I found that manually authored SVG is a lot easier to debug for Fritzing, and debugging you will do… I showed some of the techniques for this in my previous post. fzp.Įach of the SVG files should be crafted with precision, following the component's datasheet, that always contains the precise dimensions of the part. The fifth file is a special XML format with extension. Four of these files are SVG: the icon, the breadboard view, the schema view and the PCB view.
Well, in fact, for the potentiometer, I could have easily used one of the stock components from Fritzing that is close enough, but for my first component design, I wanted to start with a fairly simple part so I went ahead with it anyways, with the hope of having a better fit in the end.Ī Fritzing component is typically made of five XML files that can be optionally packaged together using a zip format. In my case, it's lacking the SD card reader that I'm using, analog sticks and… this small $0.95 potentiometer. Its only shortcoming is that its library of components is not yet complete enough that it can be used to design all circuits. Fritzing is a wonderful Open Source tool for designing electronic circuits. Today's metaphorical yak is the representation in Fritzing of a $0.95 part, a knob potentiometer. Well, long story short, before I know it, here I am, in the middle of the desert, shaving a yak. For the brush, I'll need some quality hair. For the nails, I can extract some from the shack's structure itself. I do have a piece of strong cloth, a few pieces of wood, and the rocks around the shack can provide some pigments that I can mix with some oil. The story goes like this… Let's say that I want to paint a picture, but I'm in a shack in the middle of the desert and I don't have a canvas, brushes or paint.
Shaving the yak, if you don't know, is what you do when a seemingly simple task necessitates many recursive and unforeseen sub-tasks in order to be carried out.