-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueCreating the Ideal Data Package
Why is it so difficult to create the ideal data package? Many of these simple errors can be alleviated by paying attention to detail—and knowing what issues to look out for. So, this month, our experts weigh in on the best practices for creating the ideal design data package for your design.
Designing Through the Noise
Our experts discuss the constantly evolving world of RF design, including the many tradeoffs, material considerations, and design tips and techniques that designers and design engineers need to know to succeed in this high-frequency realm.
Learning to Speak ‘Fab’
Our expert contributors clear up many of the miscommunication problems between PCB designers and their fab and assembly stakeholders. As you will see, a little extra planning early in the design cycle can go a long way toward maintaining open lines of communication with the fab and assembly folks.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
PCB123 Launches Access to Millions of Cloud-Based Symbols & Footprints
September 13, 2017 | Business WireEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Sunstone Circuits, creators of the free PCB design tool, PCB123, and SnapEDA, the internet’s first parts library for circuit board design, are launching a new integration that allows designers to search for digital models directly inside the PCB123 design environment.
Designers have traditionally wasted days creating digital models, such as symbols & footprints, for their designs. This process is tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone. With today’s release of PCB123 Version 5.6, designers can now search and download free, cloud-based symbols and footprints directly during design capture and layout, significantly boosting design productivity.
“For forty years, PCB designers have frittered away countless hours defining parts because there simply wasn't a workable, affordable source for accurate, ready-made parts. In fact, surveys show that most professional designers spend an average of 30-35% of their design time just making new parts definitions before they can even get started,” said Nolan Johnson, CAD & EDA Product Marketing Manager at Sunstone Circuits.
“SnapEDA has disrupted that dynamic in an easy-to-use, no-cost utility, and PCB123 is proud to be bringing true in-tool integration of SnapEDA’s parts search functions to our loyal users - in a free PCB CAD tool, no less,” Johnson added.
PCB123 is a free, full-function PCB CAD tool, comprised of a schematic editor, physical layout editor, 3-dimensional mechanical previews, and BOM editor. By augmenting the tool with cloud-based libraries, designers will get real-time access to new symbols & footprints added to SnapEDA’s catalog, as well the ability to request parts they need for their designs with InstaPart, the company’s popular 24-hour parts request service.
“PCB123 has just released the industry’s first pre-installed integration of a cloud-based parts library. Their impressive solution will benefit PCB designers with access to vetted parts models that will shave days off design time, and benefit the world through faster innovation,” said Natasha Baker, Founder & CEO of SnapEDA.
All new models created by SnapEDA conform to the latest IPC standards (IPC-7351B) and are vetted with its patent-pending verification technology. Design content is available for millions of electronic components, enabled by SnapEDA’s proprietary, automated library creation, translation, and verification technology.
About Sunstone
Sunstone Circuits is the established leader in providing innovative and reliable printed circuit board (PCB) solutions for the electronic design industry. With over 40 years of experience in delivering high-quality, on-time PCB prototypes, Sunstone Circuits is committed to improving the prototyping process for the design engineer from quote to delivery. With live on-site customer support every day of the year (24/7/365), Sunstone Circuits provides unparalleled customer service and leads the industry with a real On-Time Guarantee that is the first of its kind. For more information about Sunstone’s innovative PCB solutions, or to learn more about the online quote and ordering process, please visit www.Sunstone.com.
About SnapEDA
SnapEDA is the Internet’s first parts library for circuit board design. By providing ready-to-use building blocks for design, its library shaves days off product development, allowing designers to focus on optimization and innovation, and reducing the risk of production delays through verified manufacturing models. Over 60,000 registered hardware designers worldwide rely on SnapEDA to design faster, to make things like satellites, drones or self-driving vehicles. Based in San Francisco, the company is funded by Y Combinator and private investors. Visit www.snapeda.com to learn more.
Suggested Items
RF PCB Design Tips and Tricks
05/08/2025 | Cherie Litson, EPTAC MIT CID/CID+There are many great books, videos, and information online about designing PCBs for RF circuits. A few of my favorite RF sources are Hans Rosenberg, Stephen Chavez, and Rick Hartley, but there are many more. These PCB design engineers have a very good perspective on what it takes to take an RF design from schematic concept to PCB layout.
Cadence Unveils Millennium M2000 Supercomputer with NVIDIA Blackwell Systems
05/08/2025 | Cadence Design SystemsAt its annual flagship user event, CadenceLIVE Silicon Valley 2025, Cadence announced a major expansion of its Cadence® Millennium™ Enterprise Platform with the introduction of the new Millennium M2000 Supercomputer featuring NVIDIA Blackwell systems, which delivers AI-accelerated simulation at unprecedented speed and scale across engineering and drug design workloads.
The Right Blend: Mixed Wireless Technologies
05/08/2025 | Kirsten Zima, Siemens EDAA common trend recently is to employ as many radios as possible on a single PCB. With the increase of wireless standards and the downscaling of PCB size, it can be difficult to know what the most critical design parameters are to focus on. In this article, we’ll discuss the most important considerations to make when designing with mixed wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi, on a single PCB. These considerations include antennas, frequencies, FCC compliance, shielding, and layout with and without transition vias.
ZESTRON Announces New Reliability and Solutions Service for Risk Assessment & Mitigation of Electronic Assemblies
05/06/2025 | ZESTRONZESTRON, the leading global provider of high-precision cleaning products, services, and training solutions, is thrilled to introduce its new Reliability and Solutions (R&S) service.
PCB East Continues to Expand
05/06/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineIt was a perfect week for a conference and trade show in metropolitan Boston, with high temperatures in the 70s. PCB East took place at the Boxboro Regency Hotel and Conference Center April 29–May 2, with the expo on April 30. PCB East has been expanding since its relaunch a few years ago, with conference and show attendance rising each year.