"Assembly Steps" script for assembly instructions

Every now and then, a situation arises where a few components on a circuit board need to be shown in a document—for example, for assembly instructions.

The fastest way is to use Layout’s Assembly Variants feature. Its primary purpose is to create and document board variants by modifying the board’s components while keeping the PCB template the same. In the Assembly Variants user interface, components are selected from a list, and if only a few components are to be displayed, all others should be set to the “Not installed” status.

The “Assembly Steps” script was developed in response to a request regarding the display of components to be installed manually. We concluded that it would be most convenient if the components could be selected graphically on the screen. This led us to utilize attributes. Another advantage is that a component can be configured to appear in a specific document while it is still in the library.

Usage

1. Save the script in an appropriate directory with the extension ` .bas ` and enable it from the ` Tools – Basic Scripts – Basic Scripts` dialog. It is recommended that you set the most frequently used macros to `In Menu` mode, so that they appear in the ` Tools – Basic Scripts` menu.
2. During startup, the script iterates through the ` Mounting` attribute of the components and collects a list of the values found. You can change the attribute name in the code on the line ` Const MountAttribute$="Mounting"`.
3. If there are already variants for a card, they become “sub-variants.”
4. Once the “Generate Steps” function has run, it’s a good idea to open the “Assembly Options” dialog, select the “Steps” variant, and check the result by clicking the “Preview” button.

Printing

Documents can be run in the same way as with other Assembly Variants configurations.

Tip: The ” File – Create PDF” function uses color settings. If you’re using a white background, it’s best to set the components to white in the color palette, and if you want to display the wiring diagram, you should select a light gray for it, for example. The shading of the fill copper is too overpowering for a Steps document, so it’s best to display it without hatching (save the file and open it without applying the hatch).

The PDF guide includes a sample in which the reference designators D1 and D2 have been added to the example file ” Preview.pcb.”