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.
I couldn't agree more about having trouble finding the parts you want on disty search engines. The best thing to do is use the filters but even then it can be overwhelming. That's exactly why having a common parts library is useful. It just helps narrow your scope a bit. If all you need is a simple indictor LED then you're search is over. 1K resistor, done. It should take 80% of the effort out of building a BOM. The rest is obviously up to your specific design.
I agree, I would love an EDA extension. I think Octopart is thinking/working on this.
What kind of projects do you work on that finding things at Digi-Key and Mouser is not easy? What kinds of components are difficult for you to source?
If you're looking for specific types of components within a broader range (such as you want a < 10 ppm SMD crystal at a strange frequency), sure, I can see finding something like a suitable crystal being less than easy. But for normal components (everything Digi-Key sells is "normal" to me) I have a hard time understanding how changing Digi-Key's search tool would make it better.
Many ICs are produced for specific purposes for a short time and are never made again. As a "pro-am", its hard to navigate this part of the supply chain. Ostensibly a common part library would have smart people looking to make sure that a part remained source-able in the long term. If the idea became big enough, the CPL would cause these chosen parts to be so.
I'd go with shielded 2.2µH/4.7µH/10µH/47µH/68µH/100µH SMD inductors, and definitely more than 1A.
Any recommendations?
It looks like Octopart has these two:
http://octopart.com/tec1-12706-conrad-24165703 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
Peltier Element | TEC1-12706 | 12V-15.5V | Ceramic+Silicone | http://www.adafruit.com/products/1330
Peltier Element | TEC1-12706 | 14V-16V | Ceramic+Silicone | 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_...
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.
and why LPC1830? LPC1768 seems to be far more popular
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 and it might be worth looking that over to see if there's anything that seems worth adding.
It's amusing to see the world of transistors reduced to one general purpose transistor, and one FET, each in N and P polarity.
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 ;)
I'm glad you like it. Anything you particularly like or are disappointed that you didn't see?
Minor visual bug: 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).
