pcb design software

[emer dauz]

i am so impressed with ciruit diagram and pcb made by elektor. So i just want to know what pcb design software does elektor magazine use?
thanks

[v8dave]

I am surprised there is no reply this question.

Elektor have indicated they use Altium Designer for PCB layouts. They have a special department that modifies them for the magazine.

You'll find Altium very expensive and out of reach of most people. I am lucky that I have it for work. You should see the 3D option on the PCB that it now offers. Very impressive and great for checking against mechanical designs.

Dave...

[seanvn]

I think that pcb cad software has such a steep learning curve that most people can't use it. I design my pcb's using ms paint. First you create a blank image using ms paint. Then you save that as a .bmp file. Then using the image viewer software irfanview you change the DPI of the image (using the image resize option) to 50DPI. Save the image again and open it again in ms paint. Now each pixel has a size of 20mil*20mil. Using a steel rule you can measure the component lead spacings and draw the pcb. When you are finished you save the image again and open it in irfanview where there is an option to print out the image at its true size based on DPI.

[e somebody]

Have you looked at KICAD open source.

I dont like answering a reply with "go here to learn more" but at this stage I am just learning it myself, some people say it is easier to learn than ones you pay for.

google it to learn more

[bayc3d]

You look at the Eagle and Proteus

[toprak sergen]

Previously, people used the AutoCAD, MS Paint to make the PCB design. Now the trend has been changed because of availability of high-end technology PCB design tools. Nowadays PCB design tools have in-build component libraries with complete details like manufacture part number, vendor order number. They also enable to export PCB design to 3D drawing.

pcb assembly'

[pewtu]

I have used the free software from RS components. I am the type of person who does not learn from a book but by a manual and hands on. Documentation not brilliant but workable and once I got the hand of it, it worked for me. Produces industry standard files so can go outside to get boards fabricated or print design to make yourself. Does schematic, and pcb layout with routing.

[wa_mo]

After many years of staying away from electronics design, I have taken it up again, because I found both, the Propeler and the Arduino platforms.

So, I have tried many PCB CAD programs, Proteus, Eagle, DipTrace, DesignSpark, some of the german programs like Elektra, Target, etc.
Cost of course plays a major role, especially when one uses it as a hobby.

After following some tutorials on Youtube by Jason of RPCelectronics and Jeremy Blum.\, I decided on Eagle, now at version v6.5. The only drawback is, that many schematics and boards on the web are for Eagle v5 and therefore not compatible with v6.x.

Eagle as a free to use version can create boards of ca 4 x 3.2 inches and two layers. When registered as freemium one gets 2 extra layers as bonus.

Eagle as a Hobbyist version can create boards of ca 4 x 6 3/8 inches and 99 layers. The cost is not too prohibitive at about 170 dollars.

While it would be nice to access the unlimited features, the cost is just too much for me as a hobbyist.

I'm still in the stages of evaluating DesignSpark. It seems to be a good program, but handles differently from Eagle. One drawback is the constant login to ModelSource and the limited amount of component suppliers for RS-Components.'

[shadders]

Hi

DesignSpark is created by the same people who sell Easy-PC to hobbyist market - although Easy-PC is rather good value for money.

I use Easy-PC - www.numberone.com and would recommend this software package.

Not used Eagle.

All designs returned by the PCB manufacturer have always been very good - so no issue with the output from Easy-PC.

Regards,

Shadders.

[afyon]

shadders, I’ve been using DesignSpark for some time now and I’m really impressed by its online shared designs where you don’t have to design small parts of your circuits like voltage regulation or things like that, I just pick them up from the shared user designs and insert in mine. Since you’re mentioning Easy-PC and it’s from the same team of DesignSpark, has it got a similar interface and shared online library of DesignSpark as well. Also, since it’s a paid software, what more would it give me?