What is your favorite PCB software?
in [Embedded]
|
From: Joel on 11 Apr 2008 16:28 >On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:19:52 -0500, "Joel" <joelbenway(a)gmail.com> >wrote: > >>Just curious about what everyone uses. I've been using Orcad PCB editor. > >I've been using Eagle for more than 5 years now. A little tricky to >use it. You don't select an object, and then choose what to do with >it. You first select what you want to do, and then you select objects >to apply that action to. That is a little odd at the beginning, but >once you get used to it, you work faster. > >Copy&Paste and Cut&Paste are somewhat odd. Cadsoft should improve >that. > >The C scripting language that it includes is very powerful. For >instance, if you need to place pads for LEDs, tracks, etc, with >circular symmetry (every 22.5�, for instance), you can easily program >that. By hand, it would by a hell, not to say impossible. > >Best, >Jon > Isn't that what grids and snap are for?
From: Leon on 11 Apr 2008 17:36 On 11 Apr, 20:05, Jon <a...(a)b.c> wrote: > On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:19:52 -0500, "Joel" <joelben...(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > > >Just curious about what everyone uses. I've been using Orcad PCB editor. > > I've been using Eagle for more than 5 years now. A little tricky to > use it. You don't select an object, and then choose what to do with > it. You first select what you want to do, and then you select objects > to apply that action to. That is a little odd at the beginning, but > once you get used to it, you work faster. > > Copy&Paste and Cut&Paste are somewhat odd. Cadsoft should improve > that. > > The C scripting language that it includes is very powerful. For > instance, if you need to place pads for LEDs, tracks, etc, with > circular symmetry (every 22.5º, for instance), you can easily program > that. By hand, it would by a hell, not to say impossible. > With Pulsonix I just use a polar grid, which is even easier! Leon
From: Grant Edwards on 11 Apr 2008 18:08 On 2008-04-11, Leon <leon355(a)btinternet.com> wrote: > On 11 Apr, 20:05, Jon <a...(a)b.c> wrote: >> On Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:19:52 -0500, "Joel" <joelben...(a)gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >> >Just curious about what everyone uses. �I've been using Orcad PCB editor. >> >> I've been using Eagle for more than 5 years now. A little tricky to >> use it. You don't select an object, and then choose what to do with >> it. You first select what you want to do, and then you select objects >> to apply that action to. That is a little odd at the beginning, but >> once you get used to it, you work faster. >> >> Copy&Paste and Cut&Paste are somewhat odd. Cadsoft should improve >> that. >> >> The C scripting language that it includes is very powerful. For >> instance, if you need to place pads for LEDs, tracks, etc, with >> circular symmetry (every 22.5�, for instance), you can easily program >> that. By hand, it would by a hell, not to say impossible. >> > > With Pulsonix I just use a polar grid, which is even easier! Grids only work for evenly spaced stuff. If your component has a list of hole positions that dont line up with a grid, then a script or command-line interface is the only way to fly. I guess you could create a whole set of grids, but that's a lot more work than just pasting the list of hole positions into a script. -- Grant Edwards grante Yow! You can't hurt me!! at I have an ASSUMABLE visi.com MORTGAGE!!
From: Joseph H Allen on 11 Apr 2008 21:40 In article <pOidnUGOS6oVsGfanZ2dnUVZ_ramnZ2d(a)giganews.com>, Joel <joelbenway(a)gmail.com> wrote: >Just curious about what everyone uses. I've been using Orcad PCB editor. PADS Power PCB 3.5.1 (version from around 2000) and started with PADS for DOS. I would have started with DOS OrCAD PCB tool, but it was more expensive than PADS at the time. I have the Specctra auto-router for it (withdrawn when Cadence bought it). Never tried the Blaze auto-router. Oh, I used this with DOS OrCAD and Viewdraw. I've since used Cadance tools: Allegro and Concept. They annoy me. Actually that brings up another question: do people actually use auto-routers anymore? I used Specctra successfully on a bunch of PCB projects. Everyone who uses Allegro seems to hand-route everything. Perhaps the setup work to use the auto-router for high speed signals is as much as just hand routing them. Either that or the PCB contractor wants more billable hours :-) -- /* jhallen(a)world.std.com AB1GO */ /* Joseph H. Allen */ int a[1817];main(z,p,q,r){for(p=80;q+p-80;p-=2*a[p])for(z=9;z--;)q=3&(r=time(0) +r*57)/7,q=q?q-1?q-2?1-p%79?-1:0:p%79-77?1:0:p<1659?79:0:p>158?-79:0,q?!a[p+q*2 ]?a[p+=a[p+=q]=q]=q:0:0;for(;q++-1817;)printf(q%79?"%c":"%c\n"," #"[!a[q-1]]);}
From: DJ Delorie on 11 Apr 2008 21:54
jhallen(a)TheWorld.com (Joseph H Allen) writes: > Actually that brings up another question: do people actually use > auto-routers anymore? I hand route sensitive traces, then see what the autorouter can do. Sometimes the autorouter does well enough that I just accept it, other times it either can't route completely or makes a horrible mess out of it. I use those results (er, after undoing) to further hand-route the problem traces, then autoroute again and see what happens. |