Manual CAD - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: tkamiya
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2019, 12:33:26 am
content: I wonder if such thing exists.....I was last active in DIY/prototpye_professionally scene in 1980s. That means I'm used to making PCB the old fashion way. Sometimes one at a time and sometimes making a film but I always used art supply type lines and "rounds" for discrete and IC chips. Then I had routed everything. Most of them were single layer.I'd like to do the same. I don't want to pick the component from the list, etc. I'd like to everything by hand. Place rounds and ICs all by hand and route by dragging it with a mouse. All CADs I've seen seems to be build a circuit, pick components, auto-route and adjust type.Are there something available I can do all by hand, make gerber and send it to fab?

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2019, 01:07:30 am
content: Nothing that I've seen, although you can probably turn off DRC and place the footprints and route everything by hand in most tools if you really insist on doing things the hard way.There's a good reason the workflow is done the way it is done now, it makes it far less likely to make mistakes. I have lots of boards from the 70s-80s that have numerous bodge wires to fix mistakes made in the design. With modern tools it is much easier to avoid silly mistakes because you start out with a schematic and that produces a netlist that is used to control the routing process. Take a couple hours to learn the "new" (as in last 25-30 years) process and you'll save a lot of time in the long run.For what it's worth, I never use auto-route, and neither do quite a lot of designers, hand routing from the ratsnest provides a much better quality result in most cases.

author: DTJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2019, 01:29:48 am
content: Look at the very early Protel software. I think it used to be available for free (with Protel's permission).It may have been called Easy Trax or Auto Trax. From memory it was DOS software.Edit: check this outhttps://techdocs.altium.com/display/ALEG/Freeware+downloads

author: techman-001
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2019, 04:51:35 am
content: Quote from: tkamiya on October 18, 2019, 12:33:26 amAbsolutely.http://pcb.geda-project.org/

author: ciccio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2019, 01:17:51 pm
content: I'vd designed PCBs as part of my work since 1970's and if I look in the drawers I'll find my stock of tapes and adhesive pads (the adhesive is not very sticky, now)..I've used for years the old Protel for DOS, but the problem was it's inability to generate not only Gerber files (or better recent version of Gerber files) but also, being a DOS application, print on recent printers.In the years I've tested a lot of free or low cost programs, but I was not safisfied: they needed a lot of time for learning, and I did not had that time, so I began to subcontract the work to external design services, that used very expensive tools that I could not afford..Some years ago I've found a vey nice program, Sprint Layout by Abacom (https://www.electronic-software-shop.com/index.php?language=en).It can do all what you search, and a lot more, and it's cheap (39 Euros plus VAT). You can download a working demo version. Try it.Best regards