footprinter.xyz - Quick footprints from component datasheets

[fredgreer]

Hi all,

I've been hacking away at a little project you might find useful: http://footprinter.xyz/

It's a very basic footprint editor that lets you draw pads on top of the recommended footprints from component datasheets.



There's more information on GitHub at https://github.com/fredgreer/footprinter

Please let me know if it helps you!

[pierreraymondrondelle]

Hi,
Please tell me how to use it and what version of Kicad it is compatible with.
Thanks in advance.

[Spirit532]

That is really great!
A couple suggestions:

• Snap alignment of pads to others - not to a grid, just so that they're all straight and of the same size.
• Very basic edge recognition to snap to lines on the document

[ignilux]

Neat! One thing I would suggest would be to have the size of new pads be equal to the size of the most recent pad placed.

[Habropoda]

There is some sort of copy function shown on the demo but I don't see how it is started.  Is this working for anyone?

[Spirit532]

There is some sort of copy function shown on the demo but I don't see how it is started.  Is this working for anyone?

Ctrl+C and then Ctrl+V works for me.

[Habropoda]

That does it.  Thanks!

[pierreraymondrondelle]

Hi,
How do you install / use it ?
There's no executable, so I think that it's a plugin. I'm stuck here !
Regards

[Habropoda]

It's not a plug in.  It works as a web page in Firefox but would not work in IE.  Try a different browser.

[ataradov]

Don't those things in the datasheet always say "not to scale" and such?

[pierreraymondrondelle]

It's not a plug in.  It works as a web page in Firefox but would not work in IE.  Try a different browser.

Not so obvious to open http://footprinter.xyz/ ! The readme file is very confusing.

Thanks a lot anyway, you put me on the right way.
Regards

[free_electron]

Don't those things in the datasheet always say "not to scale" and such?

yup. exactly my first thought ... also vertical and horizontal may be differently scaled.

i would like to see a 'solidowrks style' interface.

you draw shapes and specify distances / lengths between objects.

[Nerull]

Don't those things in the datasheet always say "not to scale" and such?

yup. exactly my first thought ... also vertical and horizontal may be differently scaled.

i would like to see a 'solidowrks style' interface.

you draw shapes and specify distances / lengths between objects.

Very much this. Every time I have to draw something in any EDA I've tried I find myself really wishing I had a dimension tool.

[mark03]

The nice thing about Kicad is that the footprint format is plain text and fairly simple.  With some practice you can have a text editor open in one window, the datasheet in another, and just enter the footprint by hand.  This is much faster than any graphical tool.

[thinkfat]

I tried it briefly to create a QFN40 footprint from a datasheet.

• Precision is not good, to match the pad sizes from the datasheet I still end up entering the actual numbers from the datasheet, I'm not able to match the numbers using the visual interface
• Positioning of the pads is consequently off
• Positioning the pads with the mouse is tedious and difficult get the necessary precision
• Screen captures from the datasheet, which is what I'd mostly do, doesn't give a reference precise enough. All the lines are multiple pixels thick

Footprint attached for reference

[free_electron]

I tried it briefly to create a QFN40 footprint from a datasheet.

• Precision is not good, to match the pad sizes from the datasheet I still end up entering the actual numbers from the datasheet, I'm not able to match the numbers using the visual interface
• Positioning of the pads is consequently off
• Positioning the pads with the mouse is tedious and difficult get the necessary precision
• Screen captures from the datasheet, which is what I'd mostly do, doesn't give a reference precise enough. All the lines are multiple pixels thick

Footprint attached for reference

footprints like that are easy to make. it's the crap like this that is a pain in the butt :

[thinkfat]

footprints like that are easy to make. it's the crap like this that is a pain in the butt :

Yeah, I know. If you need a standard footprint there are other, better options, like the footprint wizards in KiCAD

But still, I'd prefer a parametric input instead of a point-n-click interface, which might get me a result quickly but what's it worth if the pads are a couple 10ths of millimeters off because it's not possible to setup the scale or place the pads with enough precision.

[free_electron]

footprints like that are easy to make. it's the crap like this that is a pain in the butt :

Yeah, I know. If you need a standard footprint there are other, better options, like the footprint wizards in KiCAD

But still, I'd prefer a parametric input instead of a point-n-click interface, which might get me a result quickly but what's it worth if the pads are a couple 10ths of millimeters off because it's not possible to setup the scale or place the pads with enough precision.

exactly.  Last friday i had to make one for a power ic that had pads with 45 degree and 33 degree angles in them ... QFN device with internal pads ,pads with cutout , pads that widen as the enter the body. And of course datasheet had all measurements .... except the ones i need ( center of pad and pad length and width. They only gave the edge coordinates ... mmaaargghhhhh  so i modeled it in solidworks since there you can easily specify anything to anything and the tool will warp and bend your sketch to your specification. )  load the step file in altium -> create pcb from 3d body model . kaploink. done.

[tszaboo]

I tried it briefly to create a QFN40 footprint from a datasheet.

• Precision is not good, to match the pad sizes from the datasheet I still end up entering the actual numbers from the datasheet, I'm not able to match the numbers using the visual interface
• Positioning of the pads is consequently off
• Positioning the pads with the mouse is tedious and difficult get the necessary precision
• Screen captures from the datasheet, which is what I'd mostly do, doesn't give a reference precise enough. All the lines are multiple pixels thick

Footprint attached for reference

footprints like that are easy to make. it's the crap like this that is a pain in the butt :

And connectors. Especially the ones that come without 3d file to verify, and interlock with an enclosure, with a datasheet full with strange mix of imperial and metric values. Drafted by a person who is a mechanical engineer, never made a footprint in his life and doesn't really speak English.

[free_electron]

I tried it briefly to create a QFN40 footprint from a datasheet.

• Precision is not good, to match the pad sizes from the datasheet I still end up entering the actual numbers from the datasheet, I'm not able to match the numbers using the visual interface
• Positioning of the pads is consequently off
• Positioning the pads with the mouse is tedious and difficult get the necessary precision
• Screen captures from the datasheet, which is what I'd mostly do, doesn't give a reference precise enough. All the lines are multiple pixels thick

Footprint attached for reference

footprints like that are easy to make. it's the crap like this that is a pain in the butt :

And connectors. Especially the ones that come without 3d file to verify, and interlock with an enclosure, with a datasheet full with strange mix of imperial and metric values. Drafted by a person who is a mechanical engineer, never made a footprint in his life and doesn't really speak English.

yup, those too.. i HATE connectors. to the point that, if a manufacturer can not provide a detailed STEP file i refuse to use their product.

[LapTop006]

I tried it briefly to create a QFN40 footprint from a datasheet.

• Precision is not good, to match the pad sizes from the datasheet I still end up entering the actual numbers from the datasheet, I'm not able to match the numbers using the visual interface
• Positioning of the pads is consequently off
• Positioning the pads with the mouse is tedious and difficult get the necessary precision
• Screen captures from the datasheet, which is what I'd mostly do, doesn't give a reference precise enough. All the lines are multiple pixels thick

Footprint attached for reference

footprints like that are easy to make. it's the crap like this that is a pain in the butt :

And connectors. Especially the ones that come without 3d file to verify, and interlock with an enclosure, with a datasheet full with strange mix of imperial and metric values. Drafted by a person who is a mechanical engineer, never made a footprint in his life and doesn't really speak English.

yup, those too.. i HATE connectors. to the point that, if a manufacturer can not provide a detailed STEP file i refuse to use their product.

Have you found you're able to trust those STEP files? So far I've always created the part per the numbers and just considered it a bonus if the step file works, let alone is fully detailed (and not obnoxious colours).