It’s meant for hobbyists, but the community is impressively big. If you want to freeze these parts in time or modify them, you can create a component from a Manufacturer Part Search.ĬircuitMaker: CircuitMaker is the stripped-down, free version of Altium Designer. It’s now a different panel but works the same way that it used to.
The following is a (non-exhaustive) list of some of the free footprint providers out there:Īltium Manufacturer Part Search: Originally known as the Altium Content Vault, these components are ready to be dropped directly onto your schematics. We’ll walk through each of these providers one by one and explain their offerings a bit. If you're interested in a Circuitmaker, Component Search Engine, and the difference between SnapEDA vs. Once you’re armed with this information, you will spend most of your time designing and routing boards instead of pulling your hair out and creating footprints all day. In this article, we’re going to review some of the free design offerings that exist within the PCB design community and show you not only how to access them but quickly add them to your Altium managed components (i.e., vault) located at Altium 365 or Concord Pro. Still, if you’re an individual or startup trying to throw together a quick prototype, chances are you’d be willing to fork over the extra $0.50. Are you willing to spend the time it takes to create that footprint or spend the extra $0.50? The answer depends on the volume and complexity of the footprint. Company B sells virtually the same part priced at $5.50 but with a footprint. Why would they spend their time doing this? Imagine Company A sells a connector for $5.00, but no footprint is provided.
Companies now realize this pain point and offer designers free, well-designed PCB footprints. It’s tedious, time-consuming, and doesn’t result in much except, well, a footprint. Designing footprints is a job most people hate. One of the biggest hurdles individuals and startups face with creating new PCB designs is footprint creation.
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