Good grief, Eagle's component library is annoying.

It's really difficult to say "show me all sizes of 1 watt resistors" in Eagle's standard component library. Instead there's:

• US-0204/5
• US-0204/7
• US-0207/2v
• US-0207/5v
• US-0207/7
• US-0207/10
• US-0207/12
• US-0207/15
• US-0309/10
• US-0309/12
• etc

The descriptions for each of these explains almost nothing at all:

RESISTOR, American symbol
Package: 0411V
RESISTOR
type 0411, grid 3.81 mm

Woohoo, thanks for telling me it's a resistor twice in every description but not bothering to say what standard wattages each of these corresponds to.


Also there's no general database of case styles like TO-3, TO-218, TO-220, etc. Noooo, instead we have to copy these cases off of some other manufacturer's part that has been arbitrarily included in the Eagle component library.

Are they trying to be ridiculously over-technical and obtuse about component shapes on purpose? "We can't know in advance what size or length of resistor you might want or might someday exist (hey wirewound might possibly be fatter than solid for the same wattage) so we're not even going to try to offer a generality of which sizes are which for typical resistor wattages."

I just want to do a basic, compact layout of parts and make use of the autorouting feature. .... and then redo the calculated routing result by hand in ExpressPCB....

Heh.

 

Which is why I went with Express. Every package has a plus and minus.

There was a short while I was making PCB layouts with M/S Paint. A very short while.

 

• US-0204/5
• US-0204/7
• US-0207/2v
• US-0207/5v
• US-0207/7
• US-0207/10
• US-0207/12
• US-0207/15
• US-0309/10
• US-0309/12
• etc

The descriptions for each of these explains almost nothing at all:

RESISTOR, American symbol
Package: 0411V
RESISTOR
type 0411, grid 3.81 mm

Actually all the pertinent dimensional data is there.
Check datasheets or component drawings for the
dimensions of your selected component and choose
the closest one or create your own.

Example: US-0204/5 or US-204/5V
US = US symbol. Grid will be in inches (probably nearest .1 or .05 inch increment)
02 = 2mm (≈.08 inches) body diameter
04 = 4mm (≈.16 inches) body length
/5 = 5mm (≈.200 inches) lead spacing. (Note: US designation)
or
/5V = Vertical orientation with 5 mm lead spacing

Are they trying to be ridiculously over-technical and obtuse about component shapes on purpose?

I would say no.

At its core the software is a technical drawing tool, and any technical
drawing is based on accurate dimensions, not "generalizations of size by type".
The real dimension of objects is critical for manufacture.
I personally applaud the makers of the software for allowing it to be
distributed freely, albeit with its minor limititations for the hobbiest/nonprofessional.

Not intending to be overly critical, just presenting an alternative viewpoint.

 

Been using eagle cad for years, never had an issue i could not quickly resolve with all the available user files and the ability to create my own device.

 

rcl.lbr is pretty good; it has just about all the resistors & caps one might need.

One caveat; it is YOUR responsibility to verify that any/every furnished library component is correct for your purpose. If you fail to do this, you will sooner or later wind up with a large collection of coasters.

 

I'm switching over to Eagle for my first major project on Eagle. I have been using Protel EasyPlot successfully for as long as I can remember. So far everything seems to work fine. I had to create my own libraries for ADS807 and STM32F407.

 

I'm switching over to Eagle for my first major project on Eagle.

Welcome aboard, MrChips.

 

Yes, nerdegutta has shown me how easy it is to use Eagle.

 

Alright! I've always looked for a software like this one...

I've used 'Multisim' before but need something that professionals use...lol

My understanding is that 'Eagle' will help me do the following:

- designing circuit diagrams and simulating them;
- designing PCB:
- ...

Am I correct? And its free...which version would you recommend? And if any link to download this...please post it!

Thanks!

 

Cadsoft Eagle can be downloaded at http://www.cadsoftusa.com
The freeware version is limited to ~3"x4" PCB's, 2 layers, and 1 page schematics; otherwise it is fully functional. While that might seem limiting, you can still do a heck of a lot with a board that size.

There is no PSPICE program supplied with Eagle. Beige Bag Software has a PSPICE program that will integrate with Eagle. Their demo used to work for 30 days before it expired. It use to cost ~$200 USD to register it, but I haven't checked lately.

Sparkfun has a good tutorial on Eagle; you should definitely go through it. It will save you a LOT of time.