Is there consensus on what schematic software to use for circuit design and board layout?

[Eric Mack]

I’m a beginner here, so my needs are more basic for now. I want to be able to draw a circuit and print a schematic that looks good. Eventually I would like to order some basic boards. Since it seems many here have that experience, I thought I would put the question to you.

Eric

[Douglas Miller]

I (mostly) refuse to pay for software for my hobbies, so I'm running Linux and kicad. It seems to be a fairly complete set of tools, and I have been slowly learning more about it. Like you, I first just wanted something to draw schematics with. Lately, I've been starting to learn about how to make a schematic into a PCB. If you learn the right things to do, it seems fairly easy to go from schematic to PCB and be able to validate the design all the way. I know Norberto uses kicad, not sure if he has other tools though.

kicad doesn't have all the "retro" chips in it's libraries, but you can create your own devices and I'm sure there is some sharing that can be done. I've also gotten kicad library "symbol" and corresponding "footprint" elements from digikey for parts that aren't in the default libraries. Like any of these tools, my first attempts to use it were frustrating, but that was years ago on much older and cruder versions.

On 12/16/22 20:39, 'Eric Mack' via SEBHC wrote:

I’m a beginner here, so my needs are more basic for now. I want to be able to draw a circuit and print a schematic that looks good. Eventually I would like to order some basic boards. Since it seems many here have that experience, I thought I would put the question to you.

Eric

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[Eric Mack]

Thanks, Doug. I read and hear good things about KiCad and I like the idea of not being tied to the board houses software.:-)

Eric

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Douglas Miller
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2022 6:54 PM
To: se...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [sebhc] Is there consensus on what schematic software to use for circuit design and board layout?

 

I (mostly) refuse to pay for software for my hobbies, so I'm running Linux and KiCad. It seems to be a fairly complete set of tools, and I have been slowly learning more about it. Like you, I first just wanted something to draw schematics with. Lately, I've been starting to learn about how to make a schematic into a PCB. If you learn the right things to do, it seems fairly easy to go from schematic to PCB and be able to validate the design all the way. I know Norberto uses KiCad, not sure if he has other tools though.

KiCad doesn't have all the "retro" chips in it's libraries, but you can create your own devices and I'm sure there is some sharing that can be done. I've also gotten KiCad library "symbol" and corresponding "footprint" elements from digikey for parts that aren't in the default libraries. Like any of these tools, my first attempts to use it were frustrating, but that was years ago on much older and cruder versions.

 

On 12/16/22 20:39, 'Eric Mack' via SEBHC wrote:

I’m a beginner here, so my needs are more basic for now. I want to be able to draw a circuit and print a schematic that looks good. Eventually I would like to order some basic boards. Since it seems many here have that experience, I thought I would put the question to you.

Eric

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[Dave McGuire]

While I am primarily a commercial designer, our requirements really
aren't all that different. My recommendation is KiCad. The new release
(v6) is fantastic, having received significant support (both financial
and code) from the commercial and science sectors. Its user base is
huge, which is advantageous when looking for assistance. And you aren't
stuck in a vendor lock-in situation, which seems to be a favorite "mo'
money mo' money" trick of the commercial EDA vendors.

I switched to KiCad for my work about 1.5 years ago, after 20+ years
of using gEDA/PCB. I still have a soft spot for it, but I'm not going
back...the tools are just too damn good.

Yes, there's a learning curve. Electrical engineering is hard
work...don't expect the tools to trivialize it. Find a good tutorial
and follow it. Take your time, don't rush. It's natural to want to
"just get something done", but these are complex tools for complex
tasks, and a little time and patience invested now will pay you back
tremendously in the future.

-Dave

--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA

[Terry Smedley]

Eric:

If you decide to use KiCAD v6, there are a few add-ins/plug-ins that you might find useful for board design.  The Add-In repository can be accessed from the KiCAD main menu, "Plugin and Content Manager" button.

Board2PDF  generates nicely formatted PDFs of board designs that can be configured to look a lot like the Heath X-Ray views.  One sample is attached  to this post.

Interactive HTML BOM quickly produces a Bill of Materials from a board design, and interactively shows where on the board a particular component is located. I've attached a sample, but I'm not sure how well it will display through the link.

Fabrication Toolkit from JLCPCB provides a one-button creation of zipped Gerber files for submission to a board house (doesn't have to be JLCPCB).

Terry

[Darrell Pelan]

KiCad 6 is a great package. I used it to design the ESP32 project I did for the H-89. I recommend the Udemy course to make the best use of Kicad, Link. Udemy has sales ALL the time. This time of year, it will go on sale for $15 or less soon.

   Darrell

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

You convinced me to order it. The price Is good right now.

 

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[Darrell Pelan]

Excellent! My kids give me a hard time for the number of UDemy courses I've bought. You can't beat the value.

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

It has a very good Course Plan. Thank you!

 

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[Eric Mack]

Norberto, Darrel, I just purchased the same course. Thank you for the link.

Eric

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[Darrell Pelan]

You're welcome. I find Peter Dalmaris to be a very good instructor. I used several of his courses to learn about the ESP32 I used to connect my H89 to my local network.

  Darrell

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

Yes, I needed the course as it is taking me about a minute or two just to add a single trace to the circuit in KiCAD6. In KICAD3 is takes just a second. Somehow when I click on add via the mouse pointer goes out of range and then I need to bring it back to focus. Very weird.

 

Also, I added different traces widths to select from, and it always goes unto the default one. I cannot select on the fly such function. I have to go to the default one and change it manually; very painful.

 

I think my issue could be KICAD6 setup. My “CF card direct connect board” in KICAD6 took 2 weeks to re-develop and In KICAD3 it took previously me a few hrs. So far, I do not like yet KICAD6. Hopefully this course will change that.

 

Thanks,

Norberto

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[Lee Adamson]

I've been quite happy with kicad, although the way it does hierarchical schematics is kinda weird.

If I am recollecting right, you can go into your nets setup and set different default track widths for different nets.  Making your power and ground busses thicker, for example.  I cannot remember if it changes tracks you've already laid down or not.

[smb...@gmail.com]

I suppose I'm the one holdout here who still uses Eagle. Used to be a great program, but then Autodesk bought it and turned it into subscription-only software at > $500/year. I think they probably shot themselves in the foot with this move, and led to large adoption of their competitors' products, at least in the hobbyist  / electronics enthusiast space.

I'm seriously considering making 2023 the year that I transition to Kicad. Are there Eagle users here who transitioned to Kicad? If so, how was the experience?

Scott

[Darrell Pelan]

Under File, Board Setup, Net Classes, I setup trace widths for different nets. I only made one larger for power. So long as the signal is tagged as a Power net, it should default to the larger size. No idea on the change in focus. 

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

Thank you and that worked!

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Darrell Pelan <pel...@gmail.com>
Date: Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 12:39 PM
To: SEBHC <se...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [sebhc] Re: Is there consensus on what schematic software to use for circuit design and board layout?

Under File, Board Setup, Net Classes, I setup trace widths for different nets. I only made one larger for power. So long as the signal is tagged as a Power net, it should default to the larger size. No idea on the change in focus. 

 

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[Darrell Pelan]

KiCad 8 is now available. I just downloaded it to try it out. There is a blog on the changes at Tech Explorations

[norberto.collado koyado.com]

KiCad should be fine. It took me several days of reading and asking questions to master KiCad 7.9 as the whole environment change as I mastered KiCad 3.0. If you are new, then it will be easy to learn. 

Get Outlook for iOS

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From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Darrell Pelan <pel...@gmail.com>

Sent: Monday, March 4, 2024 1:04:50 AM
To: SEBHC <se...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [sebhc] Is there consensus on what schematic software to use for circuit design and board layout?

 

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[Norby]

How is KiCad 8 working for you? Same as KiCad 7?

[pel...@gmail.com]

I downloaded it but haven’t run it yet, other than loading it once. It looks worthwhile. I keep told versions for working with “completed” projects that I made PCBs so that something doesn’t change due to version differences.

 

Here is a link to a review from the Udemy author. I thought the video missed the “so what” or why version 8 is better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi4YvNt-rrY&list=PLmzKTn3f9uzE_H06a-EHa8NRX29HCez9Z

 

I’ll send feedback after I start my next PCB design.

 

  Darrell

 

From: se...@googlegroups.com <se...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Norby
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2024 4:13 PM
To: SEBHC <se...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [sebhc] Is there consensus on what schematic software to use for circuit design and board layout?

 

How is KiCad 8 working for you? Same as KiCad 7?

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