PCB Design software - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: dave356
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 01:17:57 am
content: Hi guys,What's a good, free, design software for designing my PCB's that outputs in GERBER so I can sendto a MFG to have small batches run for me.Need something with a low learning curve if possible.Don't want something that links to only their mfg's.Largest size anticipated will be about 80mm X 60mm.If limiting factor is a little smaller, I might be able to get by with it.Will need no more than 2 layer, most of my designs will be simple 1 layer.Simplicity is a plus.Never used software to do this before. My only experience in making pcb's was withRadioShack dry rub and chemical etch. (45 years ago?)Any help in this will be appreciated.Thanks,Dave

author: rea5245
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 02:29:28 am
content: I maintain a list of free PCB CAD software athttps://pcbshopper.com/cad/. There are many such lists on the web, but mine is different in that it tells you what limits have been imposed on the free versions of commercial software (e.g. the size limits in Eagle, the pin limits in DipTrace). Of course, my list also includes non-limited open source packages like KiCad and gEDA.- Bob

author: dave356
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 03:34:08 am
content: Thanks Bob, Will check it out.Dave

author: sasa
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 03:47:57 am
content: Quote from: rea5245 on September 17, 2017, 02:29:28 amOne small correction, perhaps: free Diptrace have limit of 300 pins and 2 signal layers, not 500.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 04:19:52 am
content: Quote from: sasa on September 17, 2017, 03:47:57 am300 is if you do it WITHOUT contacting them. But as they explain in their documentation...If you ask them and explain via email, they do free up to 500 pins. But only for non-commercial use, such as hobbyists or education.

author: sasa
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 04:35:48 am
content: Quote from: dave356 on September 17, 2017, 01:17:57 amThe best advice is to test several and see what suits you the best.Personally, I use Diptrace for years for all my PCB designs and limits free version have are way too high for my needs as a hobbyist. User interface is easy to use and logical to me - place the component, rotate, move it and wire it without need to explicitly change mode. Easy to make any missing component. It can produce 3D preview of resulting PCB, which is nice bonus feature.It is easy to export gerber files, however I never need it (I homemade all).It have MAC and Windows software releases, however, it can be used on Linux through Wine. I have never found any serious bug resulting in wrong PCB.

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 08:02:02 am
content: I used the free 500 pins diptrace in a virtual machine as I am on a Mac. then I tried Kicad last year and found it to suit my needs for hobby use, and it's native application on the mac which is a +++.

author: rea5245
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 01:29:59 pm
content: Quote from: MK14 on September 17, 2017, 04:19:52 amThe 300 pin version is also for non-profit use only, so there is no extra burden for 500 pins than there is for 300 pins (other than having to contact them).- Bob

author: jmelson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2017, 09:13:19 pm
content: You should try Kicad, it is free open source, and is constantly being improved. I use Protel 99, which is better, but a guy sent me a project designed on Kicad, and I put it on my system and it definitely works, and can be used to design fairly complex boards. I am by no means an expert on Kicad, but whenever I decide to retire Protel, Kicad may well be the replacement.Jon

author: DerekG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2017, 12:57:41 am
content: Quote from: dave356 on September 17, 2017, 01:17:57 amI don't think you can go past DipTrace. I (have to) use Altium & Proteus for much of my work but prefer DipTrace over both of them as it has a simple, local & quick to learn interface.QuoteBe aware that you often save nothing by designing a single sided board. In most cases the board shop still uses two sided copper & simply etches away the side you do not want.Here is an extensive list of most of the EDA options available:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/eda/pcbeda-software-list/

author: b_force
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2017, 01:04:54 am
content: I agree with KiCad.It's pretty complete.Interface-wise not nearly as close to the professional ones (you can't change anything in the GUI, which is very frustrating)But I think for most people more than enough.

author: dave356
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2017, 03:54:18 am
content: Thanks guys.Am looking at Kicad right now and will also check out DipTrace.Slugging my way thru Kicad now, little slow at finding everything and figuringit out, but will give it a few days practicing.After that I will give DipTrace a few days to see which one I like better.Thanks guys.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2017, 06:01:17 am
content: Perhaps I'm gonna get trolled, but here's my 10 cents:-in terms of engineering software it's like with Linux - it's free it your time is worth zero. SW like KiCad or gEDA s made by software developers, not engineers and it shows.-Eagle - dated crap - don't use unless someone forces u too and pays extra.Budget / free option:Diptrace - very good value for money. Pretty complete range of features. 3D modeling, nice library system. In case u want to go commercial with it the most pimped-out version is like 1k€, which is really attractive for what it offers.Commercial:Pulsonix, Altium - both in the same price range (~10-12k€ AFAIK). Both work out of the box without needing an antire team to maintain libraries and do the setup (which for example seems to be the case for Zuken and Mentor products)

author: 48X24X48X
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2017, 07:01:04 am
content: Came from Altium background but when I decided to start my own company, I used Diptrace for few years. For me that was the closest to Altium at very affordable price.More than 3 years ago, switched to KiCad and never turn back. The best decision ever.

author: asmi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2017, 06:24:57 pm
content: Quote from: poorchava on September 18, 2017, 06:01:17 amSoftware developers are engineers too(sorry I had to say that).But I agree with the main thrust of the post - you get what you pay for. Recently after suffering through it's many oddities I moved from KiCAD to Orcad PCB and couldn't be more happy! Orcad's flow is very similar to KiCAD's, so the move itself was fairly painless - there are some oddities like padstacks as separate entity in Orcad, but it's not that complicated and just requires getting used to (and also coming up with thegoodnaming scheme before your padstacks' library turns into unmanageable mess)