TO220-IGO

Anyone know why the TO220-IGO package (used for the 7805 regulator) in the Eagle Sparkfun library has that extra area drawn around the part in the tDocument layer? It’s the yellow lines in the attached image.

A heat sink?

leon_heller:
A heat sink?

Perhaps, but there’s no heatsink like that on a regular ol’ 7805. I was thinking maybe it’s intended as a keep-out zone for other components… but even then it seems like the keep-out zone should be mostly behind the regulator, not to the sides.

Many people use a heatsink shaped like that with the 7805. It’s a standard type available from most component suppliers.

A heatsink is needed on a 7805 to get anywhere near 1Amp output.

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSea … e=HS278-ND

Ah, thanks. That makes sense.