Making New Parts

How to make new parts in Eagle

Say you want to use a different component on your board, but that part doesn't exist in the pie.lbr. So what now? You'll have to make your own part! This is often referred to as the part's "footprint". Here's the brief overview of the process on how to do so.

Research

First, find out if the thing you want exists at a reasonable price in reasonable quantities. You must make sure that it comes from a source that when scaled up, can be bought in bulk for the students

The go-to source for electrical components is Digikey. Start on the left side, and try to navigate through multiple categories until you can narrow your search.

What makes a part "Good"?

Once you are greeted by a long list of components that all look vaguely similar, you are faced with the dilemma. Which part should you choose? There are a couple things that make a part "good".

First off, the cost. Compare costs and see what a good price range is. Try not to buy something too expensive, but also don't just jump to the cheapest part.

Secondly, its documentation. Find the data sheet of the part. It should be on the page for the part, and if it is not, that is a HUGE red flag and you should probably avoid that part. Even in the datasheet, it should include a footprint for it to be viable for you to make in Eagle. It should give very precise measurements as well as the units, tolerance, and types of connections.

Translating to Eagle

Now that you have a good part data sheet at a reasonable price, it's time to put it into Eagle. Your new part will be added to the pie.lbr. If you need an overview of the library structure, see this. Your new part can be just the package, or both package and symbol, depending on how new it is. An example would be if you try to create a new size resistor. The symbol for a resistor exists already, so there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. Watch the tutorial on how to do all this:

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