![]() ![]() We keep our library up-to-date by working with component vendors and distributors, and by analyzing our vast usage data. When we work with component vendors, we use this data to help them take a targeted and efficient approach to CAD model creation. During this time, we’ve also amassed data on the most in-demand components, allowing us to accurately predict market traction. Natasha: Since we launched over five years ago, our library has grown to include models for millions of electronic components. How many parts? How do you keep the database up to date? J.: Tell us about the parts in your database. Natasha: Our platform is compatible with Altium, Cadence OrCad and Allegro, Mentor PADS, KiCad, Eagle, PCB123, and Proteus.Ĭ. With which design tools do your CAD files work? J.: SnapEDA provides a library of CAD files. With over 120,000 registered engineers around the world and growing fast, we've become a go-to place for component discovery and design-in.įigure 3: Inside SnapEDA's San Francisco office.Ĭ. We make money by helping component vendors gain design wins on SnapEDA, and on other websites. As engineers, we (or our companies) are ultimately buying the components, so should we have to pay for the footprint too? As a result, our platform is free for engineers. Making it free also just made more sense. ![]() It's the ones who don't (and generally, with smaller budgets) who benefit most from our platform. Big companies have dedicated librarians to make symbols and footprints. But as an engineer, it was important to me that we democratize access to this content. It answers important questions like: “Is this footprint based on IPC standards or datasheet recommendations?” And: “Is the origin properly defined for the pick-and-place machine?” Our library is completely free, which raised eyebrows in the industry when we launched. Because of this, in addition to the actual libraries, we provide an automated verification tool. This means that libraries need to be accurate. Libraries are extremely important to electronics engineers because, unlike software, electronics get manufactured. This allows them to focus on building great products - rather than building libraries. With SnapEDA, engineers can drag-and-drop symbols, footprints, and 3-D models into their designs ( Figure 2). ![]() Natasha: It's a website that provides libraries for circuit board design. J.: Tell us more about SnapEDA and your business model. When I got home from the trade show, I quit my job to start building SnapEDA - the first search engine for electronics design content.įigure 1: You can discover new components at SnapEDAĬ. I wondered why there wasn’t a “Google” for electronics, a place where engineers could go to find trusted data for their designs. They were spending days recreating content over and over again - time that could be better spent on innovating better products. At that moment, it dawned on me that engineers all over the world faced the same challenges. I spent days creating the symbols, simulation models, and footprints for each component in my design from scratch. As I moved from capture to layout, I was amazed - and frustrated - that the content I needed did not exist in my circuit board design software. It was a standard reference design, so I figured it would be a breeze to complete. One day, I was designing a simple circuit board for an upcoming trade show in California. Natasha Baker: I created SnapEDA ( Figure 1) to solve the challenges I faced when designing circuit boards. Abate: You have a background as an electronic design automation ( EDA) engineer. Today, the company’s library comprises handy models for millions of electronic components that engineers, students, and makers can use for circuit board design.Ĭ. Back in 2013, Natasha Baker launched SnapEDA to develop a search engine for electronics design content.
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