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Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

snapeda.com

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Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#61

Post by natashabaker »

Animats wrote: post #49
compumike wrote: post #37

Shocking that it's 2016 and the component manufacturers aren't providing this data free and online, right next to the datasheet link. Then again, after working with these companies, it's not so surprising! Congrats on the launch.

I'm surprised this is a retail business. Doing this in conjunction with Digi-Key, Mouser, or Hamilton/Avnet would seem to make more sense. They already distribute the data sheets for the parts they sell. Also, it would be far cheaper to make footprints if you did them in bulk, working your way though long catalogs of similar parts. Maybe the retail thing is to get some credibility so they can deal with the major dist…

We'd love to work with distributors to help proliferate this content. And yes internally we prioritize development of content in bulk. But sometimes there's a model that is needed that is outside of our development efforts. This is where InstaPart fits in. It's an option to 'skip the queue' and get any model quickly if it's outside of the models we are prioritizing internally.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#62

Post by rfrank »

StavrosK wrote: post #45
zbjornson wrote: post #3

Not an EE Am I correct that you replace this lengthy process? https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/designing-pcbs-smd-foot...

That is the process, yes, but it's not really that lengthy. You can usually just add the first pin and then copy/paste the rest in the row really quickly.

Yeah, for the most part library stuff is quick. Some tools let you pattern place the pins and plop them all down at once. High pin count parts like FPGAs and connectors with weird footprints are the big time sinks.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#63

Post by Animats »

natashabaker wrote: post #17
extrapickles wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had to use a few parts that claimed to follow a standard footprint, but where subtly off. Another part I've used if you read the datasheet carefully you ended up with a completely different footprint than what first glance would suggest which is my biggest problem with upverters part concierge as they helpfully "fix" my footprint to the incorrect one. Will we be able to comment on the footprints or leave reviews…

Yes. Here's an example of a part page: https://snapeda.com/parts/LTC6995HS6-1%23TRMPBF/Linear%20Tec... On this page, you'll notice the following: 1. You can upvote or downvote the part 2. You can leave a comment on the part 3. We have automated algorithms that uncover common defects in parts on the Validations tab. This is a patent-pending technology we developed that we plan to expand further to include more checks.

"Upvote" should mean more than "I liked it". It's too easy to get likes. Something that says "I used this footprint to make a board, and the part soldered into place OK" would be helpful.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#64

Post by akiselev »

natashabaker wrote: post #59
makomk wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You can sign up for a 10-day free trial of SnapEDA premium. During the trial period, you can cancel any time in your Account Settings. After the trial ends, you will be charged $297 ($99/month, billed quarterly)." This stinks of dark patterns and maximizing the amount you can hit people who forget to cancel for before they notice. It's rather unlikely that someone would actually want to pay quarterly at the higher m…

If you don't want to sign up for a subscription, you can purchase individual parts for the $29. Also, our free version is really powerful so if you're not in a rush, you can stick with that one. :-)

That doesn't answer the dark pattern concern at all and you're just dodging the issue. When people hear trial they think "free time to make my decision" not "10 days for $300" which is what this will be for anyone who forgets to cancel (hint: any EE on a deadline but I guess you know that). This is just predatory.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#65

Post by natashabaker »

zbrozek wrote: post #48

I'm a professional hardware engineer, and doing this kind of work is something I do frequently and begrudgingly. Having this kind of service available will be a huge help. Some thoughts: - Who writes the style guide? How do you make aesthetic decisions? - Will you support multiple symbol styles? Would it be possible to upload stylesheets or specially annotated schematics and then regenerate already-extant parts in th…

Re: Style - As a starting point we follow IPC-7351B for footprints and our own internal standard as outlined here: http://snapeda.com/standards. Over time we'd like to allow for more customization to account for different styles and preferences.

Re: Symbol styles - that's really interesting and is an awesome idea. Will think about how we can do this. Definitely have thought about storing user preferences. For example, some people like NC pins on symbols while others like them hidden.

Re: Open Source - Haven't thought about this side yet but will consider it. We have made open our API and maybe we can expand that to include the exporters.

Re: Faster turn - Anything available on the site already is obviously free and instantaneous. I think it's worth exploring with my team if we can do a faster turnaround on InstaPart. We definitely have ideas on how to do this. Our part creation is a mix of automated and manual work. The longest part of the process is verification. But again, hopefully eventually this stuff just all exists readily available without requiring a special request.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#66

Post by mng2 »

BrooklynRage wrote: post #43

Bookmarked this site. The database seems super useful. I have mixed feelings about the custom footprint service -- I've worked with ~900-pin BGA SoC-type parts, and paying $30 to do that would be a no brainer, but paying the same for a 8-pin LDO would be a tougher sell -- maybe scale prices with part complexity? The tougher sell to me is trust / verification of the InstaPart models before the community can vote them…

Agreed on the verification aspect. And what happens when an error makes it through and your customer has to scrap $xK worth of boards?

I work at a $largeco with dedicated footprints people and a long DFM pipeline, and footprint errors still get through from time to time. When there's tens of thousands of dollars riding on a board turn, you're still going to check it yourself.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#67

Post by natashabaker »

akiselev wrote: post #64
natashabaker wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't want to sign up for a subscription, you can purchase individual parts for the $29. Also, our free version is really powerful so if you're not in a rush, you can stick with that one. :-)

That doesn't answer the dark pattern concern at all and you're just dodging the issue. When people hear trial they think "free time to make my decision" not "10 days for $300" which is what this will be for anyone who forgets to cancel (hint: any EE on a deadline but I guess you know that). This is just predatory.

Thanks for the feedback. It might make sense to remove the free trial then because the main feature in it is just parts requests which people can now test with this new InstaPart feature.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#68

Post by amelius »

compumike wrote: post #37

Shocking that it's 2016 and the component manufacturers aren't providing this data free and online, right next to the datasheet link. Then again, after working with these companies, it's not so surprising! Congrats on the launch.

Well, the difficult part still remains to get the actual devices! And in the quantities you need them in, and before you need to ship!

Having those symbols for circuit design is nice, but really a trivial problem in comparison.

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#69

Post by Cyph0n »

akiselev wrote: post #64
natashabaker wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't want to sign up for a subscription, you can purchase individual parts for the $29. Also, our free version is really powerful so if you're not in a rush, you can stick with that one. :-)

That doesn't answer the dark pattern concern at all and you're just dodging the issue. When people hear trial they think "free time to make my decision" not "10 days for $300" which is what this will be for anyone who forgets to cancel (hint: any EE on a deadline but I guess you know that). This is just predatory.

Isn't that standard practice? For example, after the Netflix free 1-month trial, you immediately get charged for the upcoming month. So isn't it up to the customer to make sure he/she doesn't break the terms of the trial i.e. try it for "too long"?

Re: Show HN: InstaPart – Build circuit boards faster with instant parts

#70

Post by Fiahil »

natashabaker wrote: post #2

Dear HN Community, I wanted to introduce our startup SnapEDA to the HN community. We recently completed Y Combinator, and have been quiet about the platform while we've been improving it. With that said, we’d love to get feedback from the HN community! Our goal is to build a canonical library for making circuit boards: one trusted, centralized place to get digital models. These digital models include PCB footprints,…

> and verified using proprietary patent-pending verification technology

Is "proprietary patent-pending technology" really necessary? It's the kind of phrasing seen on uninteresting product trying to pretend they're interesting (ex: "Our Proprietary Patent-Pending Technology Makes Our Product So Great This Single Mom Can't Even Talk About It. Discover Now For $99.99")

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