logo-mobile

ROHM

ROHM
Menu
  • Arduino –
  • Raspberry Pi –
  • Trending –
  • Others –
  • About –
  • Contact –

Glossary

Creating Custom Parts in Fritzing

Jan Gromes
Published by Jan Gromes at February 27, 2018
Categories
  • Glossary
  • Others
Tags
  • circuit design
  • circuits
  • fritzing
  • prototyping
custom parts in fritzing

custom parts in fritzing

Fritzing is an open-source prototyping platform that allows its users to easily create electrical circuits. The main advantage Fritzing has over other free circuit design tools like Eagle or KiCAD EDA is the ability to create the circuits in “breadboard” view – basically just like using real wires to connect real components on a real workbench. Fritzing has quite a few electronic parts built-in and there are third-party libraries, but sometimes, your circuit might be using some new or rare component that isn’t included in any of them. This tutorial will guide you step-by-step through the process of turning those components into Fritzing parts.

Software

  • Fritzing version 0.9.3b – available from http://fritzing.org/home/
  • Inkscape – available from https://inkscape.org/en/

In this guide, you will learn the basics of working with vector graphics using free Inkscape editor. We will then use the graphics to create the source files for all three Fritzing views – the breadboard view, the schematic view and the PCB view. Finally, we will add some metadata and integrate all of it into a single Fritzing part!

Step 1: Gather all the information

Before we start drawing the vector graphics and designing the part, we will need all the information we can get, mainly the physical dimensions of the part to create the breadboard view, which should have the same dimensions as the real component. The dimensions are usually included in the datasheet, so that’s a good place to start. Manufacturers tend to put them on the last few pages.

custom parts in fritzing

Figure 1. Part dimensions in the datasheet

Unfortunately, it won’t be always this easy. Sometimes, the part you’re designing will simply not have a datasheet; typically if it’s a breakout board. You will probably be able to find a datasheet for the module on the breakout board, but not for the board itself. That’s when you’re going to have to improvise a little. Try searching the Internet first. Even though nobody had made the Fritzing part yet, someone might have measured the dimensions for you. If the search comes up empty, then it’s time to get the caliper and start measuring.

As an example for this guide, I will be making Fritzing parts for some of the sensors from the ROHM Sensor Evaluation Kit: UV sensor (ML8511), hall-effect sensor (BD7411G) and color sensor (BH1745NUC). The steps will be almost the same for all of them, so let’s just focus on ML8511A for now. The sensor is placed on a small breakout board, and since dimensions for the breakout board is not provided we’ll have to measure most things.

custom parts in fritzing

Figure 2. ML8511 breakout board

To create the graphic for breadboard view, you will need at least the outer board dimensions, the position of the mounting holes and the position of the connector. All of these affect the position of the part in Fritzing and connection to other parts, so you have to be very precise!

custom parts in fritzing

Figure 3. The minimum required dimensions

Tip: Lots of components on the breakout board have standardized dimensions. For example, the pitch of the pin header is 2.54 mm (0.1 inch). Dimensions of components like ICs can be found in their datasheet. Measuring those is usually not a good idea, since any measurement you take will always be less accurate than the dimensions you can find in datasheet.

Since the breadboard view should look the same as the real component, it’s also a good idea to measure position of components soldered onto the breadboard, like capacitors, resistors and ICs. When measuring those, you don’t have to be as precise as with the connectors. These components don’t connect to anything other than the board itself, so the errors in their position won’t affect the position of other Fritzing parts. Still, they should be roughly in the same place in the breadboard view as they are on the real part.

Now that we have all dimensions we need, it’s time to create an accurate vector-graphic depiction of our real life component!

 

1 2 3 4
Jan Gromes
Jan Gromes
Jan is currently studying Electrical Engineering at Brno University of Technology. He has many years of experience building projects using Arduino and other microcontrollers. His special interest lies in mechanical design of robotic systems.

Check us out on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Recommended Posts

  • Arduino Robot RF Explorer – Part 2 – Putting Everything TogetherArduino Robot RF Explorer – Part 2 – Putting Everything Together
  • 10 Free Engineering Resources for Circuit Simulation, PCB Design, and CAD10 Free Engineering Resources for Circuit Simulation, PCB Design, and CAD
  • 4 Free Apps Every Engineering Student Should Have4 Free Apps Every Engineering Student Should Have
  • How To Make Parking Assist Car SensorsHow To Make Parking Assist Car Sensors
  • Arduino Robot RF Explorer – Mechanics – Part 1Arduino Robot RF Explorer – Mechanics – Part 1
  • Smart Robotic Arm – Part 1: Mechanics and WiringSmart Robotic Arm – Part 1: Mechanics and Wiring
Receive update on new postsPrivacy Policy

Recommended Tutorials

  • How to integrate an RFID module with Raspberry Pi How to integrate an RFID module with Raspberry Pi
  • How to Use the NRF24l01+ Module with Arduino How to Use the NRF24l01+ Module with Arduino
  • How to Run Arduino Sketches on Raspberry Pi How to Run Arduino Sketches on Raspberry Pi
  • Setting Up Raspberry Pi as a Home Media Server Setting Up Raspberry Pi as a Home Media Server

Recommended Trends

  • SewBot Is Revolutionizing the Clothing Manufacturing Industry SewBot Is Revolutionizing the Clothing Manufacturing Industry
  • All About The Sumo Robot Competition And Technology All About The Sumo Robot Competition And Technology
  • 5 Interesting Tips to Calculating the Forward Kinematics of a Robot 5 Interesting Tips to Calculating the Forward Kinematics of a Robot
  • Go Inside the Drones That Are Changing Food Delivery Go Inside the Drones That Are Changing Food Delivery
Menu
  • Arduino –
    Arduino Beginner’s Guide
  • Raspberry Pi –
    Raspberry Pi Beginner's Guide
  • Trending –
    Updates on New Technologies
  • Others –
    Interviews / Events / Others

Check us out on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • About
  • Company
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Contact
  • Japanese
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
Don’t Forget to Follow Us!
© Copyright 2016-2023. Device Plus - Powered by ROHM
© 2023 Device Plus. All Rights Reserved. Muffin group

istanbul escort istanbul escort istanbul escort