point to it in the footprint field of a part and it works.

John

[jan28]

KiCad has support for integration with an external database. I've read posts about people who had an existing database with some other EDA program, then coupled it with KiCad and then just kept on continuing their work in KiCad.

You might want to have a look at Inventree.org. It has a KiCad extension where InvenTree becomes a parts library.

Personally I use both KiCad and InvenTree but not the database interface:
- I manage schematic parts and footprints in KiCad, that keeps my projects portable.
- I only add my InvenTree PartName to the KiCad parts.
- KiCad generates a BOM, the BOM gets imported in InvenTree where I use ‘builds’ to manage stock availability/allocation, usage and to some extend price.
- I manage buying parts and stock via InvenTree (for mouser this even fills my basket automatically)

[nigelwright7557]

I tend to name library component like through_hole_resistor_2w_RS123-456
A description of component followed by RS stock number.
There are lots of different 2w resistors so omitting stock code makes it fairly useless.

[Doctorandus_P]

I tend to name library component like through_hole_resistor_2w_RS123-456

Why invent your own?
KiCad already has a default library with the name "Resistor_THT". I would use the same naming convention when setting up a database.

I am also not so sure about adding the RS stock number.
I once did a search on Digikey for a 1k 1/4W THT resistors, and I got over a 1000 results. Lot's of specials, such as very small tolerance, tempco, long term stability, but also hundreds of generic parts. It's more common that the database has ordering part numbers for parts that can be substituted (even from different shops). For that reason it is better to use your own house part numbers. (Those house part numbers can be the same text string as the ordering code from some manufacturer, but the meaning is different, as the actual ordering code can be form any of a multitude of other fields in your database.