New to school - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Sparks
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2015, 04:45:42 pm
content: Hi, I just started my first semester of college and am looking to become an electronics design engineer. I was just wondering what are the best free cad programs? I started out using PCB123, then moved on to Eagle, but now am looking for a more professional program

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2015, 04:55:39 pm
content: I suspect Eagle is fairly close to being the best trade-off you'll find between 'professional' and 'free'. The two are not positively correlated!If you want to learn something professional, try Orcad PCB Designer. For small designs - enough to give it a go and learn the tool - it's free. Beyond that, you can rent it by the year; still expensive on a student budget, I'm afraid, but being able to use it is undeniably a useful professional skill.

author: Emil
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2015, 01:54:26 pm
content: I like Diptrace.The component and footprint editors are easy to use, so it's fast to add new components. A subjective thing, but the user interface and work flow seems very intuitive to me.It's free for non commerial use with a 500 pin/2 signal layers limit (unlimited power planes and board size.)

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2015, 12:17:59 am
content: Many people here like KiCad.Does your faculty offer student licenses for PCB CAD software? If you are studying EE, it is quite likely that it does.

author: ConKbot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2015, 01:22:26 am
content: Any experience is better than none though. If Eagle free is all that fits your budget, learn it, make a some components from scratch, make a few PCBs, try getting them made somewhere cheap like OSHpark.Learning a professional program is a lot easier if you know how to lay out a PCB and you just have to learn the tool, rather than learn the tool while you're learning how to make a PCB. Going from proficient in Eagle, to proficient in Altium (not doing complex boards in either) took me 2-3 months of mucking around with it on the side at work.And just hope you don't go somewhere with a full setup of Mentor Graphics Xpedition :p Because while its super powerful, even just a brief overview from one of the EE's at work (we transitioned from Xpedition to Altium a few months before I was hired on) made my head spin.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2015, 02:34:01 am
content: Quote from: Sparks on January 20, 2015, 04:45:42 pmDon't, just don't.A point to note is that the "more professional" (whatever that means!) tools are far more complex. Sometimes that complexity is necessary and beneficial, often not. Extra complexityalwayshas a steeper and longer (=>more expensive) learning curve. An engineer's job is to determine the minimum that is necessary to get the job done within the constraints.At college you should be looking to gain an understanding of topics that will last you for a lifetime. You should be learning when to use eachtypeof tool (and there are many different types) so that you can appropriately apply the subset of tools that will benefit you in your next job. Then, as and when necessary, you will learn some details of those tools - and your employer will pay you to learn.You could easily spend your entire time at college learning which buttons to push in ToolX. Fine, unless your employer wants ToolY, or until ToolX becomes obsolete, or your employer wants you to define which combination of ToolX ToolY ToolZ is most beneficial.I suggest you take your current understanding of what PCB123/Eagle can do and cannot do. Then you will be in a position to say "ToolX is sufficient for this purpose", or "ToolX is insufficient because it can't do ...; whereas in this case ToolY is necessary because...". That practical hands-on understanding of the theoretical mimitations of each tool will impress potential employers - and knowinghowto choose the right tool is something that will last a lifetime.

author: Sparks
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2015, 02:56:05 am
content: Excelent point. Guess I was getting ahead of myself on this one. I will look into Kicad as an additional option, but will also continue to use Eagle for the time being. Thanks for the input.

author: DIPLover
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2015, 05:16:33 am
content: I Second Diptrace as a very nice free for academic/hobbyist option (500pins, 2 signal layers (so 4 layer board OK)).Otherwise, I would recommend you take a look at what's installed on the Uni lab computers and learn that.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2015, 05:48:41 am
content: The best PCB design tool I know is Subordinate. You can get a Subordinate to do most of the tedious work, and just look over their shoulder as they do the critical bits.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2015, 10:20:34 am
content: Quote from: Sparks on January 27, 2015, 02:56:05 amLooking ahead is a good, saleable, life skill. Employers will always want to know "with 20:20 hindsight, what would you have done differently".Asking for opinions, listening, and then evaluating their validity/relevance are also good life skills.(One technique for the last is to repeatedly ask a salesman questions until you get a "no". If you don't get a "no" at the right point then you can discount all other answers)