> On Feb 17, 2017, at 2:35 PM, Noel Chiappa <j...@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote: > > ... >> From: Guy Sotomayor Jr > >> In terms of community supplied libraries, Eagle has those too and I've >> found that by and large they are junk (it's easier/quicker for me to >> create a part on my own >> ... While I haven't seen a lot of KiCAD contributed libraries (that's >> part of the problem) > > KiCAD came with a fairly large set of user-contributed libraries. For various > reasons (including working with archaic parts), I've wound up adding quite a > few, but i've usally found it pretty easy to modify an exising part from the > libraries, to get what I need. YMMV.
One thing I learned with Eagle (an old version -- I started with it on DOS, with a physical license dongle) is that you can define library stuff via scripting. This is very helpful when defining 120-pin PCB footprints. I don't remember precisely, but I think you can export libraries from Eagle in some sort of text form. If that's true, then it would be SMOP to write a KiCAD library importer. The key question is whether the library semantics are compatible. EAGLE is rather nice in the way it handles schematic symbols vs. footprints and all that. I used EAGLE long ago for one project, and more recently for another, but I haven't found it sufficiently useful to buy it a second time to get the non-free version. Not that I really need the autorouter, it isn't really all that useful. But still, it's pretty steep for a hobbyist. I discovered KiCAD, haven't used it yet, should give it a try. One nice aspect of EAGLE is that a number of PCB fab shops will accept EAGLE *.BRD files directly, rather than asking for Gerber and drill files. paul