If you’ve downloaded a footprint from SnapEDA for Altium, then you may have wondered how to properly import the courtyard and cutout layers. When importing the file, you need to map the placement courtyard to Mechanical Layer 15, and the board cutout regions to Mechanical Layer 1. In the video below, we’ll show you how…

Terminal blocks offer designers an easy and secure way to transmit data, signals, and power to your printed circuit board designs.  They’re built from an insulating frame and a clamping component. Terminal blocks serve as an effective method of connecting wires, whether it’s to ground them, secure multiple wires together, or provide communication between a device…

Last month, the 100,000th hardware engineer registered on SnapEDA, so I thought it would be fun to reach out to learn more about what they were working on. Little did I know that it would turn out to be so epic! Stefany Allaire is building the Commodore 256, what she believes should have been the successor…

Some designers on SnapEDA have mentioned that they would like to better understand the naming convention we use for footprints, so we’ve created this blog post as a handy reference. We build our footprints (also known as land patterns), to the IPC-7351B standard, with some exceptions. As such, we follow the naming convention defined in…

As engineers, we know that pressure sensors are used in thousands of everyday engineering applications, across a wide range of industries. For example, they’re used in our coffee makers to control the dispensing of liquid, in medical devices at hospitals, and in heating systems to trigger alarms. They measure the pressure, typically of liquids or gases,…

At SnapEDA we know how important it is to stay organized during the design process, and that’s why we are happy to announce an exciting new colloboration.  Starting this week, you’ll now be able to find SnapEDA’s symbols and footprints within PartsBox! PartsBox is an app for managing electronic components. It allows designers to keep…

A crystal oscillator is an electronic circuit that generates an electrical signal with a very precise frequency. To achieve this, it uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal made of piezoelectric material. The first crystal oscillator was invented in the late 1920s by Walter Guyton Cady who was interested in submarine detection with ultrasonic waves.…

Name: Sam Pullman Company: Podo Labs Inc  Role: CTO Location: San Francisco, CA   Sam, you’re a EE who co-founded a company. Tell us about Podo Labs.   Sam: We design, develop, and market electronic products that are unique or exciting to us. We have a small team that takes pride in our ability to…

Air humidity is an important factor to consider when designing an electronic device. Having too much humidity in the environment can cause condensation and corrosion, which can lead to anomalies in performance or even failures. To prevent this, engineers use humidity sensors. These devices are used in systems deployed in humid environments, such as industrial…

Name: Jon Lass Company: Royal Circuits Role: VP of Engineering Location: Hollister, CA Hi John, Royal Circuits has been around for 30 years. Tell us about your company. Jon: We specialize in quick turn prototype circuit boards. That means we can turn around multi-layer boards within 24 to 48 hours in small quantities. That’s our…