CircuitStudio includes the ability to generate a pick and place data file for a PCB, typically used by an assembly house to help automate the population of a board. You can configure the units (metric or imperial) and the file format (text or CSV) from the Outputs | Pick and Place menu option. The data columns in the output file are documented below, the files are plain text and so can be viewed with a simple text editor like Notepad or loaded into Excel or other spreadsheet.
| Column Name | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Designator | U91 | Component reference designator. |
| Footprint | DIP14 | The name of the footprint, as seen when viewing a list of library components or viewing the property dialog of the component (Footprint : Name field) |
| Mid X | 1050mil | Center point of component, automatically calculated by CircuitStudio. |
| Mid Y | 700mil | |
| Ref X | 900mil | Location of reference point set in the library editor for the component (set using Home | References menu). This is also the point that the cursor snaps to when moving a component on the PCB*. |
| Ref Y | 900mil | |
| Pad X | 900mil | Location of pin 1 of the component, automatically calculated by CircuitStudio. |
| Pad Y | 1000mil | |
| TB | T | Flag to indicate if component is located on Top or Bottom of the board. |
| Rotation | 0.00 | Rotation angle set for this component. A library component added to a PCB starts at 0.00 (regardless of if the footprint looks to be horizontal, vertical or some other angle). |
| Comment | SN74LS00NSN74LS00N | Text extracted from the Comment field of the component (Comment : Text field within the component property dialog). |
*It is a good idea to make sure the reference point is set to coincide with a pin to help keep components on grid when re-positioning them on the PCB.