Missing components in the library...

On Tue, 15 Mar 2011, badbad2142 wrote to us saying :

>Hello,

>Still using the free version and still at newby silly question level.

>I am creating (at least trying to) my first PCB board which is going to

>be a PMW. I started by order all the coponents for m digikey (got an

>head acke with their web tool..)

>My coponents are:

>* SN74ACC14N: Found it sounds good

>* EVU-F3lFL3B14 (potentiometer): even wiht the datacheet I do not find it

Manufacturer part numbers for pots are often of little use. Most

designers are more interested in form factor. That said, the standard

Eagle libraries are short on pots (there's a good selection of presets

but few of the shaft-and-knob types).

>* 1N5817 (diode): can not find it...

Diodes are a classic example of generic parts, where the library

component doesn't match the part number because 57 varieties of diode

all share the same circuit symbol and package. Look in the diode library

under D-fill and select the package that matches the 1N5817 (check sizes

or package names on the data sheet). Then once you've placed it on the

schematic, set its "value" to 1N5817 and you're done.

>* BUL704 (NPN) was not able to find it directly but using the number of

>the datasheet TO-220 whihc was not in the database either I end up

>finding it using TO220...

Again, there are a LOT of TO220 NPN transistors out there, so the

component is generic. There are also specific transistors in the

library, partly because of the potential confusion of pin ordering (so

it's worth checking that the library part you picked matches your data

sheet, although TO220 is much more standardised than, say, TO92)

>* 1N914BTR (diode) was not able to find it...

Again, you can use a generic D-fill and pick the right package. Note

that the 1N914 is practically identical to the 1N4148 too.

>And the list is going and going like that on every conponent.

>My frustration level in rising, I spent more time looking ofr the

>components that I will spend on creating the board (step that I have

>note reached yet...)

>

>So simple question:

>1) I am doing something wrong?

Yes and no. You're expecting exact part numbers where generic

descriptions are used.

>2) If I am not doing something wrong where can I find an extended

>library of components?

Cadsoft web site, in the downloads section.

>3) If netheir one or two is possible, how do you proceed on your side

>to order components? you try to see if they exist in Eagle then in

>DIgikey (for example) and then only order them?

Sometimes I check what Eagle already has and order that, but more often

I either have a specific device in mind or already have a drawer-full.

If none of the Eagle libraries includes the part then I create my own

library part.

If you look back through the archives of this group you will see this

repeated time after time: Learn to create your own library parts! It's

not hard, and you're going to have to do it sooner or later. It will

release the power of the tool and enable you to design what you want,

not what somebody else had left lying around. Don't look on the limits

of the existing libraries as a drawback, look on the ease of adding new

ones as the huge plus that it is.

--

Rob Pearce                       http://www.bdt-home.demon.co.uk

The contents of     | All power corrupts, but we need electricity.

this message are    |

purely my opinion.  |

Don't believe a     |

word.               |

Am 15.03.2011 21:51, schrieb badbad2142:

Hello,

Still using the free version and still at newby silly question level.

I am creating (at least trying to) my first PCB board which is going to be a PMW. I started by order all the coponents for m digikey (got an head acke with their web tool..)

 

My coponents are:

• SN74ACC14N: Found it sounds good

• EVU-F3lFL3B14 (potentiometer): even wiht the datacheet I do not find it

 

Sorry, no email adress to send the extended lbr.

• 1N5817 (diode): can not find it...

Use diode.lbr -> device DIODE- with package variant DO41-10 and set the

VALUE to 1N5817.

• BUL704 (NPN) was not able to find it directly but using the number of the datasheet TO-220 whihc was not in the database either I end up finding it using TO220...

Use transistor.lbr -> device *-NPN- with package variant TO220 and set

the VALUE to BUL704.

• 1N914BTR (diode) was not able to find it...

Use diode.lbr -> device DIODE- with package variant DO35-10 and set the

VALUE to 1N914BTR.

And the list is going and going like that on every conponent.

My frustration level in rising, I spent more time looking ofr the components that I will spend on

> creating the board (step that I have note reached yet...)

Plase read

HELP USE (enter)

HELP ADD (enter)

Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Best regards

Alfred Zaffran

--

_____________________________________________________________

Alfred Zaffran              Support

CadSoft Computer GmbH       Hotline:   08635-698930

Pleidolfweg 15              FAX:       08635-698940

84568 Pleiskirchen          eMail: <alf@cadsoft.de>

                             Web:   <www.cadsoft.de>

Registergericht: Amtsgericht Traunstein HRB 5573

Geschäftsführer: Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Schmidinger, Bodo Badnowitz

_____________________________________________________________

Thank you both for your answers.

My mail adress is abessy@free.fr ;-)

I was hoping to spend more time to design the PCB and less on the components selection but I understand that all of them can not exists. It is just hard from the point of view that I am not doing PCB often (in fact it is the first) nor I am working in the electronic field so I am not fluent with the components equivalence (yet).

But I will get at it then...

Thank you again for your answers.

Regards

Alexandre Bessy

badbad2142 wrote:

Thank you both for your answers.

My mail adress is abessy@free.fr (mailto:abessy@free.fr)

 

I was hoping to spend more time to design the PCB and less on the components selection but I understand that all of them can not exists. It is just hard from the point of view that I am not doing PCB often (in fact it is the first) nor I am working in the electronic field so I am not fluent with the components equivalence (yet).

 

Just a comment from a guy who does electronics design for >25 years:

Packaging, component selection and the creation of library parts is

boring but it is often 50% of the job. Especially on cost critical

designs. So it is very important to learn the library editor of a new

CAD system very soon. Eagle isn't particularly easy to learn in that

respect but with persistence you'll get there.

Afterwards, when you haven't used the program for a while it is normal

to forget things.

By the way, the Digikey search engine is hands down the best there is,

there ever was. If you learn how to use that (easy) it becomes a

wonderful tool to find electronic parts. And now they also let you sort

by price.

But I will get at it then...

 

En peu du vin rouge, du fromage et la bonne musique ... and it will all

come together nicely

--

Cordialement, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Thank you Joerg.

Quoi comme frommage, un chevre par exemple? le boursin ne me dit rien pour l electronique...

I have been able to create my two first items in my library (thanks to kd7vnn http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-custom-library-part-in-Eagle-CAD-too/).

I undertsand what you say about 50% of the job but when you are just doing it once in a while it is a bruden... but it is ok.

Now that I here one more question: Why do I struggle so much to have a connection between my wire and my components? one time out of two it does not requognize each other... is there a parameter to make that more automatique?

On 18.03.11 4:09 AM, badbad2142 wrote:

Thank you Joerg.

Quoi comme frommage, un chevre par exemple? le boursin ne me dit rien pour l electronique...

 

I have been able to create my two first items in my library (thanks to kd7vnn http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-custom-library-part-in-Eagle-CAD-too/).

 

I undertsand what you say about 50% of the job but when you are just doing it once in a while it is a bruden... but it is ok.

 

Now that I here one more question: Why do I struggle so much to have a connection between my wire and my components? one time out of two it does not requognize each other... is there a parameter to make that more automatique?

 

Maybe your component is off the grid and you have to press "Alt" for the

alternate grid. I had some unconnected components due to this when I

first started using Eagle.

On 3/17/2011 10:09 PM, badbad2142 wrote:

Thank you Joerg.

Quoi comme frommage, un chevre par exemple? le boursin ne me dit rien pour l electronique...

 

I have been able to create my two first items in my library (thanks to kd7vnn http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-custom-library-part-in-Eagle-CAD-too/).

 

I undertsand what you say about 50% of the job but when you are just doing it once in a while it is a bruden... but it is ok.

 

Now that I here one more question: Why do I struggle so much to have a connection between my wire and my components? one time out of two it does not requognize each other... is there a parameter to make that more automatique?

 

Hi Alex,

I know making components in the library can be a pain. Have you tried

out the make-device-package-symbol-bsdl.ulp included with EAGLE? It

doesn't do everything but can speed up the process of creating ICs and such.

Maybe it's worth a look.

hth,

Jorge Garcia

badbad2142 wrote:

Thank you Joerg. Quoi comme frommage, un chevre par exemple? le

boursin ne me dit rien pour l electronique...

 

I like both goat cheese and Boursin, even when doing electronic design

You guys live in paradise when it comes to cheese. The Camembert we can

get in America is a far cry from the cheese I enjoyed in France (where

you take a bite and your breath stops for a couple of seconds). Luckily

we can buy Boursin.

I have been able to create my two first items in my library (thanks

to kd7vnn

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-custom-library-part-in-Eagle-CAD-too/).

 

 

I undertsand what you say about 50% of the job but when you are just

doing it once in a while it is a bruden... but it is ok.

 

That's the same with all software. I just finished my tax preparation

(to give to the CPA). A law had changed which required me to do a minor

database modification here. I struggled for almost an hour to do

something rather simple.

Now that I here one more question: Why do I struggle so much to have

a connection between my wire and my components? one time out of two

it does not requognize each other... is there a parameter to make

that more automatique?

 

As Marius hinted you might have veered slightly off the grid. When doing

normal schematic drafting I suggest to keep "stay on grid" turned on and

not set too fine a grid. It should be left at default or at least make

it coarse enough so you can easily see the grid steps when moving a

part, seeing a "ratchet" motion and not a smooth motion. Otherwise it

can become impossible to see when a wire stopped a fraction of a

millimeter from a component pin. That becomes worse the older you get

--

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 3/18/2011 1:05 PM, Joerg wrote:

badbad2142 wrote:

>> Thank you Joerg. Quoi comme frommage, un chevre par exemple? le

>> boursin ne me dit rien pour l electronique...

>>

>

I like both goat cheese and Boursin, even when doing electronic design

 

You guys live in paradise when it comes to cheese. The Camembert we can

get in America is a far cry from the cheese I enjoyed in France (where

you take a bite and your breath stops for a couple of seconds). Luckily

we can buy Boursin.

 

>

>> I have been able to create my two first items in my library (thanks

>> to kd7vnn

>> http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-custom-library-part-in-Eagle-CAD-too/).

>>

>>

>> I undertsand what you say about 50% of the job but when you are just

>> doing it once in a while it is a bruden... but it is ok.

>>

>

That's the same with all software. I just finished my tax preparation

(to give to the CPA). A law had changed which required me to do a minor

database modification here. I struggled for almost an hour to do

something rather simple.

 

>

>> Now that I here one more question: Why do I struggle so much to have

>> a connection between my wire and my components? one time out of two

>> it does not requognize each other... is there a parameter to make

>> that more automatique?

>>

>

As Marius hinted you might have veered slightly off the grid. When doing

normal schematic drafting I suggest to keep "stay on grid" turned on and

not set too fine a grid. It should be left at default or at least make

it coarse enough so you can easily see the grid steps when moving a

part, seeing a "ratchet" motion and not a smooth motion. Otherwise it

can become impossible to see when a wire stopped a fraction of a

millimeter from a component pin. That becomes worse the older you get

 

Our standard is to make sure all library pins are on the 0.100 inch

grid, which is also what your grid should be set to in schematic editor.

The board editor grid and the routing grid are totally seperate and can

be set to whatever you want. Note that the default routing grid of 0.050

is very coarse for modern circuits.

Gary Gofstein wrote:

On 3/18/2011 1:05 PM, Joerg wrote:

>> badbad2142 wrote:

>>> Now that I here one more question: Why do I struggle so much to have

>>> a connection between my wire and my components? one time out of two

>>> it does not requognize each other... is there a parameter to make

>>> that more automatique?

>>>

>>

>> As Marius hinted you might have veered slightly off the grid. When doing

>> normal schematic drafting I suggest to keep "stay on grid" turned on and

>> not set too fine a grid. It should be left at default or at least make

>> it coarse enough so you can easily see the grid steps when moving a

>> part, seeing a "ratchet" motion and not a smooth motion. Otherwise it

>> can become impossible to see when a wire stopped a fraction of a

>> millimeter from a component pin. That becomes worse the older you get

>>

Our standard is to make sure all library pins are on the 0.100 inch

grid, which is also what your grid should be set to in schematic editor.

The board editor grid and the routing grid are totally seperate and can

be set to whatever you want. Note that the default routing grid of 0.050

is very coarse for modern circuits.

Same here, schematics are all 0.1", with very few exceptions. I don't do

layouts myself but guide them a lot. There the grid is nowadays more

like 0.01, sometimes even smaller.

Turning the grid off is only needed when you do fancy artwork with

Eagle. Like birthday banners

--

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/