[SOLVED] Which pcb design software to learn ?

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jit_singh_tara

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Dear friends ,

I want to speed up the design process , I am into manufacturing of digital meters (temperature controllers, timers , counters , other custom requirements are there .)

Currently i get the pcbs designed from some external source which takes a lot of time and is expensive .
I want to start the PCB design process on my own for at least sampling , so that we can speed up the process of at least designing .
Please let me know which software is widely used .I have few options:

1. Protel design 99 se.
2. Cadsoft eagle.
3. Altium .


I am familiar with the eagle a little bit . Please suggest if i use the eagle then will i be able to do the pcb designing professional type ......plz gv suggestions which is more user friendly friendly and industrially accepted design software in india ( delhi ).
 

Hi,

with eagle you are definitely able to design professional PCBs.
I mainly depends on your skills.

The autorouter will connect all desired devices, but for a intelligent PCB layout you need some knowledge and experience in how to route
* high current
* high frequency
* high precision
signals.

A big challenge is how to route/split the signal ground plane.

If you are facing any problems with EAGLE you may connect the CadSoft forum or here edaboard forum.

There are many user here to assist you.

Klaus
 
Hi,

jit_singh_tara said:
I want to start the PCB design process on my own for at least sampling , so that we can speed up the process of at least designing .
Please let me know which software is widely used .
Click to expand...

If you wish to learn a PCB software which is widely used I suggest Mentor Graphics as it is quite widely used along with Altium, But you have not specified your budget both these softwares are expensive.


Klaus is correct.

Eagle will cope as long as your designs are not very high end requiring EMC/EMI compatibility, that too eagle can manage to some extent with your skills. Even OrCAD is a good choice as and pretty user friendly. I have never used Protel design 99se so I won't talk about that.

I hope this helps.
 

https://www.edaboard.com/threads/18145/

Look at the available software in your price range, get demos from the software vendors, make your own opinion, because all these threads do is create endless lists of opinions.
All PCB software can do PCBs, they are as easy or hard to use as YOU make it, learn the software get training its easier than not learning it properly, then you have to learn PCB design.
 

Hi, marce.

You mean questions like "what is the best OPAMP?"
I don´t like those questions, too.

But here i can neither find that the OP asks this way nor that the answers are this way.

*****

And you are correct with the rest of your post.


Klaus
 

No if you read that thread I posted it relates to ECAD software, there are numerous threads regarding which software, all are the same just endless list of opinions.
 

I would pick the same cad package, one of my friends use so I can phone them and ask for pointers on the little things, like how to recenter the origin, or draw library parts.
 

Hi marce.

I just noticed that it is a link to another thread...


Klaus
 

Surender Reddy said:
Here are the best PCB Design tools.

1. Kicad
2. Eagle
Click to expand...

No they are not, it is your opinion.....and to be perfectly honest you have probably picked two of the lower end tools........
Post #8 has the best advice......follow that.

- - - Updated - - -


All designs require EMC compatibility!!!!!!!!!
 

I once drove a Reliant Robin, but I wouldn't reccomend it to someone looking for a new car.

In the same way, Protel99 is ancient, as are the above 2 low end packages.

It all depends upon the use the user is going to get out of it.

However. see post #4 https://www.edaboard.com/threads/18145/
 

If you're a beginner then a decisive factor that is often forgotten is the support you can find for a particular tool. On Edaboard it appears Altium and Eagle are commonly used so this will greatly facilitate getting help with any questions regarding this tools. The "professional" tools are too expensive, and you'll find less forum support for them. This makes it harder to fix simple problems in the beginning when you're learning the tool.
 

I would disagree with that assessment to some extent.
Eagle is used by many non-professionals and DIYers so you would expect lots of questions (not just on here) because of the people using the software.... If you have one of the higher end tools you will often have proper maintenance with support and are more likely to have had proper training...
Which leaves Altium, looks good initially, is jack of all trades and master of none:wink:
 

like klausSt said, with you are on the safe side. there are so much tutorials, so it should be easy to lern. i´ve heard there are some interesting features in v 7.2.

have fun
 

Well i think we should have at least 1 post on topic.

The question was between these three programs what would you recommend.

1. Protel design 99 se.
2. Cadsoft eagle.
3. Altium .

The Protel design 99 se goes back to windows 98. That is very old. But it still works and is probably the easiest of all three programs to learn and has fairly basic features.

Cadsoft eagle. is at best considered a medium level package. It has a very large following and a LOT of library's. Help is fairly easy to get.

Altium is a high end program and takes a long time to learn. It has a lot of capability but it has many bugs that never get fixed.
 

Read the sticky threads at the beginning... All posts have been on topic that's why these threads are pointless it is based on opinion and nothing else...
Also what benefit is there of raising this thread from the graveyard.......
 

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