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- In Altium, I will open my Schematic Diagrams library
- It's often useful to have the properties and SCH Library panels open as displayed in the above image.
- Let me begin by noting that there are two general ways that I currently know to add all the parameters and diagrams to a certain component. The first method is the mostly automatic one, and will work for well documented components, but is tbh still kind of annoying to do. The second method is manually adding all the necessary parameters and diagrams, which can take much longer. Unfortunately until we set up an altium nexus or concord server, I find these effective methods.
- For the first method, make sure you are still active in the schematic diagrams window. Choose any component, and select add in the supplier links tab. You will find that a search entry might already be added, so clear that by hitting the X, and copy and paste your Digi-key part number(a.k.a supplier part number) in the search field (this number is found on the page for your component). Once you search it you will see something like this.
- now press on the SPN drop down and select the digikey component card. Then make sure to select the i icon in the top right of the window. You will notice that in the previous image I have already selected the icon, so make sure you do as well. Now glance through the column. It should display many parameters schematic diagrams and maybe even footprints. We want all of these things. If you do have most of this information, the following procedure is the best way to get all/most of the parameters.
- Now right click on the card with the image of the part, and select copy with header. Go to our library, and select a component to make sure you are active in the SCH Library. Control + V to paste the part which we will be editing.
- You should see the new component be added. Before we do anything, make sure to change the design item ID to the description found on digi-key, and the description parameter to the detailed description found in altium, just to follow some of our team's naming conventions. Also ensure that the designator is right, (for caps it should be C?).
- You will now investigate the parameters that were inserted. It is probably missing Manufacturer 1, Manufacturer Part Number 1, Supplier 1 and Supplier Part Number 1. You will need to add Manufacturer 1 and Manufacturer Part Number 1. Use supplier link and do the same thing as before except don't download and press ok. This will give you the supplier numbers. Add the manufacturer numbers manually using the add button in the parameter tab in the properties tab for the component. Now check if the footprint for the component you have added already exists in our library. In our footprint library we have a part for a 1206 package for a cap, so I will just link it in the general tab. In case we don't already have the footprint, we will copy the footprint (if made available to us) from the zip that is received by right clicking on the SPN when adding a supplier link. This footprint will have to be separately extracted from the downloaded zip, opened in altium and then added to the component using the general tab. If the footprint is not available, we will have to create it using the land assembly provided to us in the data sheet. Please refer to footprint creation if this is the case. With that I have essentially completed adding a component, and will keep track of the component+schematic diagram and footprint (if I made one) so that when merging with master, I will know which components were added.
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- Now, activate the manufacturer part number search from the panel and paste in the search entry the manufacturer part number
- Select the SPN arrow option, and choose the card with digikey. Right click and press add supplier and parameters. If the component has a footprint it will also add that footprint which is nice. If not you will have to make one. Make sure to add a step file by placing a 3D body and selecting the stp file that was on the digikey product page for that part (this goes on the footprint)
- You should now be good to go for the component diagram, and have to refer to footprint creation to ensure your footprint is created if not automatically added or does not already exist in our libraries.
Footprint Creation
PCB Footprint (Physical representation of the space taken up by a component on the PCB). The following explains what they are and more on how to create them. Always remember to refer to the datasheet when creating footprints, and use the IPC compliant footprint wizard when you can.
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