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I want to make a small breakout board with Eagle and upload it to OSHPark.

The breakout board needs:

  • header pins
  • a BJT transistor
  • resistors
  • a LED

Looking at the EAGLE menu, it is hard to map the parts to items in a schematic. How would I:

a) Select a Module or Port for the header connectors?

b) Select the BJT and resistors?

enter image description here

EDIT:

Looking at existing PCBs, I wonder how to find e.g. simple parts like these header pins:

enter image description here

or these LEDs with resistors:

enter image description here

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    \$\begingroup\$ You "Add" parts to the schematic, not draw them. Unless you're creating custom schematic symbols that are included in a part which you then Add to the schematic. \$\endgroup\$ – Samuel Feb 17 '16 at 19:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks! That was what i was looking for, but also, how to find e.g. header pins like updated above? \$\endgroup\$ – poseid Feb 17 '16 at 20:21
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    \$\begingroup\$ This question is not suitable for ee.se as it is asking for effectively a tutorial on the use of eagle, outside the scope of this stackexchange. This topic is addressed in practically every tutorial on eagle. \$\endgroup\$ – crasic Feb 17 '16 at 20:37
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All components in Eagle are stored as part of libraries, where they are called "devices". Each device consists of a symbol (for the schematic) and a package, or footprint (for a PCB layout).

One device in the library can have several different footprints -- for example a 2N3904 NPN transistor can come in either a through-hole or surface mount part.

In Eagle, even if you are just drawing a schematic, you have to select a footprint, which can get annoying if you are not going to be doing a layout.

You add parts to the schematic by clicking on the Add tool enter image description here, which brings up a dialog where you can enter the type of part you are looking for, such as transistor or header or resistor, or a specific part such as 2N3904 (which narrows down the number of results dramatically).

enter image description here

Adding a component to a schematic is a really basic operation in using Eagle. I would suggest looking at the many tutorials such as this one. (The picture above is taken from the tutorial.)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ thanks! Ok, "Add part..." was what I was looking for, now I am bit overwhelmed by the many parts available. As you mentioned how to find the BJT, the header pins are already confusing too. Thanks a lot, really helpful to have some lower-barrier to entry! \$\endgroup\$ – poseid Feb 17 '16 at 20:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ thanks, I started by adding the frame now, the pointer is now in "zooming mode", let's see how to deactivate it again \$\endgroup\$ – poseid Feb 17 '16 at 20:25
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    \$\begingroup\$ @poseid Try "0.1 header" (without the quotes), then expand the section for the number of pins (e.g. MA04 for four pins) Still lots of entries to scroll through, but easier to manage. \$\endgroup\$ – tcrosley Feb 17 '16 at 20:25
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    \$\begingroup\$ The easiest way to avoid constant headache with device hunting is to start your own libary file for your project or projects , identify/create the parts you need from existing libraries and copy them to your library (double click your library to enable it, right-click->copy-to-library on the part from main window). Creating parts takes some time to learn but once you figure it out its straightforward to create the symbol and footprints for any part from a datasheet, the benefit of making all your own parts is that you can be 100% sure that it matches the part you are going to purchase \$\endgroup\$ – crasic Feb 17 '16 at 20:45

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