Lib for Infineon devices

Hi there,

I am just get started with KiCAD and my first impression is excellent. However, I can’t find devices from Infineon like XMC processors, power devices etc.
Can somebody give me some hint.

thanks,

IMO when you are designing and need some component you have two options:

option 1: you found somewhere the library / footprint for the component you need, and you have to double check every pin and dimensions of the component. Eventually spend time to fix it correctly for your proposes. Sometimes the footprint does not fit our needs in relation how you want solder the component… the chip manufacturer can also recommend different footprints for different solder profiles (reflow, wave soldering, hand soldering…etc)

option 2: you create yourself the component and the footprint the way you like for the target solder. You double check your design.

I started to design using option 1 ( I was trying to speed up the design process ) then I got some issues and footprint errors that makes the board scrap :frowning: So I never used the option 1 again and start to design any component / footprint I need… Now I only go for option 2.

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thanks for your input,

so, I guess, I will also follow your option 2

Yeah, by the time you have fixed and adjusted a ‘foreign’ footprint to your personal standards, you’ve also drawn it completely new from the datasheet - the more often you do this, the faster you get.

Only problem, when you start out new with pcb design at some point you’ll notice that your DIY footprints need some more features you didn’t think of when you made them - I just did go over my personal lib for the 3rd time, took me 3 days :slight_smile:

There is no business case using footprints other than the ones you made yourself. Unless the manufacturer provides it. Which is not yet the case at least not for KiCad. The good news is that after a short while you’ll have the footprints you need in your library and the effort creating new footprints comes down significantly.

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http://library.oshec.org/

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As a former KiCad library maintainer I would like to say, that KiCad library team still has not enough manpower to create or validate libraries. That’s why the standard library set may not satisfy many users. We have taken some steps to attract more users to work on libraries or share with their own, but it was not a “boom” what could be expected.

That’s why you’re stuck with option 2 for symbols for Eeschema. In case of footprints certainly most of them are now included in the standard set.

Nothing stands in the way to share your own symbols through GitHub to gradually increase their number in the default libraries.

It would be nice to have a guide (linked) that would explain how to make more components in such a way that they can be added to the libraries. Should there be new libraries? Repo fork? Announcement?

Also, this

there would be nice to have also a 3D library for models coming from a mechanical modeler (e.g. FreeCAD as on open source option, but also other sw giving the model source in STEP interchange format)
there are already some people working on that library here


Please consider that 3D mechanical argument is on the top yearly items on this forum
(2nd, 3rd, 4th place)

may be it could be nice to open an official repo for MCAD models, as a fork of Wings3D models
Maurice