Does there exist a JCLPCB footprint library, or a tool to generate one ?
Background:
I am using KiCad 6.0, and Bouni’s nice JLCPCB tool where you can assign JLCPCB / LCSC partnumbers to your design. However after selecting a JLCPCB / LCSC partnumber, I still need to manually assign a footprint from they many KiCAD choices. E.g. for a SOIC-8 component it is not clear which of the 4 SOIC-8 choices KiCAD offers I have to use. I thus have to read the datasheet and compare with what KiCAD Footprint Editor shows, looking through all the variants. Tedious. The exact footprint information seem to be available from JLCPCB.
I have done 2 KiCAD designs, and never used JLCPCB before.
You could try the Snapeda footprints but checking footprints against datasheets are part of due diligence, just as you wouldn’t design a circuit without looking at the electrical characteristics. Once you have the part you want you could save a copy of the symbol in your own libraries that has the appropriate footprint specified.
I’d go as far as to say:
Rule No. 1 when laying out a board is ALWAYS check the data sheet before placing a new footprint on a board… trust no one except yourself.
There really is no easy way out or quick fix.
My method is:
If the footprint is in the Kicad library, I’ll check it against a data sheet, make alterations if necessary, then place it in a personal library.
If the footprint is not in a Kicad library, I’ll either make the required footprint or modify a suitable Kicad footprint then place it in a personal library.
After making some personal libraries (about 1/4 hour) and spending 1/2 hour mastering the footprint editor, it is then usually quicker and easier to make footprints than scour the internet looking for something that maybe or maybe not correct.
But that’s plain dumb, if you have the library standardized for a specific manufacturer (e.g. JLC) designing it after their specifications simplifies the design efforts in orders of magnitude, why don’t they release it?