This is my step-by-step guide to schematic drawing in Eagle. Let us say we find the circuit above interesting and want to build a real electronic circuit out of it to test in the real world. The first step is to recreate the schematics in Eagle.
Create new project and schematic
We start our schematic drawing by creating a new project and a new schematic in Eagle. Open Eagle’s Control Panel and choose “File->New->Project” from the menu.
Add a new schematic to the project by selecting “File->New->Schematic” from the menu.You now have a blank schematic ready for drawing.
Add components
We continue by adding the four resistors to the schematic. Select “Edit->Add..” from the menu in the schematic editor. The “ADD” dialog box appears. Here we want to locate a resistor.
Write “resistor” in the search field and press Enter. You will probably find many alternatives. I chose a through-hole resistor called R-EU_0207/10 from the “resistor”-library. Choose one and press “Ok”.
Place the resistor on your schematic by left-clicking. Do this four times to get four resistors, then press ESC to return to the “ADD” dialog box.Continue to add the capacitors, transistors and LEDs in the same way.
Tips: To place the two transistor as mirrors to one another like I did, use the Mirror function “Edit->Mirror” in the menu.
Add component values
Now we’ll add values to the components. To do this choose “Edit->Value..” from the menu. Then click on the component you want to set value for. Enter the value and press Ok.
Add connection between components
To connect the components we need to add nets between them. Add nets by choosing “Draw->Net” from the menu.
Note: Never use “Wire”, always use “Nets”. The “Wire” does not always create the electrical connection you want.
Tips: If you want diagonal lines, choose the second “Wire bend” button from the toolbar.
Add power connection
If you want to create a practicable electronic circuit you will also need to connect power somehow. You can add two header pins for this. Search for “2 pin header” in the “ADD” dialog box to find a suitable part in the “con-molex” library. Add this and connect the two pins to the circuit.
Electrical Rule Check
Now we are ready to run an Electrical Rule Check (ERC) to see if there are any mistakes that need to be fixed.
Select “Tools->Erc” from the menu.
When I run it I get two warnings telling me that the LEDs don’t have any defined values. I know that this is not necessary for the LEDs so I click “Approve” on both of them.
Our schematic drawing is now complete.
Now, it’s time to create a PCB from the schematics.
Ivan Gheorghe says
June 19, 2014 at 8:43 pmHi!
Could you help me a little ?
How do i know to choose the right component when I need one ?
There are a lot !
For example if need a common 12 v zener diode .
Thanks !
admin says
June 23, 2014 at 11:37 amHey! If you don’t have any other requirements, then one way is to just pick any 12V Zenerdiode with the preferred component package. Another way is to google for schematics similar to the one you are making and then see what they picked, maybe send them an email and ask why they chose that one..
Cheers!
Oyvind
Ivan Gheorghe says
June 24, 2014 at 8:30 pmThank you for your answer Mr. Oyvind !
Now I know what to choose .
Thanks a lot !
arun says
October 1, 2014 at 8:09 amits very nice site…i am also electronics and telecommunication engineer….great job….
Jane says
November 17, 2014 at 1:01 pmHi there, can I request for your assistance, please. I am trying to add the components but the components are not showing it. Thanks
admin says
November 17, 2014 at 6:48 pmWhat happens?
Oyvin
Russ says
December 11, 2014 at 4:12 amMany thanks for this excellent tutorial.
Smitha says
February 5, 2015 at 1:41 amwhat is the above circuit? How does it function?
..I mean what is its functionalty/
Explain please..
admin says
February 6, 2015 at 11:53 amIt blinks two LEDs.
Cheers!
Oyvind
willy says
September 15, 2015 at 8:18 amThank you for your tutorial. No more confuse :)
Holley Mullet says
September 13, 2016 at 5:10 pmHey commentary ! I am thankful for the info – Does anyone know where I could possibly obtain a fillable NY DTF ET-117 version to work with ?
Sandie Knepper says
September 14, 2016 at 3:11 pmHello Holley ! my partner accessed a template NY DTF ET-117 example with this link http://pdf.ac/1YZrYq
Heinrich says
May 2, 2017 at 5:17 pmHi there!
I want to add a loudspeak to my circuit, but I can’t find that symbol in Eagle.
What can I do to add it ?
Thanks in advance !
admin says
May 16, 2017 at 12:52 pmThink about how you will connect the speakers to the board. If you want to use a screw terminal for example, use that in eagle. Or just a 2-pin pin header if you want to holes to solder the wires into.
Best,
Oyvind
Heinrich says
May 2, 2017 at 5:21 pmAnd how can I find the symbol for electrolyte capacitor ?
Thanks again ?
admin says
May 16, 2017 at 12:54 pmHi Heinrich,
There aren’t different symbols for different capacitor types (except for polarized vs non-polarized). But electrolyte capacitors are usually (or maybe always) polarized, so just just a polaried one.
Best,
Oyvind
Heinrich says
June 10, 2017 at 3:41 pmThank you very much !
kwabena reuben says
October 9, 2017 at 6:41 pmwhat are the values of the capacitors
admin says
October 10, 2017 at 9:44 am10 µF
Becko says
January 10, 2018 at 10:16 pmThanks for the tourtial such simple & soft
Bert Berrong says
May 15, 2019 at 10:58 pmDownloaded the Eagle program for MAC and installed w/o difficulty. Following steps above..
File->New->Project ….. OK
File->New->Schematic….OK
but
Edit->Add brought up the dialog box OK
typing in resistor in the search field resulted in “No Matches” so could not proceed further…
admin says
May 16, 2019 at 10:53 amYou probably need to tell Eagle to “use” your libraries. In the Control Panel window if you right-click the library name there is an option “Use All”. If a library is used you will see a “green ball” after its name.