Eagle headaches & Devi Ever Shoegazer build. Please help? (:

[Kli Klis]

Hi all,

So, lately I have been designing a sweet full-on modified version (basically all mods I can try and fit) of the Devi Ever Shoegazer. And it is going great, giving me the final cue i needed to begin getting into the PCB world (since until now it was all perfboard or vero) and also "space planning", specifically using Google Sketch for imaging/planning and making drilling guides and Cadsoft Eagle for PCB designing.

Now, I found out, much to my rejoicing that Gaussmarkov had already done a great job building libraries specifically for stompboxes.
Using these libraries, I created the schematic, worked hard to make a PCB and all was well... Until I discovered the 1:1 size of the pcb is 43mm, which basically means smd components and surgical procedures istead of soldering!
Unfortunately it isn't simply a problem of printing/exporting dimensions mismatch. Eagle itself measures the board to be that small.

So, where did the thing go wrong? Is it Gaussmarkov's library (I chose the 6mm resistors which i think is pretty standard for 1/4 watts), was there some option I should have changed or am I missing something else entirely? It just does not make sense.

One simple solution is simply resizing the resulting png to another size, but it basically defeats the whole point of using Eagle to create a well-planned board, true to the size and shape that I need.

I realize the problem right now sounds a bit vague, so I'm uploading the files for anyone who wants to take a look himself.
Here is the link to the files (I'm not sure if that's all that's needed to another computer, if anything else is needed please say so, I am still a total noob at this): https://pithos.grnet.gr/pithos/rest/ee05629@teiath.gr/files/Shoegazer.zip. Devi's schematics are free for personal use, so no violations here!

So, help? 

[mth5044]

I'm pretty confused at your problem. 43mm is only one measurement, which is about 1.7". That's not very small for a PCB, especially only in one direction.

When you say 'basically means smd components' - did you use smd components? IIRC the GM library doesn't have many or any SMD parts for you to use. Could you post a picture of your board rather than the zip? I don't have eagle on work computer.

When I got the GM library, I noticed all of the drill sizes were way to small, at least for me. So, over time, I went through and edited the hole sizes for parts I needed/had. I used a digital caliper to measure the leads and made the drill sizes bigger for them.

As far as eagle - make the grid visible and change the spacing to 2.54mm or 0.1 inches, that will make it more like vero/perf board spacing for you. Make it smaller as you get better at designs and soldering.

But post a picture of your board so we can understand what you are talking about.

[defaced]

I downloaded the files you linked to and they look fine.  The Soda Meiser board measure 1.85 inches by 0.80 inches.  The Torn Speaker board measure 1.9 inches by 1.10 inches.  Those sizes both sound reasonable to me. 

Eagle is a real CAD suite.  If the parts are designed correctly by whoever built the library, what you see is what you get.  None of this resizing business. 

[Kli Klis]

Hello and thank you for the quick replies. I really hadn't gotten the chance to catch a moment for a thorough answer to your questions/comments, so, sorry for the delay. (:
I sometimes tend to be confused when things don't turn out as I expect, I kinda needed a "confirmation" that this whole thing is more or less regular so that I know whether it's something that doesn't suit me or something that didn't work because it went wrong somewhere. If the problem eluded you, it's because there wasn't a really specific one, I just had the feeling that something's wrong. I'll do my best to clarify (:

Anyway, on to your questions!

I'm pretty confused at your problem. 43mm is only one measurement, which is about 1.7". That's not very small for a PCB, especially only in one direction.

My bad, you are right- I was blurting out info in a bit of a hassle. I meant 43mm x 19mm.

When you say 'basically means smd components' - did you use smd components? IIRC the GM library doesn't have many or any SMD parts for you to use. Could you post a picture of your board rather than the zip? I don't have eagle on work computer.

By 'basically means smd components' I meant that to me it seems so small that I can only populate it using SMD components! Ofcourse, that was a bit of an exaggeration but it seemed too small for me to be able to solder it.
Right now I don't have the chance to post a pic, but I promise to do so tomorrow max.

When I got the GM library, I noticed all of the drill sizes were way to small, at least for me. So, over time, I went through and edited the hole sizes for parts I needed/had. I used a digital caliper to measure the leads and made the drill sizes bigger for them.

As far as eagle - make the grid visible and change the spacing to 2.54mm or 0.1 inches, that will make it more like vero/perf board spacing for you. Make it smaller as you get better at designs and soldering.

Thank you, I'll give all that a shot and report in! Actually, that was one of the things that confused me - for example, while I picked the 6mm 1/4 watt resistors (which in size don't seem too small to me) they suddenly seemed minuscule and disproportionate to pad sizes and transistors. Tricks of the mind, I guess, or simply that as you said drill sizes are a bit small. We'll see.

I downloaded the files you linked to and they look fine.  The Soda Meiser board measure 1.85 inches by 0.80 inches.  The Torn Speaker board measure 1.9 inches by 1.10 inches.  Those sizes both sound reasonable to me. 

Eagle is a real CAD suite.  If the parts are designed correctly by whoever built the library, what you see is what you get.  None of this resizing business. 

OK, this confirmation is something I needed to hear. I'll try to do a test print on a paper, to see clearly if it really is a problem. Plus, as mth5044 noticed, it might help me determine whether I need larger pads/drill sizes etc.

I'll post pics soon and comment on any developments 

[mth5044]

As defaced mentioned, that's not that small at all! When you use the 6mm resistors, make sure you pick the right spacing for what you are looking for! The GM library has a bunch of them even within the 6mm spec. As far as the drill size I was talking about, the pad size is still good, if not too big. If you are sending them off to a fab, it's the actual hole size I was talking about. The leads can't fit through them. If your etching your own pcb, it won't really matter since you can drill them whatever size you like.

Anyway, post some pics and we'll see!