Critique this automatic part number generator, plz

[1davide]

I have delveloped a free application that automatically assigns significant part numbers to components used in electronic products. I'd like you to critique it: is it useful? is it comprehensive? is it worth it? Your feedback is very appreciated.
Thanks. Davide

http://www.partnumber.com/

 

[CliffMichael]

I think you've done a good job of producing a uniform method of intuitive part numbering. I wonder how your system will interface or compete with formats of off-the-shelf schematic-capture products.

 

[Chancy99]

Looks like a nice system.

Web-design nit - please don't put such a small amount of information per webpage. It's a real pain to have to keep clicking NEXT ...

That whole thing could be on a single scrollable webpage, with the index pointing to parts within it. Quicker and more intuitive to navigate.

 

[1davide]

Chancy99: thank you for the Web-design nit: I'll address it.

CliffMichael:
interface - the utility is pretty-much stand-alone. You copy from it and paste into your present applications, be they databases, CAD, CAM.
competition with schematic capture - none: they complement each-other, they're not in competition.

Both of you: thank you for looking at it and for the feedback.

Davide Andrea

 

[designchain]

It's free, which is a good thing, and it has many of the virtues and problems of an intelligent part numbering (IPN) system.

So what's the purpose of an IPN system? In our experience it's to enable you to find a specific part and reduce the potential for unintentional duplicates. Many a wonderful and complex IPN system were developed back when compute time and storage were very expensive, so minimizing both was very important. Today that's not a concern at all. There are better ways to find internal parts to drive reuse and better ways to minimize unintentional duplicate creation.

Getting back to Davide's system, it's somewhat limited in scope by the selection of component types (but others can be added, and the taxonomy expanded to some degree, I expect, but you're somewhat cornered with the single 'memory' class and the complete lack of support for larger, complex off-the-shelf ICs like processors) and the selection of key parametrics upon which the system is based (for instance, capacitors are based on dielectric type; why not voltage rating or package? are not all three, and others, keys for identifying the right part?). It's possibly adequate for a small company running on a spreadsheet (completely unadviseable practice, and very unnecessary by the way) but small companies can (and usually intend to) grow. Larger entities are well-advised to use unintelligent part numbering systems which avoid the problems of IPN systems.

For more on our opinions on this subject please read our paper on the subject at

http://www.designchainassociates.com/wp/pn.html

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