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Bottom-Side Component Placement - Implementation Walkthrough

✅ Feature Complete

Components can now be placed on either the top (F.Cu) or bottom (B.Cu) side of the PCB.


What Was Built

Files Modified

File Changes
ComponentNode.tsx Added side toggle + visual indicators
BoardCanvas.tsx Added handleToggleSide + pass side to nodes

Features

User Interaction

  • Double-click component → flips between top/bottom
  • Single-click component → rotates 90°
  • Drag component → repositions

Visual Indicators (Bottom-Side)

Indicator Description
🔵 Blue tint Semi-transparent overlay
"B" badge Bottom-left corner
Dashed border Blue dashed instead of solid

Top-Side (Default)

  • No tint (standard component color)
  • No badge
  • Solid border (gray/green/red)

How It Works

Data Flow

  1. User double-clicks component
  2. handleToggleSide toggles side field ('top' ↔ 'bottom')
  3. Node data updated with new side
  4. ComponentNode re-renders with visual indicators
  5. Changes propagated to ComponentPlacement on save

KiCAD Export

The side field is already part of ComponentPlacement and is sent to backend: - side: 'top' → F.Cu layer - side: 'bottom' → B.Cu layer


Testing

Manual Test Cases

  1. ✅ Double-click component → flips to bottom (blue tint + "B")
  2. ✅ Double-click again → flips back to top (normal appearance)
  3. ✅ Rotate bottom-side component → maintains bottom state
  4. ✅ Drag bottom-side component → maintains bottom state
  5. ✅ Save layout → side preserved
  6. ✅ Export to KiCAD → bottom components on B.Cu

Visual Examples

Top-Side Component: - Standard color with solid border - No overlay or badge

Bottom-Side Component: - Blue semi-transparent overlay - Blue "B" badge (bottom-left) - Blue dashed border


Future Enhancements (Optional)

  • Preview flip-view (mirror entire board)
  • Layer visibility toggle (show/hide bottom)
  • Different colors for top vs bottom by default
  • Bottom-side collision detection (separate layer)

Generated on 2026-01-16 | Magic PCB AI