I have developed a set of tools that work with the new attributes available
in Eagle 5 and automate a good chunk of BOM generation.
These tools work by attaching specific meanings to certain attributes, like
MANUF, PARTNUM, etc. Currently there are 8 such attributes the BOM tools
use. These attributes can be defined in library devices and overridden (or
defined in the first place) in the schematic as appropriate. The important
thing is that it is possible to add all the information to a schematic so
that the BOM can be generated from it automatically except for pricing.
This is work in progress, but I've used this mechanism in 5-10 designs by
now and it's far enough along to let others at it. BOM generation is a
common problem, and I'd hate to see each of us develop incompatible
systems.
The BOM tools (and a bunch of other neat Eagle ULPs, scripts, etc) are
included in my Eagle Tools release at
http://www.embedinc.com/pic/dload.htm. In particular, look at the
EAGLE_ATTR documentation file in the DOC directory within the software
installation directory. The file describes the various attributes and
references the other related documentation.
--
Browser access to CadSoft Support Forums at http://www.eaglecentral.ca