[Palomides]

>schematic that I could download that way wouldn't be affected by patents, as long as I'm not selling it

not true, there's no personal use exemption for patents

[RobotToaster]

There effectively is a common law exemption https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_exemption

[Palomides]

the research exemption, at least in the us, is /very/ limited