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46 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2022 exist outside their purview. is is one of the more common complaints that we hear from design engineers. Creating part footprints and symbols can be arduous and time-consuming using the CAD tool. Doing so also increases the number of opportunities for error. Ideally, it takes a few hours to design a cus- tomer part to perform as needed. But if design- ers must deal with funky shapes, a unique size for a desired functionality, or an inventive foot- print, the process can eat up a lot more time. All that manual configuration and design also increases the risk of error. It is hard to per- fectly translate every design element from the datasheet. As the designer makes more man- ual entries, missing something that will create problems becomes much more likely. Some teams are large and have enough resources devoted to part creation or update, as well as quality control and cataloging. Over time, this method results in a personal CAD library that can eventually reduce the number of parts needing creation. Another option is farming parts creation out to third party vendors. Both methods have one thing in common: they add cost to the product development. Is there a better way to manage parts for a small team or a single designer? As is oen the case with PCB design, the answer is a resounding… probably. Dealing with less-than-adequate parts libraries is a constant pain point for designers. For a small or overbur- dened design team, it makes sense to use the most up-to-date, com- prehensive parts libraries available. ere are several third-party library options available where the search for and download of parts is usually free. e two main players in this space are SnapEDA and Ultra Librar- ian. Both support a fairly wide range of CAD tool formats. ere are several CAD tools avail- able that can integrate with one of these services. is makes the searching and saving of parts an intuitive part of the CAD tool. Designers should look for free-to-use CAD tools that integrate with their chosen parts library. Integrating the CAD tool with the parts library can put millions of parts at the designer's fingertips and help eliminate the need for building custom parts. No matter how a design team is structured, there will be opportunities to bolster and streamline the process by which PCB part libraries are accessed and used. Even with parts library integration, the need for custom parts can never be eliminated. It makes sense to check all new or updated parts against the data- sheet—be they created in-house or by a third- party vendor. ings like hole and pad spacing, as well as size, are very critical elements of the part footprint. Even a small error can mean the difference between the part fitting or not. Always try to work smarter, not harder, and keep in mind that technology can be a very use- ful tool when it comes to parts libraries. DESIGN007 Matt Stevenson is the VP of sales and marketing at Sunstone Circuits. To read past columns or contact Stevenson, click here.