Free schematic design tool? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: raspberrypi
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 12:54:32 pm
content: I'm looking for a free one either web base or download. MS paint ctrl c ctrl v would have worked fine but the windows 10 paint is very tedious to draw straight lines and you have to constantly click away to keep from moving your line, then click back on the tool or area. I was a master with the old ones. I just need it for practice. It would also be nice if I could make my own boards as in using chemicals from copper pcbs, no mailing away for stuff. But not necessary as wire wrap is suiting me just fine now...

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 12:58:12 pm
content: Kicad is free:http://kicad-pcb.orgThere are free versions of Eagle as well:https://cadsoft.io

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 01:27:45 pm
content: My favorite is Diptrace, and if you're a student you can get a free registration key for it, as long as you agree not to use it for commercial purposes.http://diptrace.com/download-diptrace/It also has a freeware version.

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 02:16:10 pm
content: If you are a FOSS fan then KiCAD is your go-to.For free software that is not open source, I prefer DipTrace. You don't have to be a student to get a 500 on license, just ask. DipTrace, unlike Eagle has no board size restrictions. I also find it a bit more intuitive.Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 10:41:41 pm
content: Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on November 23, 2016, 02:16:10 pmHowever, Diptrace has pretty severe pin count restrictions - the cheapest version 300 pins, next up is 500 and only 2 layers.That's pretty expensive for those restrictions, IMO. The unlimited version is 1000 EUR - which isn't too much considering the competition, but for a hobbyist not eligible for discounts, that's quite a chunk of change.If it is only for non-profit uses then there is a significant discount, but I am not sure what they are asking for as justification (and whether or not the OP wants to make money with it).

author: stj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 23, 2016, 10:54:49 pm
content: Eagle and KiCad are multi-platform.Lin, Win and OSX.it may be important to a growing number of people given that M$ is intent on driving people from it's platform!

author: timb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2016, 12:27:35 am
content: Quote from: stj on November 23, 2016, 10:54:49 pmDipTrace has a Windows and macOS version. The Windows version runs perfectly on Linux via WINE. (In fact, the macOS version is just the Windows version in a WINE bottle with a special launcher. You could download the macOS version and extract the WINE bottle from it if you wanted an easy setup on Linux.)

author: void_error
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2016, 12:39:34 am
content: DipTrace has a freeware version up to 300 pins and free version up to 500 pins if you shoot them an e-mail asking nicely for a non-commercial license and they usually respond within a few hours depending on your timezone relative to theirs.I tried KiCad which is completely free but I found it quite tedious and sluggish to work with.Web-based options also exist, like CircuitMaker but all except one of your designs are publicly available. There's also EasyEDA.

author: JoeN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2016, 05:57:26 am
content: I love DipTrace. Nothing to lose here, download the free version and watch their free (and efficiently edited, tight) videos. Yeah, if you have over too many pins you may be stuck. But then again, you can always break your schematic into several different files. If necessary, you can even implement as different boards and just put a header between them for whatever signals you need to bring across. If you order from OSHPark there won't even be a price penalty because they charge purely by area anyway. DipTrace+OSHPark=Sex On A Stick! as Dave says.DipTrace+OSHPark is as easy as...1.2.3.