I encountered two possible problems with the Sparkfun Eagle library. I am a total newbie with Eagle, so maybe the problems are mine, not the library’s, but here is what I encountered:
I had to change the OUT and GND direction of the 78XX symbol that is used in the V_REG_78XX package to PAS. Until I did that, I had a Erc error that I couldn’t get rid of. So I looked at some other similar voltage regulators and that is the way they are set up and changing it in my copy of the SF library fixed the problem.
The second problem is that when I searched for screwterminal I never found any even though there are some because I didn’t have SMT checked and apparently the screwterminals are coded as SMT when they are actually thru-hole.
Any library parts should be checked thoroughly before using them, as a matter of course. Eagle doesn’t have a very good reputation for its libraries, but I’ve found errors in more expensive packages.
Leon
Gasp! Eagle libraries are wrong??!?
Leon’s point can’t be overstated. Eagle libs are user submitted. You don’t know if the guy creating the library is a 15 year veteran or a 15 year old kid making his first part. The errors range from the blatant (mirrored footprints, incorrect pin assignments) to the subtle (wrong pad size, incorrect spacing).
You have to verify everything.
If you are going to use Eagle much, you should create a “personal” library where you put all of the verified parts. As long as you are doing that, add source information like distributor and catalog number. You’ll appreciate it later.
Philba:
Gasp! Eagle libraries are wrong??!?
Leon’s point can’t be overstated. Eagle libs are user submitted. You don’t know if the guy creating the library is a 15 year veteran or a 15 year old kid making his first part. The errors range from the blatant (mirrored footprints, incorrect pin assignments) to the subtle (wrong pad size, incorrect spacing).
You have to verify everything.
If you are going to use Eagle much, you should create a “personal” library where you put all of the verified parts. As long as you are doing that, add source information like distributor and catalog number. You’ll appreciate it later.
Well, the point of posting this was to point out what I believe to be errors in the Sparkfun library with the hope that someone from Sparkfun would take a look to see if they are indeed errors and if so correct them in order that others will not run into the same issues that I had.