How to use PCB BOM / CPL Placement Viewer: a practical file-check workflow
Open a real file with PCB BOM / CPL Placement Viewer and check important fields, output, format boundaries, and local privacy.
When to use it
Use this read-only tool when before hand assembly or SMT, you need to join BOM and placement rows by reference and find omissions, duplicates, or bottom-side orientation issues. EDA tools and factories disagree on BOM/CPL column names, origins, and rotation conventions. This viewer aids assembly review but cannot generate a trusted placement-machine program.
Practical example
Import Designator/Comment/Footprint from BOM and Ref/X/Y/Rotation/Layer from CPL, map columns, and inspect unmatched sets. U3 only in BOM may mean the CPL omitted it or it was marked do-not-place.
Steps
- Choose BOM and CPL/pick-and-place CSV files and confirm delimiter and encoding.
- Map reference, part/value, footprint, X, Y, rotation, and side columns.
- Review unmatched references, duplicates, and coordinate bounds.
- Search R23/U5 or group parts; verify side and rotation before production import.
Result checklist
- BOM and CPL references are trimmed, split, and unique
- Every fitted reference has X/Y, rotation, and side
- Coordinate units, origin, and board-scale bounds are plausible
- Bottom mirroring/rotation is sampled against a known board and factory rule
First troubleshooting checks
Every reference is unmatched
Remap the reference columns, split cells such as R1,R2, and remove surrounding whitespace and quotes.
The scatter plot is flipped
Origin and bottom-mirroring conventions differ; the tool cannot infer factory rules, so re-export with the factory template.
Real limitations
- Without an outline/assembly drawing only coordinate points can be shown
- Angle, origin, mirroring, and bottom-side rules vary by EDA and factory
- Not a placement-program generator or production-release record
Privacy and file safety
Parsing runs in the current browser tab and the file is not uploaded to FreeTool to use this tool. Still use a trusted device for customer, engineering, research, or medical material. Keep the original unchanged and clear downloads, screenshots, and browser data after a shared device.