Schematics for a Book
John
analog electronics, and I'm also working on a manual for a piece of
analog test equipment. For both of these projects I need to generate
many publication-quality schematics, mostly of small analog circuits.
I am trying to figure out what software to use to make these drawings.
I think it will have to be something with most of the flexibility of
a 2-d vector drawing program like Illustrator or Freehand. The
figures will be something like those in Horowitz and Hill, with lots
of annotations and the occasional Transistor Man or the like. As far
as I know none of the dedicated schematic capture programs would be
suitable, and anyway I already have tools for schematic capture,
SPICE, PCB layout, and so forth that work for me. In the past I have
used programs like Illustrator and made my own symbols, but its pretty
slow going and I have never been able to get the defined groups to
work properly on a grid, since I have not been able to control the
origin of grouped elements relative the grid. This makes things
pretty tedious. Right now I am playing with a demo of SmartDraw, but
the graphic quality of the symbols looks to be too crude for use in a
book. So is there anyone out there who has written an electronics book
with advice on how to make all the drawings?
Thanks,
John
Tim Wescott
If you're using Word as your editor Visio works well for schematics, and
drawings of all kinds. Its one of those things that reward you for
being a power user, but isn't all useful software that way?
--
Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com
Charles Schuler
"John" <jo...@lownoisedevices.com> wrote in message
news:547fa235.04062...@posting.google.com...
After a dozen or so electronics books, I'd say proceed with caution. Your
publisher should guide you with this.
Vector graphics (such as Adobe Illustrator) are usually the best.
Mike
> So is there anyone out there who has written an electronics book
> with advice on how to make all the drawings?
> Thanks,
> John
I'm with Tim - I've never written a published book, but my latest tome is
up to 63 pages, and shows no signs of stopping short of 100. All my figures
are done with Visio. It may not be the greatest tool, but it's the best
I've found. For _presentation_ quality schematics it beats my other
alternative: Mentor Graphics. Mentor is okay for making schematics of a
chip, but there's no simple way to turn off all the detail text for
publication, or to select a section of a schematic and copy it to a
document. Annotation (or any kind of documentation, for that matter) is a
major PITA.
On the other hand, Visio's main shortcoming is that it has no concept of
wires, and only a partial understanding of connections. When you move
things around, you're going to be stuck doing lots of rework to get things
reconnected. For most schematics I put in documents, that's not such a big
problem.
Grids can be difficult to get used to - my boss has lots of trouble with
them - but having reached the point that I understand them, they don't
bother me. Same thing with Glue and Snap.
-- Mike --
Ban
> "John" <jo...@lownoisedevices.com> wrote in message
> news:547fa235.04062...@posting.google.com...
>> I am getting ready to write a book that will include material on
>> analog electronics, and I'm also working on a manual for a piece of
>> analog test equipment. For both of these projects I need to generate
>> many publication-quality schematics, mostly of small analog circuits.
>> I am trying to figure out what software to use to make these
>> drawings. I think it will have to be something with most of the
>> flexibility of a 2-d vector drawing program like Illustrator or
>> Freehand.
>
> Your publisher should guide you with this.
>
> Vector graphics (such as Adobe Illustrator) are usually the best.
The most important part is to use a format that the publisher's software is
able to import flawlessly. I have always used Autocad if a mixed graphics
(schematic, pics, formulas, rendered scenes) is to be created. Any
professional printing software will support .dxf files. Once familiar with
it Autocad gives you total flexibility and control. It will take some time
to build the required libraries and templates, but then the work goes easy
and fast.
--
ciao Ban
Bordighera, Italy
John
Thanks very much for your replies. I will look at both AutoCad and
Visio. The next question: What sort of symbol libraries are available
for these programs? I will need all passives, all types of MOSFETs,
JFETs, opamps, diodes, BNCs, tranformers, batteries, grounds, fuses,
switches, current sources, and basic logic. I would expect to have to
make symbols for specialized ICs, but I dont have many of those.
Thanks again,
John
jo...@lownoiseddevices.com (John) wrote in message news:<547fa235.04062...@posting.google.com>...
nospam
>I am getting ready to write a book that will include material on
>analog electronics, and I'm also working on a manual for a piece of
>analog test equipment. For both of these projects I need to generate
>many publication-quality schematics, mostly of small analog circuits.
>I am trying to figure out what software to use to make these drawings.
I would consider Protel which is capable of creating high quality
schematics.
A random example .pdf is here
http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/LSR6300/LSR6328P%20Input%20Board%20Schematic.pdf
Far from perfect but gives you an idea.
You have control of most things, fonts, colour, can add text annotations
and embed images.
You can copy to the clipboard in WMF format (but depending what you paste
into I would expect there to be some glitches). Or print to PS or PDF and
work with that.
Greg Neff
I use OrCAD Capture. From this you can use Acrobat to generate a PDF
file. Illustrator can then be used to manipulate the PDF if required.
================================
Greg Neff
VP Engineering
*Microsym* Computers Inc.
gr...@guesswhichwordgoeshere.com
Tim Wescott
Visio has had electronic libraries in the past, but it seems like every
release has a different set of libraries available. Just look at their
website for details.
Personally I don't find it that big of a deal to make my own symbols
(and I don't use Visio any more because I'm trying to purge myself of
Microsoft products).
JeffM
>and only a partial understanding of connections.
>When you move things around,
>you're going to be stuck doing lots of rework to get things reconnected.
I tried using Visio Technical and, for this very reason,
found it unsuitable for anything with wires. The only way
I could keep wires from being auto-redrawn THROUGH THE CENTER OF PARTS
was to put a connection point in the middle of nowhere
where I wanted the wire to change direction.
I can't stand Microsoft products that think they're smarter than I am.
To reiterate: Unless your patience is infinite,
Visio is totally unsuitable for wiring diagrams.
John Fields
>Everyone,
>Thanks very much for your replies. I will look at both AutoCad and
>Visio. The next question: What sort of symbol libraries are available
>for these programs? I will need all passives, all types of MOSFETs,
>JFETs, opamps, diodes, BNCs, tranformers, batteries, grounds, fuses,
>switches, current sources, and basic logic. I would expect to have to
>make symbols for specialized ICs, but I dont have many of those.
---
I have a largish library of 7400 family logic symbols which I copied
from TI's 1989 High-Speed CMOS Logic data book and which therefore
conform to ANSI/IEEE Std 91-1984 and IEC Publication 617-12.
They're drawn as AutoCAD blocks and can be directly inserted into
AutoCAD drawings, and you're welcome to a copy of the file if you want
it; just go to alt.binaries.schematics.electronic and look for
"AutoCAD logic blocks".
I'll post a copy there in a few minutes.
--
John Fields
Mike
> I am getting ready to write a book that will include material on
> analog electronics...
So, what's the book going to be about?
-- Mike --
JeffM
>>
>>After a dozen or so electronics books, I'd say proceed with caution.
>>Your publisher should guide you with this.
>
>use a format that the publisher's software is able to import flawlessly.
This reminds me of folks who are sending their kid off to college
and want to know, "What kind of computer do I get him?".
The answer is, of course, "Ask the college".
>I have always used Autocad
>
It will be a large investment in $$ and time (steep learning curve),
but as John Fields' post show, there are lots of libraries out there.
>>Vector graphics...are usually the best.
>
>Any professional printing software will support .dxf files.
>
Agree and agree.
Keeping file sizes small will make life easy.
Data eXchange Format is the most nearly universal vector-based format.