Example ASC File

The ASC File you are importing must have the .asc suffix, and ideally should have the same name as the assermbly it represents, provided this comprises alphanumeric characters only.  It can be viewed in Notepad and should confirm to the following layout:-

PART1,1,P7
PART2,1,P3
PART3,1,P2
PART4,1,P4
PART5,1,P1
PART6,1,T1
PART7,2,AB1,AB2
PART8,2,K15,K16
PART9,1,K4
PART10,9,C1,C2,C3,C4,C15,C16,C17,C18,C19
PART11,2,C5,C6
PART12,2,X1,X2
PART13,1,XPCB1
PART14,4,VE1,VE2,VE3,VE4
PART15,1,F3
PART16,1,VX1
PART17,1,VX2

The first field (column) contains the component Part Numbers, up to 15 characters in  length, and followed by a comma.

The second field (column) contains the Quantity per Assembly, and is followed by a comma.

The third and subsequent field(s) (columns), up to a maximum of 50, contain build instructions and/or positional data, and there should be no trailing comma after the final text.

It cannot be stressed enough that you are responsible for ensuring that you are attempting to import appropriate data.  It is most important that you visually check the conformity of your spreadsheet before you attempt to run the Merlin Import BoM routine.  Plainly, if the data you import is inappropriate, your new BoM will be useless.

Given that you have a suitable spreadsheet as described above, Merlin will apply a strict validation sequence before attempting the import, and if any of these tests is failed, the import will be rejected:- 

1. The assembly must be present on the Resources File (i.e. it must have its own Resource Record Card).

2. The BoM must NOT already exist, nor the assembly be already defined,
   within Merlin Assembly Library.

3. All materials listed in the BoM must be present on the Resources File
   (i.e. they must each have their own Resource Record Card).

If tests 1 or 2 fail, you will be informed by a message box, and the import will be aborted.  If test 3 is failed you will be presented with a list of the items which are absent from the Resources File.  You can print this list so that you can make the necessary entries.

Additionally, no duplicate part numbers should exist in the incoming list.  However, if this rule is broken the import will still succeed, but without the duplicate entries.  The details of any duplicates found will be reported to you (with a printable list) so that you can take the appropriate action, which is likely to be the amendment of the entries in question (in BoM Editor) to take into account the data contained in the duplicate (not imported) items.

Import BoM Procedure

The first step is to click the button 1: Select Import File.  This will invoke a file picking dialogue which will enable you to navigate to your saved import file.  Highlight the file in the usual way, and click the Select button.

The screen should now look as shown above, with the import file path displayed and the file name prompted as the Assembly No.  If you wish to change the assembly number you should do this now, then click 2: Confirm Assembly No.  If this assembly number is not validated correctly as specified above, the import will be declined.

If the assembly is accepted, the screen will look as shown above, with the assembly name/description displayed to the right of the Assembly No.  You can still change the assembly number at this point if you wish to.

When you are ready, click 3: Fetch Data & View.

The data you are proposing to import is brought into Merlin (but NOT yet formally imported) and displayed for your inspection in a grid on the Proposed BoM List tab.

It is crucially important that you check that each column contains the correct type of data!  i.e., the Part No. column does indeed contain the part numbers of the materials on the BoM, and the Qty. column does contain the quantity of each part in the BoM.  The notes column should contain the PCB information, which will be appended to the Item Notes for each BoM entry.

When you are entirely happy that you are proposing to import valid data, click 
4: Import Data.  If all of the material items listed in the BoM are found to be present on the Resources File, the data will be imported.  The button legend will change to
5: Print Report, which will enable you to print a listing of the imported data if you wish.

Please Note:  If multiple entries for the same part no. are found on the import list, the import will succeed, but only the first entry for each part no. will be imported into the new BoM.  A warning will be issued, and the additional instances of the part no(s).  involved will be displayed in a list on the Duplicate Items tab.  This list can be printed, and the entries for these items in the new BoM should be checked and amended if necessary (as per next paragraph).

The job is now done, and you should go to Assembly Library, check the assembly and BoM data for this assembly, and set a Build Time in days.

The import will fail if all the materials listed in the incoming BoM are not present on the Resources File, in which case the Missing Resources tab will become active, showing a similar list of the items which need to be added to the Resources File before this BoM can be imported into Merlin.  Click 5: Print Report to print a hard-copy listing of these items.

A Record Card should be created on the Resources File for each of these missing items, and the Import BoM process can then be run again.

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