cadeagleschematics
Does any one know where to find buttons in EAGLE that look something like the one in this schematic?
I'm making a schematic and all I can find are complex looking buttons. If those are not available, then can someone help me find a normal switch, like this:
I can't seem to find this in the EAGLE libraries, either.
First, you don't need to do home PCB etching to get real circuit boards made. BatchPCB and other prototype services can get you real, quality PCBs for (sometimes much) less than $50. If it's just for a temporary project, solderless breadboards are also a great tool. I will admit, however, that some projects fall into the middle of these categories.
Usually, I just poke the components through .2" graph paper for checking that an imagined layout will work. This seems to work well enough for most of the simple circuits that I make on perfboard. If you want to use Eagle PCB, configure the layout editor for 0.1" grid spacing, and display the lines:
Now you can lay it out on a model of your stripboard. You might even want to diagram the strips. Use the "Draw Lines" tool on a non-copper layer (like Documents) to avoid confusing Eagle with respect to electrical connections. Record where the strips should be left intact on one layer, and make wire jumpers on (an) other layer(s).
After that, it's up to you to create an intelligent layout. Since these kinds of boards are usually for development purposes, make it spacious and easy to understand. I try to organize power busses with higher voltages at the top and ground at the bottom, route signals from left to right, color-code connecting wires (esp. if you're not using stripboard), and provide lots of room for edits to fix the mistakes I know I will make. I also like to keep my components on one side and route wires on the other even when using double-sided board.
I would recommend, that you learn how you create your parts on your own. For me it is often faster than searching for a missing part. When you would find the part on the net you should check it for correct pin out, size, etc.
Here is a tutorial I found quite useful.
However there are some places where you can find libraries:
When your part is in a common package format, you should take a look at the ref-packages.lbr library. It contains various standard package formats, so you dont have to create these on your own. Just copy the needed package in your own library and create the rest according to the tutorials you will find on the net.
Best Answer
The best answer is to make your own, it's easy. Someone else's library parts aren't going to adhere to your conventions for the silkscreen, hole sizes, BOM handling, etc, etc. I never even look in the Eagle libraries as they are basically useless.
In your case, you haven't even said what kind of button, only shown the schematic symbol. There are many many many different "buttons" from various manufacturers. Most of these will require a different footprint. You have to specify a particular part before you can even tell if someone else's Eagle button is applicable to your case.
In the off chance you can live with my conventions, download my Eagle Tools release from http://www.embedinc.com/pic/dload.htm and look around in the "Switch" library. There are some buttons in there, but again, there is no way to know what you actually want.