PCD design software

[Yves]

I use Proteus up to the 8.13 version. I like the seamless relation from the schematic to PCB. I don't use  automatic tracking yet as most of my circuits are single bottom copper. I agree updates are expensive and usually are not much use for me.

Yves

[Giuseppe MPO]

KiCad

[top204]

Because "he" used EdWinXP, it was "obviously" the best available to someone who is never wrong, so I had to also learn to use it.

So, the opposite to the question at the head of the thread is my answer.... What is the PCB design program "never" to use? LOL. And my anwser is very much EdWinXP. It is dreadful and its routing mechanism is also absolutely dreadful.

I was using Eagle pre-Cr#w*i#l up until 2001, and it was getting better and better. I have started using Eagle again and it does have its issues, but it does produce an excellent autoroute when its limits and rules are setup, and it also has many third-party plugins that do things that would normally take hours by hand. Also, the component libraries for it are vast, and sometimes, a little too vast and confusing. It seems that every component manufacturer has a set of Eagle libraries for their components that can be downloaded. So the list of libraries installed is way too large, and I have to remove before I add now. :-) Sometimes too much of a good thing is not such a good thing after all. LOL.

But as usual, there are third party web sites that are insisting on substriptions and payments for people to download Eagle libraries that are actually free to downlaod if looked for at the manufacturers sites. The internet is so full of dreadful, greedy, scum now. :-(

Also, Eagle's gerbers are very much a standard for most PCB companies now, and they can also be run through a set of plugins to make quick and excellent PCBs on a CNC machine by converting the gerbers and drill files to G-Code with level sensing etc, that work with controllers such as Mach3 and Mach4 etc...

For EdWinXP, I had to create my own Delphi software to do that because it produces such non-standard gerber and drill files. Gerbers are one of those scripts that are supposed to be a standard, but they are "very much" not standard these days, and change slightly from software to software that creates them, and additional standard items are always being added to them for some reason, and this can (will) confuse some PCB manufacturers. I know that from experience with EdWinXP, and often had to go into the gerber files and remove items or make items more suitable for the manufacturers to understand. :-)

The original question is very much like the question: "How Long is a Piece of String", and eveyone will give a slightly different answer, based upon their experiences with different PCB design programs. LOL.

[RGV250]

Hi Les,
Which version of Eagle are you using, I tried V7.7 (last free one) on windows 10 and had all sorts of issues.

Bob

[top204]

Hello Bob

I am currently using version 6.5.0 on Windows10 64-bit.

There have been updates to newer versions, but this version has everything I want, and the newer udates do not actually add anything special, so I will keep this version.

I did try a version 7.x.x.x and it also worked fine with Windows10 64-bit..

[Yves]

Is Eagle can also simulate PIC microcontroller's code like Proteus does?

Yves

[TimB]

I can see that Proteus is not currying much favour with people. For me though the time saving from being able to SIM my code to the point I often have another 1-2 pics running code simulating mechanical hardware inputs makes it well worth the cost.

Personally I find the UI of the schematic capture and PCB design fine and while my package does not allow very complex extras like track impedance matching. I do not need it, and if I did I would jast have to pay a bit more. Importing footprints is easy from the likes of snapeda and if not they are simple to build from scratch.

[JonW]

For fast turnaround Easy EDA is hard to beat, its completely Free, has an immense library with models, schematics, pick and place, and associated parts & part numbers from LCSC.  Seamless ordering with BOM generation and SMT etc.  It can also be learnt in hours and is constantly being improved.

I used to use Proteus but its no where near as fast as EASY EDA and Altium is a beast but slow...  I=Easy Eda does struggle with large multi-layer designs with BGA and lots of fine pitch parts.  Board shown is 2Gbit/s ethernet & RS485/232 to G.HN module with a couple of dense BGA on 4 layers and this was a push for it, however it managed it in the end.

[Gamboa]

Altium is the tool I use for PCB design. It is an expensive tool for a small business.
Since 2007, when I bought the license, I have not used another tool.

The PCB I design are usually double-sided or 4-layer multilayer. They are not very difficult to route. Occasionally I do some more complicated work like 6 layers or 8 layers, with BGA and tuned differential pairs. I have not gotten to route DDR memories.

I like Altium because from the schematic you are already thinking with the component concept. This is slower at first, but saves a lot of time later. I have seen that there are tools that you design the schematic and put a resistor (only the symbol), without footprint, without tolerance, without part number, without anything. Then you add the footprint, etc. In Altium you can choose a resistor as a component with all its values defined and you know if there is stock or not when designing. I would have a hard time using any other tool.

Regards,
Gamboa

[Stephen Moss]

Is Eagle can also simulate PIC microcontroller's code like Proteus does?

Yves

As far as I can tell it only does analogue simulation.

[Mike]

Just came accross this thread when I was looking for something else!!
I use DipTrace Lite it has 500 Pins 2 Signal Layers. It is USD$145, BUT if you are a Hobbist and send them an email they will give you a licence for FREE!! 
I did upgrade mine to DipTrace Standard 1,00 pins 4 Signal Layers and still at a reduced cost.
The Developers are from Ukraine but still manage to keep on top of their work. (Bloody heroes).
The Forum is also very helpful.

Mike

[rick.curl]

I use Diptrace too and like it a lot.  My company previously used Circuitmaker 2000 (not the same as the software from Altium by the same name) but we kept running into problems and decided to find a better CAD system.  We looked at many of them over several months, and finally settled on Diptrace.  We have been VERY happy ever since. As Mike said, Diptrace is actively supported by the developers and has a great forum. With every release they add new features. In a recent release they added the ability to search for components from SnapEDA if they were not already in a library. They also added simulation.

It's also good to note that the price is reasonable, and it's a lifetime license. As Mike pointed out, the 500 pin free version is sufficient for many users.

BTW- Beware of other "Free" packages that require you to order PCB's from only one source. 

[Ivano]

I use Target 3001 two layers and 400 pins, the more pins the more layers the price goes up.
As a hobbyist that's enough for me.
I've tried others but they don't satisfy me, maybe because I'm used to Target and using another one takes time to learn all the functions.