Is there a scale drawing of SMD package sizes as a design aid? This could be useful in schematic/layout stages of a project in when deciding to trade off size vs. cost.
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\$\begingroup\$ Below answer is how I'd normally do it just be dropping onto a PCB layout, but I found a chart at chibi-sakura.org/images/smd_chart_v01.png that may be useful although it doesn't cover a great range of footprints. \$\endgroup\$ – PeterJ Jan 24 '13 at 2:43
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TI has a nice pdf chart for their ic packages, at actual size. Organized by pin count and package type. This is Texas Instruments centered, but the information translates well between manufacturers.
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In my experience, a printer is the most useful design aid / sanity check. For example, I use Eagle to design my PCBs, and there are reference packages available for a very large range of devices. Simply printing out the design 1:1 helps a lot. It can also help you see things like "Those parts look like they would be hard to solder/probe" and "These parts are too close/far away". It's also cheap and fast. Some manufacturers will put 1:1 footprint drawings in datasheets as well, and you can use those for reference.
As for a specific design aid, I also have the SparkFun Reference Board, which helps you see what holes, text, and common packages look like on a footprint. I find it useful at times, especially when I'm trying to figure out readability of text.
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7\$\begingroup\$ If you have time, order the parts before laying out the board. This will show you something about part availability. And you can see the physical part sitting on a 1:1 printout. It's surprising how sizes all look the same in the CAD program. \$\endgroup\$ – markrages Jan 24 '13 at 2:44
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\$\begingroup\$ @markrages Absolutely, I recommend the same. It's also a great way to catch any pin pitch, width, and size mismatch between your footprint and the actual part. \$\endgroup\$ – W5VO Jan 24 '13 at 5:18
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I know this is an old post but to add to the knowledge base (for those who google it around like me) I found the following link for SMD standard size chart
https://github.com/hemalchevli/Open-Source-PCB-Ruler
Hope this helps! :)
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2\$\begingroup\$ It would be best to edit a picture or two into the answer in case the repository ever goes away. \$\endgroup\$ – David Feb 7 '15 at 18:10
