Which SMD design is the most commonly used?
0402,0603,0805,1206 or 0201
I found a link with 170 values of 25 pieces each for 10.27 € including shipping and now I don’t know which is best, I’m just starting with SMT.
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I started with 1206. Not sure I remember why.
The general advice seems to be start largest.
Okay, so that’s the size you see most of on your PCBs, right?
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I think so but I’m no expert on smd. Look for an smd practice board.
As a probably meaningless statistic, Tayda lists the following numbers of SMD ceramic capacitors:
1210: 1
1206: 7
0805: 40
0603: 15
0402: 9
I’ve heard the number 0805 many times, I think Kristian Blasol also uses it for his protoboards. Would definitely underline my gut feeling
That appears to be what Nonlinear Circuits designs for too.
Yes, 0805 seems pretty common.
I’m contemplating SMD too and look around what others have done 
Look, maybe you can do something with it too?
0805 and then 1206 sizes, larger is better to see/solder and yet all sizing seems to go down to 0805 as the basic go to.
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Resurrecting this thread with a few questions:
As I design more and more for SMD, I’m trying to decide if I standardize on 0805 or 0603 for my designs.
- Is it practical (not merely feasible) to populate a lot of 0805 footprints with 0603 components?
- Should we expect 0805 sizes to start
DIPping outbeing discontinued reasonably soon or are they here to stay for decades? - Is the board space saved by going 0603 vs 0805 really that significant?
I understand that 0603 is a bit more common than 0805 for DIY Eurorack, but I find it too small for comfort.
0805 is comfortable for most people I think, if your eyesight isn’t tip-top 0603 may be too small for basic hand soldering. I usually go for 0805 but I find 0603 pretty manageable.
Something to note is that the footprint for one size can easily accommodate the next smallest component, so if you go with 0805 footprints, you have the option of using 0603 too. this is especially useful if you have a mixed array of sizes in your component stash.
If you ever get to the point of getting PCBs fabricated with the parts already soldered, you should find that 0603 is a fair bit cheaper too.
On the same topic, the size to go for in diodes is SOD123, the next one down, SOD323 gives me nightmares after a few bad experiences.
edit, didnt see your reply @AriaSalvatrice but hopefully, my post helped a little.
As for saving space, for eurorack 2HP and 4HP stuff, 0603 certainly helps, but for heftly Kosmo, not so much…
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Seeing that 0603 and SOD323 are half the price of 0805 and SOD123 in most shops was a sign for sure. Not that the bigger ones are that expensive in absolute terms, but it’s a sign they are less desirable.
While a 0805 pad can accept a 0603 with hand soldering… would a fab accept it for assembly service?
It could let me do a prototype run, then a pre-assembled run. I may want to ask JLC about that.
yeah jlc have dropped in a 0603 component into a 0805 footprint a few times for me. I’ve noticed the same on some commercially produced boards too when pulling broken stuff to bits too.
I’m just guessing here on the basis of no experience whatsoever, but I’d think if you specify 0603 parts, as long as they make proper contact on the pads JLCPCB isn’t going to care and maybe won’t even know the footprint was labeled “0805” in KiCad.
A quick test makes it clear that for resistors and capacitors, 0805 pads you can populate in 0603 might be a good plan.
All my SMD Resistors have the size 0805, so that I can read the markings without glasses ( currently… 
), but the capacitors - especially the 100nF - are in 0603, because they fit perfectly between the 3 power rails under the DIP ics, 0805 would be to great.
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