-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueShowing Some Constraint
A strong design constraint strategy carefully balances a wide range of electrical and manufacturing trade-offs. This month, we explore the key requirements, common challenges, and best practices behind building an effective constraint strategy.
All About That Route
Most designers favor manual routing, but today's interactive autorouters may be changing designers' minds by allowing users more direct control. In this issue, our expert contributors discuss a variety of manual and autorouting strategies.
Creating 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.
- Articles
- Columns
- 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.
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
Ansys 2025 R2 Enables Next-Level Productivity by Leveraging AI, Smart Automation, and Broader On-Demand Capabilities
07/30/2025 | PRNewswireAnsys, now part of Synopsys, announced 2025 R2, featuring new AI-powered capabilities across the portfolio that accelerate simulation and expand accessibility.
Target Condition: The 5 Ws of PCB Design Constraints
07/29/2025 | Kelly Dack -- Column: Target ConditionHave you ever sat down to define PCB design constraints and found yourself staring at a settings window with more checkboxes than a tax form? You’re not alone. For many designers—especially those newer to the layout world—the task of setting up design constraints can feel like trying to write a novel in a language you just started learning.
Zuken to Showcase Defence & Security-Focused Electronic Systems Design Solutions at DSEI 2025
07/24/2025 | ZukenZuken, a global leader in electronic and electrical design automation, will showcase its latest innovations for defence and security systems at DSEI 2025, taking place at ExCeL London from 9–12 September 2025.
Creating a Design Constraint Strategy
07/24/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamMost designers learn how to set their design constraints through trial and error. EDA vendors’ guidelines explain how to use their particular tools’ constraints, and IPC standards offer a roadmap, but PCB designers usually develop their own unique styles for setting constraints. Is there a set of best practices for setting constraints? That’s what I asked Global Electronics Association design instructor Kris Moyer, who covers design constraints in his classes.
Elementary Mr. Watson: Closing the Gap Between Design and Manufacturing
07/23/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonModern PCB designers are not merely engineers or technicians. I believe that PCB design, at its core, is an art form, and modern PCB designers should be considered artists. Beyond the technical calculations and engineering rules lies a creative process that involves vision, balance, and a passion for what we do. Like any artist who works with brush and canvas or chisel and stone, a PCB designer shapes invisible pathways that bring ideas to life. Each trace, layer, and component placement reflects thoughtful decisions that blend form, fit, and function.