To what extent do the SparkFun libraries conform to PCB production standards like IPC-7351?
If they don’t conform, what are the reasons why?
Do you guys have any numbers you would be willing to publish about the reflow failure rate associated with the patterns in your library, to give us an idea of how reliable (or not) they are?
Do you have any other recommendations on improving land patterns for more reliable reflowing?
From experience using Sparkfun’s library, their landing patterns are directly from the datasheet of the device in question. I am NOT affiliated with Sparkfun in anyway. I just a loyal customer.
The other info would have to come from Sparkfun’s tech. You could get a faster response by emailing them directly. They don’t seem to frequent the forums very much.
You always have the option of making the component libraries 100% IPC compliant yourself.
Why yes, if I had $200 to spend to get a copy of said standard to work from, I surely could do that. How about you buy it for me, and then I will?
No? Then you see my dilemma.
You do not, in fact, ALWAYS have the option to make them compliant yourself, because that requires a not insubstantial investment of money. Ideally, an open-source library used to make products would be IPC-7351 compliant because it cuts down on the percentage of failed reflows. However, the cost for buying a sufficiently large license for that standard to cover the number of people making the parts in CAD can get pretty high, particularly for really large libraries. So it’s not necessarily a sure thing that SparkFun has invested in a copy of the standard either. But it doesn’t hurt to ask, which is why I am.
It sounds like to me that your project is going into production. If you need it to be IPC, then it’s just another expense that you calculate into your overhead.
Have you even emailed them directly? As I said above, they don’t frequent the forums very much.
Yes, I’m getting there, but not there yet. But if I’m going to have prototypes made, I want it to be as close to the real thing as possible, so that issues will be more obvious. But paying for it at this phase is a bit much. I would think that, if Sparkfun is using their own libraries for their products, they would have even more need for the standard than I would.
You suggest e-mailing them, but do you have a more specific suggestion? This clearly isn’t a question for Tech Support; it’s a production question.
Then I suggest you keep waiting for an answer here.
Actually you can do it for far less, about $200 less in fact.
Get the “FREE” IPC viewer (from the IPC) where you can produce your footprint dimensions then create them yourself.
OR
Get the “FREE” PCB Library Expert Lite from http://www.pcblibraries.com/ (sorry for what appears an ad link) and make them yourself.
You don’t need the standard to make footprints that adhere to it, just the above tool.
After all, you do not need thousands of components from the get go, you need only what you currently need and can build on it so can build them up over time.
By the way, the IPC7351 footprints are NOT the be all and end all of footprints, they are merely a standard way of making them and slightly non compliant footprints are very likely to work just as well.
holds his nose in frustration
Mattylad; when you farm Google for obsolete information, and present it as your own, it only makes you look like a braying jackass. If you bothered to keep reading the thread you found that in, you would have realized…
That software is no longer publicly available. Mentor Graphics bought the rights to it, and no longer distributes it freely. No one can download it. In essence, while it may have been a correct solution AT ONE TIME, it is NO LONGER A VIABLE SOLUTION.
I appreciate that you are only trying to help, but the next time you participate in one of my threads, you had better know what you are talking about. Speak from your personal experience, or not at all. And if you try to Google your way out of making a fool of yourself with me again, you will regret it.
Actually I DO know what I am talking about in more ways than you know.
Perhaps it is YOUR information that is obsolete.
Perhaps you are thinking about the LPWizard? I never mentioned this but it IS still available for free. (edit - I have just downloaded and installed this and it works fine!)
http://www.pads.com/downloads/lp-viewer-download/
That would make you the jackass yes?
Try reading what I said again!
Try visiting the IPC site and see what they are using - http://landpatterns.ipc.org/default.asp
The LIbrary Expert Lite that I mentioned IS available to you and all for free.
The IPC7351 standard is just a set of extremely variable so called standard dimensions for component pads, if you actually had the standard and read it you would see that.
You would also see that you do not need the standard itself to make the footprint library for Eagle.
Again - if you want IPC7351 conforming standards then you have the option to make them yourself.
So the next time you want to come back at me like that then YOU need to check your facts, stick that up your foolish jack-ass!