Which PCB CAD programme? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Cit
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 16, 2012, 08:49:26 pm
content: Which free/open source PCB CAD programme would you recommend and why?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2012, 01:12:57 am
content: Have you watched the eevblog videos on diptrace and kicad?

author: harnon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2012, 01:30:19 am
content: Or better yet download a few, try them out and see which one you like best!

author: Cit
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 17, 2012, 03:31:43 pm
content: Quote from: harnon on March 17, 2012, 01:30:19 amI asked because I suppose it is very time consuming to find the best one (11 programmes i elCaps's list) and because I suppose other users have more experience and knowledge than me about this subject.

author: harnon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2012, 04:47:40 pm
content: Quote from: Cit on March 17, 2012, 03:31:43 pmI'm not try to be funny, but its better to pick a tool you like, not one somebody else likes.Also, this or similar questions have been discussed once or twice before.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-pcbedacad-discussions/if-you-could-only-use-one-cad-suite-for-pcb-design-what-would-it-be/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-pcbedacad-discussions/design-and-simulation-software-to-start-with/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-pcbedacad-discussions/making-the-decision-cad-software/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-pcbedacad-discussions/anyone-else-using-diptrace/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-pcbedacad-discussions/the-state-of-pcb-cad-user-interfaces/I haven't read most of these, just looked at the titles.Personally I use Diptrace, which I arrived at after trying most of the other free packages for a little while at least. I've put a couple of tutorials in the diptrace forum here and you can also watch Dave's video as suggested above. I used Eagle for a while and it wasn't too bad, but the UI was dated. You probably need to have Eagle installed anyway as a lot of open source designs on the web are given in Eagle format. I have 5.11 and 6 installed but only use them for viewing. In my opinion the open source ones aren't really quite there yet in terms of UI and integration of different areas of the packages.You can also try some of the bigger commercial packages out there if you somehow have access to the software.Same answer really, just in more detail - try a few and see what you like, read a few posts in the topics above and see if there are any comments that make you more or less interested. Your time will not be wasted by putting in a bit of research.

author: ml-eng
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2012, 06:23:32 pm
content: check out DesignSpark, I use Pulsonix (professional) and it seems Design Spark has a lot in comon cause it is made by the same company

author: AnthonyJarmie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 26, 2012, 02:11:25 pm
content: Hello friends,The Express-PCB CAD software is very easy to learn and use. For the first time, designing circuit boards is simple for the beginner and efficient for the professional. Best of all, its FREERegardsAnthony

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2012, 04:42:25 pm
content: Quote from: AnthonyJarmie on May 26, 2012, 02:11:25 pmThat software is total and utter CRAP. For the following reason : you can only have your board made by the expresspcb guys.. And they are garbage ! No soldermask no silkscreen , dinosaur technology when it comes to track / gap and drill .There is no access to gerber data , there is no link between schematic and pcb.There is tons of these 'free' but tied-to-vendor programs out there.It ain't free unless you can get to your created data... And that is the gerber data, as that is what you need to have the board made by whom you want.And 51$... For doublesided tiny boards without text or solder is expensive. The same size board will cost 25$ at iteadstudio and youll get 8 or 10 with soldermask , silkscreen on both sides and finer track gap and smaller drills.

author: updatelee
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2012, 01:22:53 am
content: I'm really happy with diptrace. It's so easy to create your own parts I don't even bother searching online for libraries, if it's not included I take 30 sec and create it. Got tired of eagles quirks, everything in diptrace is pretty intuitive, and free for hobby use (some minor pin limitations which won't effect most hobby users)

author: ngfish
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 11, 2013, 01:23:48 pm
content: Eagle because I started with it and Sparkfun uses it. LOL

author: hammil
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2013, 01:55:09 pm
content: KiCad is very good, and works well, but has a few glitches and 'quirks' that some folks don't like. It is, however, free and open-source.I tried out Altium designer, and it works really nicely. It also has a /much/ larger component library. You'll also get a lot more of the more professional features, and it feels like a more professional software package.But regardless of what package you use, you will inevitably find yourself making component diagrams and footprints. In my opinion, it's easier and quicker to do this in KiCad than in Altium. In terms of overall usability... eh. There's pros and cons to both.I haven't used Eagle or DIPTrace, so I can't really comment on them.