The supplier search is launched by clicking  View | System | Suppliers while displaying the schematic library document:

Activate supplier search panel

The supplier search panel accepts your component queries and fetch information from a long list of supplier websites to present you the best matches. With a click of a button, now you are able to select the most cost-effective part for your design. Better yet, you can directly import all component parameters and hyperlinks to datasheets to your schematic symbol, meaning you no longer need to hand-type all the property fields. (There is way to populate attributes in a systematic way, which is through the daba base link, but that’s a topic for another day)

Steps to create a schematic symbol with populated attributes via supplier search

Step 2 - Symbol Wizard (New in 2018)

There is no need to rename and place pins one by one while creating a multi-pin schematic symbol. In this video, you will see how the symbol wizard can boost your productivity by reducing time spent drawing multi-pin symbols and leaving you more time to focus on the design:

The symbol wizard is launched by clicking  Tools | Symbol | Symbol Wizard while displaying the schematic library document:

Activate symbol wizard

You can easily define the number of pins and layout style to generate the symbol graphics:

Assign pin count and pin layout style

Now with pin count defined, here comes the best part of the symbol wizard. You can copy pin information (designators, pin names, etc.) from datasheet, then smart-paste them all at once to the symbol you are creating. That is tremendous amount of time saved from manually typing:

Smart-paste pin information

Step 3 - IPC Footprint Wizard (New in 2018)

Spending hours creating an IPC compliant footprint by drawing the exact pad and track dimensions is not how you do it in SOLIDWORKS PCB 2018. With the IPC footprint wizard in SOLIDWORKS PCB 2018 and a component datasheet, you can literally create an IPC-7351 compliant footprint in less than a minute. Not to mention it also automatically renders a detailed 3D model of the device. In this video, you will see how the footprint wizard can save you time while delivering worry-free results:

The IPC footprint wizard is launched by clicking Tools | Footprint | IPC Footprint Wizard while displaying the footprint library document:

Activate IPC footprint wizard

With the listed IPC-compliant packages, you no longer need to worry about manually placing BGA pads to dimension or deciding whether to drop vias or through-hole pads on QFN thermal pads.

Assorted IPC-compliant packages

Thanks to the formulas built for IPC-7351 standard, the footprint wizard can generate 2D/3D patterns simply based on the components’ physical dimensions described in datasheets (don’t forget to make use of the datasheet hyperlinks in your schematic symbol):

Type in parameters to render 2D footprint and 3D model

Following the steps and customization, you will generate a IPC compliant footprint with detailed 3D graphics in no time.

Multi-pin component with parameter-rich SCH symbol and IPC compliant footprint

Combining the power of all three efficiency tools, you should be able to forge library components with ease. Now it is your turn to enjoy the time, effort, and money saved by using SOLIDWORKS PCB.

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Written by TongWei Qi
TongWei Qi is an Application Engineer at Alignex, Inc. TongWei spends his day assisting customers on SOLIDWORKS electrical products and teaching PCB classes. If he's not here when you call, he's likely tweaking Python and Pi or scoring penta kills in League of Legends.