

Common Parts Library - sam
http://octopart.com/common-parts-library?a=1

======
jwr
This is great. I am _so_ glad this is getting done! I've spent way too much
time clicking around the horrible distributor search engines, trying to
determine which parts are cheap, readily available and will remain so (these
three things usually go in hand). It is incredibly difficult and time-
consuming if you are looking for something like a 12MHz SMD crystal: good luck
sifting through thousands of options.

The current selection is very limited, but still useful for many projects, I
will certainly make use of it.

The logical next step would be a KiCAD (and possibly Eagle?) library
containing all the footprints. Not just thrown in there, or auto-converted,
but actually verified by a human.

~~~
sam
Thanks. Yes, footprints and symbols are on the roadmap. Since it's a limited
number of parts, we'll be able to have well defined, reliable data there.

~~~
reportingsjr
Please, please, PLEASE support KiCad with this! I use octopart pretty
extensively and have loved it so far. I would be fanatical if you guys had
KiCad footprints and symbols as it is the only decent EDA tool that is on all
three major OSes.

~~~
tomkinstinch
I'll second the motion for KiCAD footprints and symbols!

There is not a good central repository for KiCAD parts, and on the client side
the process for managing components or creating new ones is very convoluted.
KiCAD is tremendously useful, but its creators need to take a serious look at
usability. A cloud-based parts library would be a killer feature, along with
drop-in public domain circuit "modules" (comprised of several to many
connected components).

~~~
reportingsjr
The development version of KiCad actually pulls the footprint library from
github. It is significantly updated and quite a lot better than it used to be.
Still has a long way to go, but it really is so much better than it was even a
year ago.

------
jimmyswimmy
To start, this is a nice idea and I'm happy to contribute a bit to it, time
depending and output depending. I'll be looking for an Altium library
containing these parts and links in order to stay interested.

The 2N7002 has always been my standby signal NMOS. There are no power FETs or
IGBT modules. Be nice to include some of the Ixys stuff.

A hinge-type micro SD card socket would be a nice variation, something that's
harder to jar loose.

Hirose make some pretty nice board-to-board connectors. All you have on there
so far are yucky 100 mil thruhole headers. Some finer pitch stuff would be
nice. And pin pitch and number need to be a sortable/searchable field. Some
SMB sockets would be awesome for test points, as would some test point headers
(Vector makes nice ones like the K24 series, but my buddies like the little
ones with the plastic colored bushing and a ring on top).

There are nowhere near enough microcontrollers. You could easily have 20
MSP430s. I've had good luck with the MSP430F2246 and F5438, I believe, but
we've used a ton of different varieties.

How about a 232 driver like the MAX232 family? Or a 485/422 transceiver, or
any kind of differential driver/receiver pair. Those Analog Devices ADUM
isolated transceivers are great parts.

And no Zeners! The BZX84C series are a nice family to start with. I want to
gag over the opamp selection.

I don't think the kinds of specs you offer are sufficient to describe the
parts there. This could be said for just about everything on that list, which
is probably the biggest issue with such a list. Most parts that designers
select are chosen for one of two reasons - we don't care and they're in the
library, or they are the key part that makes everything else worth doing. In
the first instance, this list is great. In the second, I'm going to spend a
day looking at all the vendor options to pick the best part I can find. But
even for the parts I don't really care about, I have some concerns - the part
has to work right for the application. Active parts are specified by many key
parameters and in the case of opamps in particular these parameters are not
indicated at all here, so I'll end up having to look up each part's details
anyway. Consider input bias current, offset voltage, 0.1-10 hz noise,
10hz-1khz integrated noise, just as a start.

Rant off. Nice idea, here's my two cents worth.

~~~
omgtehlion
\+ for 2n7002

and why LPC1830? LPC1768 seems to be far more popular

------
sam
More info about the Common Parts Library is available here,
[http://octopart.com/common-parts-library/about](http://octopart.com/common-
parts-library/about)

------
mellis
This is great! A few things that might be nice to add are the ATmega32U4 (on
the Arduino Leonardo and Micro, among other things), the ATtiny85, the
ATtiny84, and these resonators: [http://www.digikey.com/product-
detail/en/AWSCR-8.00CV-T/535-...](http://www.digikey.com/product-
detail/en/AWSCR-8.00CV-T/535-10004-1-ND/2001627)

For hand-soldering, it might be nice to include 1206 packages in addition to
0603 ones, although I realize that would make the list much longer.

Another good reference for this kind of thing is the Fab Lab inventory:
[http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/fab/inv.html](http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/fab/inv.html)
and it might be worth looking that over to see if there's anything that seems
worth adding.

~~~
sam
Thanks! Great suggestions. Stay tuned for updates to the list.

------
sbierwagen
Ah, funny they mention the Open Parts Library-- we bought two for stock before
figuring out that it's really a DFM kinda thing, which doesn't fit with the
hobbyist customer segment at all. If anybody wants to buy one from a US-based
distributor, you can certainly take them off our hands:
[http://www.robotmesh.com/open-parts-library-
basic-v2?___SID=...](http://www.robotmesh.com/open-parts-library-
basic-v2?___SID=hn)

------
noonespecial
Awesome. We also need a repository of things that can be built solely with
parts from the library. (ie "The 10 watt CPL boost regulator" etc).

~~~
jwr
Boost regulator might be difficult — my first observation was that there are
no power inductors. These would be my next step, but unfortunately there would
have to be at least several of those for them to be of any use.

I'd go with shielded 2.2µH/4.7µH/10µH/47µH/68µH/100µH SMD inductors, and
definitely more than 1A.

------
gear54rus
For some reason, I thought it was related to GitHub and its octocats :) Nice
concept.

Minor visual bug:
[http://octopart.com/#Resistors](http://octopart.com/#Resistors)

'Case / Package / Footprint' input-with-dropdown border looks a bit different
from other string inputs on the same page (FF 32.0.3).

------
Animats
Now you just need a prototyping service which has this standard library in
stock, ready to be loaded into a pick and place machine.

It's amusing to see the world of transistors reduced to one general purpose
transistor, and one FET, each in N and P polarity.

~~~
EChrisDenney
@Animate - Chris here from WAi (contributor)

That's our plan. We already have over most of them in our facility already.
Where do you think a lot of the part numbers came from ;)

------
Animats
Now someone needs to write something like the Art of Electronics based on this
component set.

------
helhawary
This is pretty amazing

~~~
EChrisDenney
@helhawary - Chris here from WAi (contributor)

I'm glad you like it. Anything you particularly like or are disappointed that
you didn't see?

------
owenversteeg
No thermoelectric elements :(

~~~
EChrisDenney
@owenversteeg - Chris from WAi here (contributor)

Any recommendations?

~~~
owenversteeg
Since you're partnered with Adafruit, you may want to list the two that they
stock.

It looks like Octopart has these two:

[http://octopart.com/tec1-12706-conrad-24165703](http://octopart.com/tec1-12706-conrad-24165703)
[http://octopart.com/peltier1-velleman-12638546](http://octopart.com/peltier1-velleman-12638546)

The first is pretty standard, the second is overpriced and not sealed (which
will cause it to break easier - not recommended. Don't list the second.)

I'd put in the "description" field the type (Thermoelectric Generator or
Peltier Element) and then add a second field for the universal ID. You could
also add a third field for voltage range or a fourth for the casing material
type (commonly ceramic/silicone). Thermoelectric generators are more rare, so
you may not find so many of those. (I can't find any of the partners selling
them.) Using the universal ID allows you to easily find more of the same part,
allows you to quickly identify a specific element, and allows you to quickly
find the number of stages, number of thermocouples, amperage, size, and type.
The vast majority of the time the universal ID will be printed on the Peltier
element itself and will be the title of the product. For some weird reason
_one_ of the Adafruit Peltier elements has a strange, proprietary labeling
system. (The two Octopart links and the other Adafruit one use the standard
system.)

So, the table would look like

Description | Universal ID | Voltage Range | Casing | Link

Peltier Element | TEC1-12701 | 5V-7V | Ceramic+Silicone |
[http://www.adafruit.com/products/1331](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1331)

Peltier Element | TEC1-12706 | 12V-15.5V | Ceramic+Silicone |
[http://www.adafruit.com/products/1330](http://www.adafruit.com/products/1330)

Peltier Element | TEC1-12706 | 14V-16V | Ceramic+Silicone |
[http://octopart.com/tec1-12706-conrad-24165703](http://octopart.com/tec1-12706-conrad-24165703)

(I'm not listing the overpriced, unsealed one.)

Could you add a table like the one above? I'd love it. Peltier elements are
very common, used in beverage coolers, lasers, computer coolers, watches - you
name it, they're there. There are also just a few types of Peltier element
that make up the market (three very common ones are listed above) so they are
a perfect candidate for the library.

Universal ID diagram:
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Peltier_...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Peltier_IDs_explained.svg)

