On 15/12/2010 19:16, Olin Lathrop wrote:
> Oli Glaser wrote:
>> I think Eagle is pretty good for libraries from what I can
>> see, although someone with more experience with it (like Olin) would
>> know more.
> Eagle comes with lots of pre-defined parts.  However, I never use them.  =
I'm
> picky about what my symbols look like, conventions for SMD pad sizing, wh=
at
> the silkscreen looks like, etc.  The standard parts seem to be hastily ma=
de
> without consistent conventions.  Many ICs have the schematic symbol in in
> number order, for example.  Yucc!
>
> Of course nobody else's libraries are going to adhere to my conventions f=
or
> additional information so that a BOM can be automatically generated.  I h=
ave
> given this some thought and use a set of user-defined attributes for this
> purpose.  A Eagle ULP (executable code that can be run in Eagle that has
> access to the internal data structures) and some external code uses these
> attributes to largely populate a BOM.
>
> If anyone is using Eagle and is thinking about how to automate BOM
> generation, please look at what I have available before creating yet anot=
her
> incompatible convention.  All my stuff is available for free with source
> code, so it's no locking you into anything.  I have attached the EAGLE_AT=
TR
> documentation file so you can get a feeling for how the system works.  Mo=
re
> details and all the code is available in the Eagle Tools release at
> http://www.embedinc.com/pic/dload.htm.

Thanks for the info, will certainly consider using this if I go that=20
way, looks very useful..
Shame the libraries are not too good, I'm a bit fussy about that kind of=20
stuff also and seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time changing=20
parts to my liking in the programs I have used.
FWIW, Altium is the best I have seen for consistent part conventions=20
(has nice things like 3 different versions for each part with suffix N,=20
M and L for different board densities etc) and includes a very good BOM=20
production tool, where you can select what is included, how it's=20
organised, customise attributes, export to Excel, database etc.
I guess no tool is going to suit every individual fully, but it's nice=20
to have well organised and half decent libraries to start off with/add=20
to, especially for things like ICs with >200 pins to name and number...
On that front, I have noticed quite a few companies produce their own=20
parts for some of the popular programs, which is yet another reason for=20
choosing a less obscure one - for instance, Microchip have the "Ultra=20
Librarian" tool which includes support for Eagle, Altium, Allegro, Orcad=20
etc. TI have similar for Cadence, Orcad, Mentor (no mention of Eagle I=20
can see) and others do similar. They probably all have different ways of=20
doing things (though adapting an existing part is usually quicker than=20
starting from scratch), but may be helpful when time is short,=20
especially for large and complex parts.



--=20
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