If there is one truism about the changes that the internet has wrought on how we make money, I’d say it’s the fact that you can now structure an entire business on a very niche market. The startup world is full of small companies that target groups with very specific needs, simply because the presence of the internet makes it possible for us to finally meet those needs.
One such company is DatasheetLib, which is a library of free datasheets. I’m going to be honest for a second: before I heard of this site, I had zero idea of what a datasheet was or what purpose it served.
Let me explain, because I’m gonna guess that most of you don’t know much about this topic either.
Design engineers use datasheets when they want to incorporate an electronic device, material, power supply, or software into something they’re creating. The datasheet lays out all the info they need in order to do that: technical specs, all the information on the object’s function and features, and diagrams of how it all goes together.
Now, your average Joe will probably never need to use a datasheet in his life, but for the people who create the majority of things you use every day, datasheets are indispensible. Engineers work off each other’s creations, which means they need to have access to the technical outlines of a wide variety of objects.
Right now, the most common way to find datasheets is the trusty Google. However, searching and sifting through pages of Google search pages is no one’s idea of a good time. DatasheetLib solves that pain point by creating an online library of datasheets that makes it easy to access, search, and track down any datasheet.
Some of the brands whose datasheets they make available include:
- Texas Instruments
- Toshiba
- Honeywell
- Fairchild
- TDK
- National Semiconductor
- Avago Technologies
- Panasonic
- Cooper Bussman
- Amphenol
- Bourns
- Microchip
And many, many more. Basically, they’re your one-stop shop for any and all technical datasheets available on the web today.
DatasheetLib has over 4.1 million datasheets freely available at the time of writing this article. Over 1,000 datasheets have been added so far today and that number increased by over 100 since I started writing.
(And I write pretty fast.)
If you’re not an engineer, DatasheetLib is probably not your favorite site out there but isn’t that the beauty of the internet? There really is a niche for each and every one of us.
Photo Credits
stockimages | maya picture | FreeDigitalPhotos.net | DatasheetLib
