History

PCB Libraries was started in 2003 as a sole proprietorship and was based on a couple of decades worth of work. We developed simple scripts to automate the creation of PCB libraries. Our scripts caught on very quickly, and we incorporated in 2004. The LP Wizard was developed 20 years ago, it was in rapid development until it was acquired in 2008 by Valor. Valor was later acquired by Mentor Graphics.

Since the acquisition, support for most CAD formats other than (understandably) Mentor Graphics' own was either dropped or significantly reduced. The original PCB Libraries team regrouped in 2011, with bigger and more ambitious goals. We rewrote the IPC Calculator code from scratch, keeping it more agile and easy to upgrade. We also developed new PCB library creation features to improve ways of calculating and generating PCB libraries.

PCB Libraries regrouped in 2011 to create the next generation of PCB Library automation. We named the new program "Library Expert", which was officially released on July 11, 2012. In 2019 we started to rewrite Library Expert, totally redesigned the UI. The new program was called the "Footprint Expert", and was released January 2021. Major feature updates were completed in September 2024, but the Footprint Expert is continually updated to ensure compatibility and enhance existing features.

In addition to the PCB Footprint Expert, we are also pursuing goals to develop a much more comprehensive online database of all component manufacturer part numbers for creation of high quality PCB libraries, in every major CAD tool format.

Below is the history of the footprint software, listed by major revisions.