Is there an easy way to select/source parts?

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My projects are in KiCad.

Just for fun I tried EasyEDA. What I found was an easier way to source parts. I like the fact that I could click on a part, make an informed technical/financial decision and then get the part on a list.

Maybe there is a good way to do this in KiCad that I just don’t know how to go about it. I installed a bunch of libraries but the parts selection is small compared to EasyEDA. It feels like there is something I don’t know.

Wondering; what would be the best way to improve my knowledge around this?

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EasyEDA also sells parts. It make sense for them to build software that sells specific parts when they make a profit from them.

Digikey has a library that is more what you are looking for I think. At least check it out.

Also, check out Kicost. Not exactly what you are looking for but might be useful to you. You can find a link here:

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Thanks for the reply … and truth is, I prefer KiCad to remain free of commercialism. 10/10 for Open Source even if some commercial features are desirable in other products. KiCad is kind of open source masterpiece right up there with Linux etc.

Nevertheless, an open source multivendor “partsfinder” would be a useful app.

BTW I do use Digikey’s library … it could work well but I guess its up to them to put the parts in the database.

And I’ll explore Kicost.

Peter

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I did develop this package a while back to work as a partfinder - however, commercial interests from Octopart have taken over and you now need to pay for an API key.

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