Eagle PCB or......?

Archive
41

@ dobova - nice :slight_smile:

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Just to show off like dobova, :slight_smile: the attached image shows my recent board for the ChipworkX (ChipworkX not fully modelled yet) in 3D. The modem board is actually another Altium design that was exported as STEP and then this was used to create the model for the part itself.

The connectors were all sourced from the manufacturers websites. Phoenix, Samtec, Molex and TE Connectivity etc all supply models FOC. Some require registration.

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43

@ Dave McLaughlin - Ahahah ok ā€¦ Your example show better the power ā€¦

I use many 3d model from http://www.3dcontentcentral.com that is really a huge library.

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Nice boards, guys! Post the real images when youā€™ll have them.

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No fancy 3D but it is 4 layerā€¦

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Hi Architect, here is the real board.

Missing the connectors as they are still on there way. :slight_smile:

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Nice!

@ Justin - show full board! :wink:

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Not until i know it works :whistle:

Check your emailā€¦

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Wellā€¦ I just learned the tedious task of laying out a custom shcematic symbol and footprint for a dual channel mosfet part I neededā€¦ now I discover that the only 8 resistor network in the Eagle libraries is obsolete.

Yay more footprint building! Thus far ExpressPCB was better than thisā€¦

50

Two approaches with footprints. You can use a ā€œmatchingā€ part that you think will work, and ignore itā€™s value/part# (it says itā€™s a XYZ but I know Iā€™m using ABC; trust me) or you get really paranoid and build every part yourself so you know it matches the part exactly, and you never get a board back that you canā€™t solder your part to.

Anyway, hereā€™s a tip. Dangerous Prototypes, SparkFun, and Adafruit all have their own libraries of parts; if you grab all of those libraries, you have a great ā€œadditional partsā€ library that will fill most of the gaps.

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51

Thanks. I already had tried the Sparkfun library, Iā€™ll check the others. This is my first time really working with SMD partsā€¦ through hole was a bit easier with the standardized dip layout.

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@ FireyFate -
try here
http://www.element14.com/community/community/knode/cad_tools/cadsoft_eagle/eagle_cad_libraries

before get depressed ā€¦ may beā€¦!!

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53

@ dobova - Wow! Thank for the link! Awesome collection!

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Definitely awesomeā€¦ still not having luck finding a resistor network that fits my needs thoughā€¦ Iā€™m looking for a 16 pin smd with 8 discrete resistors at 470 ohms. I keep finding in stock Vishay parts at digikey, but none of them cross reference with the element14 Vishay list.

Does anybody by chance have one in a design where they could tell me the library and part number? Iā€™m about to just buckle down and create one myselfā€¦ I already could have in the time Iā€™ve spent looking.

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Just do it. My rule these days is if I canā€™t find it at one of these places I start making itā€¦

  1. Stock Eagle libs.
  2. SparkFun libs
  3. My libs
  4. Element14 libs

Itā€™s amazing to me that Eagle hasnā€™t built an online parts library similar to the 3D Warehouse for Sketchup where everyone could submit their parts as they create them.

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Yeah they really REALLY should get a community library going. It would add huge value to the software.

Youā€™d probably want to verify whatever you find against the datasheetā€¦ but thatā€™s got to be better than starting from scratch. Itā€™s probably an incredible number of hours wasted worldwide.

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As long as you print your board on paper and place some real parts on the paper before sending to the fab house then you should catch any inaccuracies.

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58

Man, thatā€™s probably a completely obvious tip for anybody who has done SMD layouts before, but I hadnā€™t come across it yetā€¦ Iā€™ll definitely be doing that!

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Make sure your printer/driver/OS/software is capable of producing output at the right scale, before you get too far.

Iā€™ve had good luck with this technique with Eagle.

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This is also a great way to lay out the parts if you are manually doing your boards and have a small reflow oven.

First of all, place the printout sheet on your desk and tape it down! I didnā€™t the first time and lost a lot of parts after I accidently nudged it. :frowning:

I place all the parts on the sheet in the correct location and orientation and after the board has had the pasted applied, I simply transfer from the sheet to the board. Minutes instead of hours taking them all out of their little packages one at a time. Also prevents the paste from drying out.

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