Hi, as always I must start off by saying I’m new at this. I was just wondering if it is normal to need to make custom components for Eagle which seem fairly common?
Recently, I made (with some help) a Molex MiniFit Jr. connector, and now it appears I cannot find a surface mount optocoupler in the Eagle libraries, tons of through hole ones though.
Is this the way it goes? If not does anyone know where I might find a selection of SMD optocouplers for Eagle?
Thanks
I’d say it’s more than common… Since it doesn’t take long at all, I will often make my own parts. You can reuse package footprints so all you usually need to do is draw the symbol and hook it up. It’s often faster to make a part than spend forever looking for one…
that said, I thought I saw sm optos somewhere but don’t recall where. check the eagle web site.
Philba:
I’d say it’s more than common… Since it doesn’t take long at all, I will often make my own parts. You can reuse package footprints so all you usually need to do is draw the symbol and hook it up. It’s often faster to make a part than spend forever looking for one…that said, I thought I saw sm optos somewhere but don’t recall where. check the eagle web site.
I think I will go ahead and copy something similar into my library and adjust it. Thanks.
djohnson:
Hi, as always I must start off by saying I’m new at this. I was just wondering if it is normal to need to make custom components for Eagle which seem fairly common?
djohnson,
Yes. As new parts are invented everyday don’t expect any CAD library to keep up. The EAGLE library has a lot of parts that I doubt anyone would use today (but that was not the case ten or more years ago). Many of these were created in Germany, and have metric dims and European symbols.
Creating new library parts is a fact of life and not just for EAGLE users.
I quickly realized that a PCB CAD program is only as good as it’s Library editor and management. Many people rate CAD tools on the auto-router performance (which I don’t use in EAGLE).
As you already know, much of the hard work can be reduced by cutting and pasting from existing library parts.
Another tip. Place the parts that you create in unique CAD libraries, on a different path to the EAGLE supplied one. This will speed up the search and placement of new parts, and signal that you need to create any that aren’t found in your personal CAD library. EAGLE schematics and board files attached the parts used in a given design, so don’t need to link the libraries if you share your work with other users.
Comments Welcome!