Make Your Own Fritzing Parts

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Contributors: HelloTechie
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Create a New Part

For this tutorial, we are going to create a Fritzing part for the SparkFun T5403 Barometer Breakout.

T5403 Breakout Image

EAGLE image of the SparkFun T5403 Barometer Breakout

Open the Fritzing application. You should see tabs for Welcome, Breadboard, Schematic, and PCB towards the top of the program. Click on Breadboard button to make sure you are in the Breadboard view.

Breadboard Button

Check for Pre-made Parts

If you are just updating a board in Fritzing, first check to see if there is a part that is closely related to the Fritzing part you are trying to create. You can type the part's name into the search bar.

Search for Part

The search bar can be found at the top of the Parts window

You can also look in the different sections of the Fritzing's Parts window for a similar part.

Parts Window

Look for the SparkFun flame to see a huge section of SparkFun Fritzing parts

Using an IC as a Starting Point

If there is not a part like the one you are trying to make, using an IC as a base is a great place to start. Click on the CORE tab in the Part Window. Scroll down until you see the ICs. Under the ICs section, click and drag the IC icon onto the Breadboard window.

Core Tab

Custom ICs are simple, since Fritzing lets you change the number of pins and the IC package

Dragging IC on breadboard window

Changing the Name of the IC

Look for the IC properties in the Inspector window on the right. Change the name of the IC to your part's name. Then, change the number of pins needed for the board or part in the pins section. For the SparkFun T5403 Barometer Breakout, we need 8 pins. You will see the IC, in the Breadboard view, change to your part’s name.

Changing name

Fritzing (New) Parts Editor

Right-click the IC in the Breadboard window, and select Edit (new parts editor). The Fritzing (New) Parts Editor should pop up.

Go to Parts Editor

There are 6 main sections of the Fritzing (New) Parts Editor in which you will need to make changes. Those are:

  • Breadboard
  • Schematic
  • PCB
  • Icon
  • Metadata
  • Connectors

There really isn't an order you need to follow. After making a couple different custom parts you will probably end up starting in one view before the others. In this tutorial, we're just going to go down the list.

Author note: I found, for boards with a large number of pins, that starting off in the Connectors view saves a little bit more time, since you can go down the list to name the connector pins faster.

Before you continue on, it is a good idea to save as a new part first. If you need to stop anytime when making the custom part, you can come back to it in the future. Go to File. Then, select Save as new part.

Save as new Part

You can choose to name the prefix if you want.


Let's continue on to Breadboard view!