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Dr DSP
It seems like the next phase of this effort needs to be driven by suggestions ...
agk
The compare feature makes our job little easier. Many times it will save our ...
Finding the right part just got easier
Patrick Mannion
7/28/2011 6:15 AM EDT
As you know, EDN, is all about connecting you with your peers, inspiring you with their successes, and helping you to get your design done--on time, to spec, and within budget--with as few sleepless nights and long weekends as possible.
We do this in many ways, in print we provide straight engineer-to-engineer technical features and regular columns from industry ‘insiders', as well as product and trend features and write-ups from our engineer-editors, all of whom have spent at least some of their career dealing with the issues you face every day.
Online, the world opens wide with webinars, courses, webcasts, and real-time commentary and dialog between writers, contributors and readers.
That's all well and good, but for engineers, all the studying, coursework, webcasts and peer-to-peer discussion may help you close in on the type of part you need, but it won't get you find the right part at the right time from the right vendor. And the right part, as you know, can make or break a design.
Anyone who's been tracking the business of providing product information and data knows that companies have risen, striven, and died based on the belief that they could help you make that device or component selection easier than anyone else. But some have prevailed!
So, it's with that in mind, that I'm really excited to guide you to our latest service, www.datasheets.com, and what I think is the best free site out there, bar none, to help you find, select and get you the part you need, when you need it.
The result of a partnership between our owner, UBM Electronics, and SiliconExpert Technologies, it hosts datasheets and information on an incredible 185 million parts-and growing--and is rife with selection features. These features include:
- Parametric search: This has been done by independent companies for specific parts, such as microcontrollers, but is really hard to do for everything from resistors to power devices and processors. Datasheets.com does it, and does it well. Don't take my word for it, try it!
- Save Search: This allows you to save your searches and come back to them later.
- Parts Comparisons: Compare up to four parts, side by side (I'd recommend doing only two at a time, it gets unwieldy if you try four, it scrolls off screen.)
- Inventory Watch: Get alerts when your favorite distributor gets the necessary amount in stock of a specific part you want.
There's more, of course, but the breadth of coverage and the features highlighted above are some of the highlights. The site also shows the latest product announcements so when you register you automatically get a regular email alert on the latest new products.
What's so hard about finding parts?
I was curious as to what the difficulties involved with putting
together a useful parts-search database, so I reached out to Vineet Chaudhary,
product marketing manager at SiliconExpert. As expected, the difficulty
is twofold: Getting as much of the right data as possible, and then
normalizing it to make it useful.
"Some sites just crawl the web and grab datasheets, and you can't navigate them," said Chaudhary. "All they want is to get as many as possible and get indexed on Google."
Instead, he said, SiliconExpert focuses on building solid relationships with both manufacturers and distributors to ensure a steady feed into their database of all their products. This gets the results 80 percent there. To catch the remaining available products, some Web crawling is necessary to find smaller company's products and close the gap to get as close to 100 percent of available products as possible.
However, getting the data is only half the battle. The real work starts with ‘normalizing' it. As you're all likely aware, specmanship is a funny business and some manufacturers may emphasize some specs over others, or not supply a spec at all if it's not to their benefit to do so.
"You have to read between the lines," said Chaudhary, "there's no ‘standard' to compare so it makes it hard for engineers: that's where we come in."
How does SiliconExpert do it? It has 250 engineers working on the problem of making datasheets from myriad vendors comparable. And these are real engineers, he added, making the point that much of the intellectual property resides in the algorithms used to normalize the data, algorithms that the engineers are constantly working to optimize.
While SiliconExpert has been doing this since 2000, "We're always changing," said Chaudhary, "it's [electronics] a mature industry, but with software we can always add new features." One feature in the works is customized alerts to engineers for new product introductions.
So, that's how Datasheets.com does what it does. The real question is: What do you think? After all, it's your tool and so I'd love to hear what you think and how it can be even further enhanced.
Looking forward to hearing from you! Patrick Mannion, patrick.mannion@ubm.com
NOTE: For a regular update on EDN's product reviews, features and more, sign up for the newsletter here.
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Duane Benson
7/28/2011 12:19 PM EDT
I like it. I don't mind registration. In fact, it apparently took my registration credential from some other site. Maybe eeTimes. When I clicked to register, it just logged me in.
It's a good early effort. I like the fact that some of the key parameters are listed in the search results. It drives me nuts when sites like this give so little information that I have to go through every single returned data sheet to see if it's even close to what I'm looking for.
My advice would be to add in more key parameters in the search return table. Think in terms of the need to scan through a few dozen or hundred listed parts to quickly narrow down the search to a small handful.
The ability to filter a search is useful as well. Although, I'd add the capability to filter on a few additional parameters. I searched for a tantalum cap and the filter let me filter on manufacturer. It would be nice to be able to filter on voltage or a few other parameters.
Showing inventory at various distributors when available is a nice touch too.
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SiliconExpert
7/28/2011 11:36 PM EDT
Hi Duane, thanks for the comments. As mentioned in this thread already, we're rolling out an update that will increase the relevancy of the parametric filters per category.
That said, we're considering adding more parametric options per category as well. This has definitely been a popular request and we'll be considering it seriously in the next few weeks.
Have you had a chance to compare two parts on the site yet? Would be curious to hear your perspective on how this feature performs for you.
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Duane Benson
7/29/2011 1:38 PM EDT
I took a quick look at the comparison between two MCUs. Did you make some updates last night? Yesterday, I wasn't getting results when searching for Microchip MCUs. Today, it worked fine though.
I always find it a bit of a challenge to select between the nearly identical PIC family members. I compared "PIC18F2321" and "PIC18F2331".
The vertical arrangement of the comparison data makes it easy to scan. I find it a lot easier than having to scroll horizontally. What I find really nice is that when parameters are the same, they are in one common column. It's only the differing specs that are in separate columns. This makes it MUCH easier to quickly scan and determine which one I should pick.
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SiliconExpert
7/29/2011 3:40 PM EDT
Duane,
Yes, we update the database and software periodically throughout the week.
Thanks for the comments and I'm glad you were able to find the features useful. As always, feel free to use the "Talk to us" button on the site if you ever encounter any issues or have suggestions.
Thanks again for testing the site with us.
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hm
7/28/2011 1:36 PM EDT
This is good effort. However, in this development, database software person is more involved and EE Design Engineer with hands-on experience less involved. If you involve EE design engineer from varius industry - like Military, RF, Medical, Precision analog, sensor, control, instrumentation, power etc. they can guide you their unique requirements when they look for different parts. This will be very valuable feedback. I am ready to volunteer for contribution.
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SiliconExpert
7/28/2011 11:33 PM EDT
Hi hm, we hear you loud & clear. An update to the site is upcoming that will add more relevant parametric filters per category. Stay tuned and let us know of any further suggestions.
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ReneCardenas
7/28/2011 5:51 PM EDT
I like it too, but as stated before by Duane benson, more parameters need to considered.
In addition, I noted that the sorting of parameter values is alphanumeric instead of arithmetical value. It would be more intuitive if the searcher can done a linear search of values ranges, instead of having to poke around the different choices for each parameter.
Good work so far, enjoyed the ability to do multiple vendor comparisons. But limited to 4 sources, it could be improved to a higher limit, why not ability to export as spreadsheet?
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SiliconExpert
7/28/2011 11:31 PM EDT
Rene, nice catches. We're rolling out an update to the site that fixes the alpha-sorted issues for the parametric values. In addition, more relevant parametric options will also be added based on user feedback.
We will definitely consider adding more than 4-6 parametric options per category. Stay tuned and let us know of further suggestions & feedback. We're all ears.
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patrick.mannion
7/28/2011 8:38 PM EDT
Great feedback, guys, thanks! This is exactly what's going to help make it better and better over the coming weeks and months. Just having a top-tier parametric search capability is a feat unto itself, especially for a such a massively broad range of products, so digging deeper and increasing the granularity of the parameters will be an on-going mission! Stay tuned! HM: If you'd seriously like to help, I'm at patrick.mannion@ubm.com. Thanks!
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Dr. HD
7/28/2011 9:52 PM EDT
This all sounded very exciting.
So I went over to datasheets.com to look at the parametric search in the op-amps section. What parameters did they have available?
Vendor, Type, No. of Channels, Technology.
That's it! What about the things that I *actually care about*? Like power supply voltage min/max, quiescent power-supply current, input offset voltage, input bias current, input offset current, input voltage noise density, input current noise density, max output current, CMRR, PSRR, input common-mode range, output range (does it go rail to rail?), case style, etc. etc.
How about MOSFETs? Does the site do any better here? Well, the parameters available are:
Vendor, Channel Type (N or P), Channel Mode (Enhancement/Depletion), Configuration.
So, that'll be a no then! What about Vds max, Rdson, max current, max power, Qrr, Qg, Ton, Toff, case style, etc. etc.?
I did manage to find an active device with at least one useful parameter to search: Peak Reverse Repetitive Voltage for rectifiers. However, this is not in numeric order.
It also appears that you cannot select more that one item in the list (if you need a Vrrm of at least 100 V, that doesn't mean you need *exactly* 100 V, so it's useful to be able to select a range.)
Finally, it does not appear to be possible to link directly to a product category (e.g. Semiconductor : Discrete : Rectifier), as the URL remains http://www.datasheets.com/search/ProductLineAction.do. This means I can't bookmark specific categories and have to drill down from the top each time I want to perform a new search.
If SiliconExpert figure out how to normalise the specs that actually matter, across all devices on the market, that would be truly amazing. However as it stands I'm afraid from my perspective the site really doesn't live up to the promise of your post.
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SiliconExpert
7/28/2011 11:26 PM EDT
Hi HD,
Product Marketing Manager from SiliconExpert here (the data service behind datasheets.com).
Datasheets.com at present lists 4-6 parametric filters per category.
We're actively seeking user feedback to make sure the most relevant filters are shown per category.
As Patrick has mentioned, this is a work in progress and we expect to roll out an update in the next 7 days that enhances the relevancy of the filters even more.
That said, we've already started to fix the alpha-ordering of numeric parametric options that are listed on the site currently. They should definitely be listed in ascending order as you've mentioned. These fixes are coming as well.
As far as selecting multiple options per filter is concerned: we will definitely consider allowing this in subsequent releases.
We've found it's far easier for some users to select a single filter and have the site refresh the filtered parts.
This is of course up to debate and several distributor websites are taking a different approach. We'll keep monitoring feedback to see if we should head in this direction.
Your feedback is certainly appreciated and we will be incorporating a lot of these suggestions.
Thanks.
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Sanjib.Acharya
7/30/2011 11:40 AM EDT
It has logged me in too automatically with EETimes credentials. That’s great! I like the intension behind adding the feature about comparing parts. It would be a great benefit for the engineers to compare quickly on two parts from two different manufacturers to arrive at a decision on what to choose. But the comparison needs to be accurate and to a detailed parametric level.
I tried it for comparing between two A/D converter parts, but I was getting an error. Once the website is matured and improved, I'm sure this feature will be one of the attractions for the designers.
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Ahmed_CSSBB
8/3/2011 4:52 AM EDT
Hi Sanjib,
thanks for your feedback.
Actually the compare function is working well.
can you please try again.
thanks,
Ahmed
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kdboyce
8/2/2011 1:27 AM EDT
I applaud the efforts as well. However, it would be good to cache the original datasheets in whatever form in addition to the normalized ones. You know the originals of older stuff are getting harder to find as manufacturers take them out of their lineup.
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Ahmed_CSSBB
8/3/2011 5:02 AM EDT
HiKdboyce,
the original datasheets means the 1st version of the datasheets or something else? also, what is the normalized datasheets refer to?
Thanks.
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kdboyce
8/4/2011 2:42 AM EDT
I guess in this case it would have to be the datasheet from which 'normalized' data was taken. I should have made that clear...I guess I was also looking for some place to archive the originals or variations.
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bcarso
8/2/2011 11:25 AM EDT
Good idea, and promising initial implementation it sounds like.
I feel like kidding a bit here as I know these things are outside the scope, but wouldn't it be nice to see "likelihood the part you buy is counterfeit", as well as a "predicted longevity in standard distribution" parameter?
But seriously, nice to see the effort and something more than the usual batch grab for google rank.
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Ahmed_CSSBB
8/7/2011 3:41 AM EDT
Hi Bcars:
Do you have white papers or any documents that are talking about the predicted longevity for the components??
thanks,
Ahmed
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patrick.mannion
8/3/2011 8:49 PM EDT
hi bcarso: thanks for the kudos. I like where you're going with that last comment. Someday... Just need a few more datapoints for our maximum likelihood counterfeit prediction algorithm. Have you had counterfeit issues yourself?
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Salio
8/13/2011 4:41 PM EDT
.
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agk
9/9/2011 8:55 AM EDT
The compare feature makes our job little easier. Many times it will save our time and help us in our design efforts.
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Dr DSP
9/23/2011 11:04 PM EDT
It seems like the next phase of this effort needs to be driven by suggestions from users on the right set of compare fields. The MCU fields are just not very helpful. I will be sending in my suggestions and I hope others will too.
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