Quick Eagle question

[zevon8]

Hi, I'm doing a layout that has several TO-220 packages. There are sets of 3 in parallel, so I would like to put them all in a row, vertically mounted, they don't need heat sinks. Question is, how to get Eagle to use the vertical variation on the PCB? I see that it is already configured in the part spec, but how to get it to be applied.

I haven't used Eagle very much, and admit to be a bit lazy on the documentation, LOL...

Thanks!

 

[philba]

use 78XXS in the v-reg library.

 

[DirtyLude]

Unfortunately the library package definitions need to be made for horizontal mount and vertical mount, if you want to use both. If the part you are using in the library only has a horizontal mount definition, you will have to use another library part that does have the defintion you want, like the 78XXS mentioned above and just fudge it in your schematic so the traces go to the right pins..

If you get into it, it's not hard to edit the library and just copy the vertical package defintion into your own library and attach it to the symbol for the part that you are really using.

 

[philba]

ah.... my mistake.

I agree, use the lib editor to add the package. if you edit the device (that has the wrong package orientation), you can add the new package. first rename the existing package by right clicking on the package name and selecting rename. Then click on the new button and add the vertical package. Finally, click on the connect button to hook up the pins to the pads. save the library. in the schematic editor do a library/update all. now you can use change/package to select the new package.

there is a decent library tutorial out there - google knows.

what is the specific part you are using? eagle does have extensive libraries...

 

[zevon8]

Thanks people, kinda figured I would need to make the library part. Weird, because when I started to do that, using a copy of another FET, it gave me an error saying that the package option was already there. Maybe it was refering to the one and only allowable configuration.

Ah well, do or do not, there is no try, LOL.

 

[DirtyLude]

The library part of Eagle is the worst part of the program. It has to be the most confusing, backward software I have used that's been produced since the mid 90's.

What they need to do is to totally redo the user interface. Otherwise the functionality to do whatever you want is there, it's just difficult to figure out what you need to do to get that functionality.

 

[philba]

I used to think that however, after using it for a while I've come to the conclusion that the main problem is people are thinking windows interface and get very quickly frustrated. It has it's own logic and is more consistant within that logic than windows is.

The tutorial is required reading.

By the way, Al Williams book "Making Printed Circuits at Home" (or some such. I basically an eagle tutorial. In that regard, it is an outstanding introduction. worth the price to take full advantage of some very powerful free software.

 

[DirtyLude]

I would say I'm a fairly experienced user, and I still feel that way. There is obviously much of the stuff that is only different and needs to be learned. I think I've gotten a good grasp on the the user interface of actual design, but go to the library.

Sorry, but this is not bad just because it's different, it's bad because it's bad. Copying packages to different libraries, renaming package, symbols.... it's all far more complicated and limited than it should be. I realize when they wrote this, it was for the *nix platform and wasn't constrained to Windows user interface rules. Now they keep it just because it's established and they still support *nix OS. Still they need to say screw it and revamp. Allow library items to be drag and dropped, renamed on the index. Instead of selecting a group of items, selecting the action you want, then selecting the group again, just select and action; why the extra step? There is constantly simple things that I want to do, that are more complicated than they should be.

Still, its the best software I've found so far. And the crippleware price is what I like to pay. Free.

 

[philba]

Basically, their interface is modal. select a mode, operate in that mode until next mode is selected. Not 100% consistant, though.

for example, placing a component - select component, place, place, ... very fast to add, say, 10 resistors. there are lots of examples of this.

There are several "windows interface" pcb programs and I've found them easy to pick up but cumbersome to use.

I'm not defending their interface - just saying that I understand their philosophy and appreciate what they were trying to do.

 

[evandude]

Eagle's library interface is awful, I usually opt to just make stuff over from scratch whenever I need it rather than trying to move stuff from library to library, or trying to synchronize my libraries between multiple computers.

Also, their license options almost entirely alienate the hobbyist market. Their "non-profit" license is a slight step in the right direction, but it's still somewhat pricey for me; in addition, for the price, i'd rather have even more board space, and don't care about getting 4 signal layers. I'll NEVER spend $1200 on a full, unlimited license, and I don't see myself buying the non-profit license either. So really, by not offering any better options, they will never be seeing a dime from me. Eagle is a very common software package for hobbyists, I see it used everywhere, and yet they don't seem to want our business... I haven't ever heard from any other hobbyist who has actually bought a license from them... and I'm sure many of us who use it will never buy one because of the lack of options. If they offered a decent hobbyist license option, with quite a bit more board space (if not unlimited), 2 layers, and multiple schematic sheets, without any free tech support (so it wouldn't cost them anything to support it after you bought it), then no matter how cheap they made it (within reason) it would almost be free money for them, from those of us who would not have given them a penny otherwise.

Also, the annoyances that we put up with because it's free and powerful in a lot of ways seem to me like they would make eagle a poor choice for an engineering company that actually has the money to throw around for such expensive licenses. Also working against it is that it's not an industry standard like some of the more commercial PCB packages (protel, orcad, whatever)

I'm not quite sure who they're targeting... but it clearly isn't hobbyists, and they don't seem to be making any great improvements that would make it more appealing to real professionals with money to burn... Plus, by alienating those of us who are currently hobbyists/students (many of whom will soon go on to be professional engineers), they don't really give us much reason to consider using their product if/when we go on to be professional engineers and actually need expensive software packages.

With that said, I STILL haven't found a single free alternative that's any better, or even one that isn't free but is affordable. Seems like a rather important niche that nobody's filling. So for the time being and the forseeable future, I'll be sticking with eagle, and stuck with small boards for everything.