What is the best free or cheap electronics design software? It is hard to say in this ever changing field. I some time ago mentioned some software examples in Top Free Electronics Design Tools posting and you can find a long comparison list at Wikipedia Comparison of EDA software page.
For the circuit design I would say that this list from Mostly free engineering software article is a good list of free/cheap software I can agree:
- KiCad seems the best known open-source EDA system.
- gEDA looks very similar.
- EAGLE is a commercial package with a free version that will handle small double-sided boards.
- DesignSpark PCB is not open-source, but looks very capable given the cost ($0). It is adware
From has done some playing with KiCad and gEDA (years ago) but I felt that they were lacking something in easy to use (some improvement needed here I think). From those alternatives EAGLE feels the best for me.
Here are also some new on-line focused alternatives:
CircuitBee is an online platform that promises to allow you to share live versions of your circuit schematics on your websites, blogs or forums that I covered three years ago.
Digi-Key Corporation and Aspen Labs launched two years ago one-of-a-kind online ‘Scheme-it’ tool for drawing schematics.
HackEDA is an interesting looking new on-line electronics design tool introduced last year. The premise is simple: most electronic projects are just electronic Lego: You connect your microcontroller to a sensor, add in a battery, throw in a few caps and resistors for good measure, and hopefully everything will work.
circuits.io was promising looking free circuit editor in your browser introduced two years ago. I has browser based schematic and board layout. Anyone familiar with Autodesk knows they have a bit of a habit of taking over the world. Autodesk started with 123D modeling tool that is suitable for designing models for 3D printing. Now Autodesk has followed with 123D Circuits: Autodesk’s free design tool. 123D is web-based software, and using it requires account creation on the circuits.io website. Anything you design sits on the cloud: you can collaborate with others and even embed your circuit (with functioning simulation). All your work is public unless you pay. There are many things similar to Fritzing in this.
CircuitMaker from Altium posting that tells that Altium recently announced CircuitMaker, their entry into the free/low-cost PCB design tool market. They’re entering a big industry, with the likes of Eagle, KiCad, gEDA, and a host of other tool suites. CircuitMaker from Altium posting has introductory video on CircuitMaker and discussion on it. CircuitMaker’s website is pushing the collaboration aspect of the software. The software is still in pre-beta phase.
EasyEDA is an integrated tool for schematic capture, circuit simulation and PCB layout that you use with your web browser. Read more about it from my posting on EasyEDA.
Related links: Check my postings on electronics design software.
308 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Distributor Mouser Electronics wants to strongly designers and product developers wholesaler. It now offers the first free tools on the market, which manages the design simulation of the circuit diagram, layout and routing of printed circuit board, as well as material cost calculation of the finished design.
All of the various Windows platforms based tool is called MultiSIM BLUE. It is based on the popular National Instruments Multisim tool. Mouser version of Multisim is slightly scaled-down version. Component Library can be found as soon as one hundred thousand circuit simulation model, but the free MultiSIM BLUE planning are concerned, their number is limited to 50. It is sufficient, for example, of course, many Arduino-realization, but there is nothing to prevent more design integration manually.
The design simulation succeeds in Berkeley SPICE simulator and NI virtual instruments.
Ultiboard referencing of its components and the card will automatically route the wires automatically in a few seconds. The card size is not limited and it may have up to 64 layers. Designed the card can be viewed in 3D format, after which the design will be exported – whereas the touch of a button – the Gerber file.
Mouser does not, of course, share tool free totally altruistic. Its aim is to bring all the MultiSIM-users as customers.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1850:ilmaiseksi-piirikaaviosta-kortille&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
EEVblog #527 – Altium Entry Level PCB Tool Rant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GjBFQgVWv0
Altium have announced their intention to (finally!) offer a low cost “entry level” PCB design tool.
Dave naturally has his Top 5 Tips for Altium to ensure that they don’t screw up this opportunity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mouser releases free version of NI MultiSIM simulator, PCB tool
http://edn.com/electronics-products/other/4435531/Mouser-releases-free-version-of-NI-MultiSIM-simulator–PCB-tool
Previewed in August this year, distributor Mouser has now formally released MultiSIM BLUE, the National Instruments Multisim Component Evaluator, Mouser Edition. The free software is a multifunction package that covers schematic capture, simulation, PCB design and bill-of-materials compilation with direct links to Mouser’s site.
Available via free download on Mouser.com, MultiSIM BLUE enables engineers to design and simulate circuits before laying them out in physical prototypes. MultiSIM BLUE adds features and functionality to provide engineers with an industry-standard SPICE simulation environment of electronic circuits using Mouser’s distributed components, including the newest in analog and mixed-signal ICs, passive components, discrete semiconductors, power management ICs, connectors, and electromechanical components. Simulation is driven by the same advanced parser technology as NI Multisim software with support from BSIM and other advanced parameters.
MultiSIM BLUE
http://www.mouser.ph/MultiSimBlue/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reverse Engineering Altium Files
http://hackaday.com/2014/10/15/reverse-engineering-altium-files/
Several times in the last few weeks, I’ve heard people say, ‘this will be the last PCB I design in Eagle.’ That’s bad news for CadSoft, but if there’s one thing Eagle has done right, its their switch to an XML file format. Now anyone can write their own design tools for Eagle without mucking about with binary files.
Not all EDA softwares are created equally, and a lot of vendors use binary file formats as a way to keep their market share. Altium is one of the worst offenders, but by diving into the binary files it’s possible to reverse engineer these proprietary file formats into something nearly human-readable.
With a little bit of code, [dstanko] managed to dump all these text records into a pseudo plain text format, then convert everything into JSON.
Reverse Engineering Design File Formats
http://hackaday.io/post/10390
Tomi Engdahl says:
Free PCB design tool includes 3D modeling, crowd-sourced parts database
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/other/4435991/Free-PCB-design-tool-includes-3D-modeling–crowd-sourced-parts-database-
The CircuitMaker PCB design tool could be thought of as the electronics enthusiast’s equivalent of Picassa, the free alternative to Photoshop – except that it’s a got a much more refined interface which makes it easy use. The program’s 3D modeling capabilities
and other advanced features will help designers deal better with the “lumpy” nature of LED lighting products, or any other design project which involves large, irregular components. But that’s only half of the story. The software’s creators have also taken an interesting approach to solving several important technical and economic issues which have arisen with the Maker Economy by borrowing a few lessons from the movement’s own playbook.
The company which created CircuitMaker is based on a hybrid business model which allows them to offer an extensible base program for free and then make its money from selling upgrades which enable it to handle larger, more complex projects or add specialized capabilities. Unofficial rumors hint that many software add-ons will be available for $50 or less and no component will cost more than $99.
In addition to enabling accurate PCB layouts, the base software includes native 3D PCB capabilities which allow you to visualize precisely how your board will come together. It uses the dimensional data from the component library to build a 3D model of the assembled board. This can be invaluable for things like evaluating assembly sequences and tool paths for pick-and-place machinery as well as designing the case which will house a product.
http://circuitmaker.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quick-Turn PCB shop review project: Step 1, the PCB
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/all-aboard-/4436708/Quick-Turn-PCB-shop-review-project–Step-1–the-PCB
I’ve created a 6 × 6cm double-sided design for this project. I would have made it larger, but at least one fab’s prices (I’m looking at you, OSH Park) rise steeply with board size, and I wanted to keep within budget.
As for CAD, I considered various options: KiCAD, gEDA, Eagle, DesignSpark…perhaps others, but decided to try DipTrace. The free version allows up to 300 pins, and it came recommended by a colleague. In addition, they have an OS X version!
DipTrace Schematic Capture
http://diptrace.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Does not compute! Everyday calculations
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/benchtalk/4436743/Does-not-compute–Everyday-calculations?elq=dd982d024b1f45b3958310219999aa0e&elqCampaignId=20024
Maybe most of your calculations are on the complex side, or you prefer to have a permanent record of them. Maybe Mathcad, or the free CompPad or SMath Studio is for you. Speaking of free, you can download the Mathcad trial, and though the more advanced features will go away after 30 days, the core functionality remains forever. That’s not a bad deal.
What about your smartphone, tablet, or other device? There are endless free and paid calculator apps at all levels of sophistication.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electronics components online wholesalers want so serve designers better. Increasingly, they provide a free or very low cost design tools.
Digi-Key has now partnered with Mentor Graphics. The companies, together with the available in the printed circuit board design tools, which cost a minimum of less than $ 200. Tools are Designer Schematic and Layout Designer, and are available for download only from Digi-Key customers.
Designer Schematic, which initially sold for $ 199, is a circuit diagram of a tool whose use is made easy with the start-designer. Mentor and Digi-Key idea is that the idea to the circuit diagram should not be too difficult. And not expensive.
Designer Schematic, which initially sold for $ 199, is a circuit diagram of a tool whose use is made easy with the start-designer. Mentor and Digi-Key idea is that the idea to the circuit diagram should not be too difficult. And not expensive.
Distributor Mouser Electronics began last month to share free tools for designers, that can design the circuit diagram simulation, placement and routing on the circuit board, as well as material cost calculations istributor Mouser Electronics began last month to share free tools for designers, that can design the circuit diagram simulation, placement and routing on the circuit board, as well.
All the various Windows platforms based tool is called MultiSIM BLUE. It is based on the popular National Instruments Multisim tool with more than 10 000 professional users. In addition, Multisim to use more than one hundred thousand students around the world.
Mouser version of Multisim is slightly scaled-down version. The component library can be found as soon as one hundred thousand circuit simulation models, but the free MultiSIM BLUE planning their number is limited to 50. It is sufficient, for example, of course, many Arduino-realization, but there is nothing to prevent more design integration manually.
To speed up the design of Mouser now offers comprehensive support site, where you can find a variety of MultiSIM BLUE resources.
Sources:
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2040:digi-key-haluaa-tavoittaa-suunnittelijat&catid=13&Itemid=101
http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2039:mouser-tukee-multisim-suunnittelijoita&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quick-Turn PCB shop review project: Maker Studio
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/all-aboard-/4437745/Quick-Turn-PCB-shop-review-project–Maker-Studio?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_designideas_20141202&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_designideas_20141202&elq=cae2cf6d17574f61b6dc70212cbaf1a6&elqCampaignId=20428
Maker Studio’s basic board fab service supplies 10 PCBs for $9.99, with a basic international shipping cost of around $7. Interestingly, you get to choose shipping from several countries, including China, Singapore, and Sweden! Does this mean there are several fab sites? IIRC, I chose Sweden for my order.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mentor meets Digi-Key, low-cost CAD results
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4437730/Mentor-meets-Digikey–low-cost-CAD-results?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20141201&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20141201&elq=fc2940b702dc43cb92d871e3ef1439fc&elqCampaignId=20418
When we first encountered the offspring of this Digi-Key/Mentor CAD collaboration, it was still in beta, and the pricing model was unclear. Now that it’s here for real, let’s take a quick look.
Cutting to the chase, an annual license for Designer Schematic + Layout, at the introductory 30% discounted price (until January 28, 2015), costs $599 ($199 + $449 separately; the software can be tried out first using a free 15-day evaluation license).
Are there limitations? Yes. Six signal layers (unlimited planes then?), 50 square inches, and 1,500 “connections” (unclear if this means nets or pins), maximum.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Logic Simulator Atanua Goes Free, Possibly Open Source
http://hackaday.com/2014/12/13/logic-simulator-atanua-goes-free-possibly-open-source/
The history of software is littered with developers that built a great product, gave people a reasonable option to license the software, and ended up making a pittance. There’s a reason you don’t see shareware these days – nobody pays. It looks like [Gates] had a point with his Open Letter to Hobbyists.
Such is the case with Atanua. [Jari] built a nice little graphical logic simulator that has tens of thousands of downloads, and is being used in dozens of universities. [Jari] has sold only about 60 licenses for Atanua, netting him only a few thousand Euro. You can’t develop software with a pittance, so now [Jari] is giving Atanua away. This neat little logic simulator has reached the end of its life, the license is free, and [Jari] is out of the business.
http://sol.gfxile.net/atanua/license.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
EasyEDA: Free online EDA – Product how-to
http://www.edn.com/design/pc-board/4430173/EasyEDA–Free-online-EDA—Product-how-to
What is EasyEDA?
EasyEDA is a new, free, web based EDA tool.
There’s no need to install any software. Just open EasyEDA in any HTML5 capable, standards compliant web browser
The first time visitor to the EasyEDA Editor page is taken through a one-time short guided tour of the essential features of the tool.
Almost all the features of EasyEDA can be used, even without signing up for an account, by saving files in Anonymous mode.
To use the more powerful file management and sharing features however the user needs to register for an EasyEDA account
Sign up is very simple and can also be done using an existing Google or Yahoo account.
http://easyeda.com/editor
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eagle PCB Tutorials and Design Exercises
http://computeraideddesignguide.com/eagle-pcb-tutorials-design-exercises/
will share my expertise in PCB schematic and board design through the use of the Eagle PCB tool. This Eagle PCB tutorial will show a beginner how to take a circuit design (on paper or breadboard) to a PCB layout so it can be manufactured.
Tomi Engdahl says:
[Jari] wrote a digital logic simulator, Atanua, started selling licenses, and figured out it wasn’t worth developing on his own anymore. As promised, Atanua is now open source.
https://github.com/jarikomppa/atanua
This is a real-time logic simulator designed for educational use. It was originally built as a bachelor of engineering project, and it was commercially available from 2008 to 2014.
Binaries can be found at http://atanua.org
The simulation itself is based on having little snippets of code called “chips” connected by “wires” which produce “nets”. When simulating, all “chips” are told to update, reading their input values from the input “pins” and writing the result in the output “pins”. Once all chips are updated, all the nets are updated; each net reads the output pins of the chips in their net and write the result to the input pins. This process is repeated (by default) at about 1kHz.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How to make an Arduino shield with Eagle CAD – Tutorial
http://www.open-electronics.org/how-to-make-an-arduino-shield-with-eagle-cad-tutorial/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tried and True, Old PCB Design Software Still Going Strong
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1326046&
There’s nothing better than “free” when it comes to just about everything, even PCB software. Just because some software is more expensive doesn’t make it better than some of those free PCB packages found on the Internet. In this round up, we will take a look at some of the past popular platforms that are still consistently being supported and updated. One criteria… some sort of update has to be present on the software’s support website in the last two years.
ZentiPCB platform, which features several freeware programs to help users design their own PCBs.
TinyCAD design software. Don’t let the name fool you though, TinyCAD features everything needed for PCB and electronic layout designs and more.
CometCAD is another fine example of a freeware platform that offers both a circuit schematic editor and a PCB layout editor all in one package, except in this case it has one drawback- it is exclusive to Windows-based PCs only (2K, XP, Vista and 7).
Suigyodo’s BSch3V (the BSch stands for Basic Schematic) schematic capture package. The PCB board editor allows users to design single, double and even four-layered PCBs up to 30mm-square.
PCWeb’s Designer is one of the more extensive feature packed editors on the net that can be had for free.
The Fritzing software platform is more than just a simple PCB editor and is aimed at maker and hacker enthusiasts looking to actually create their designs. It was designed for users to create their own Arduino-based microcontrollers and create a PCB layout that’s ready for manufacturing.
One of the more popular PCB freeware editors on the internet is known as KiCAD and is a similar EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tool as the aforementioned Fritzing editor.
Another widely used PCB editing tool for EDA applications and rapid prototyping is DesignSpark’s PCB platform.
there are a few that are catered to Linux-based OS users, including Ales Hvezda’s gEDA project, which feature collaborative and open-sourced EDA tools.
Another Mac oriented PCB editor comes from Osmand PCB
Tomi Engdahl says:
Free PCB CAD redux
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/all-aboard-/4438945/Free-PCB-CAD-redux?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150318&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150318&elq=82c4f92d26024e7ba45a62bc9a2f4cb1&elqCampaignId=22122&elqaid=24850&elqat=1&elqTrackId=f9ee9b17ed694253adf8d34942ee6c6c
Tomi Engdahl says:
Altium’s free CircuitMaker in open beta
Graham Prophet -May 19, 2015
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4439488/Altium-s-free-CircuitMaker-in-beta?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150520&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150520&elq=36be66bb73d34590a8e0fc3039566317&elqCampaignId=23073&elqaid=25983&elqat=1&elqTrackId=6254b26ff04f4878abf50f8567b94612
CircuitMaker will be available worldwide to all interested electronics designers, and aims to address the specific needs of the electronics maker and hobbyist community with a free software offering. All those interested in participating in the open beta can register now at the CircuitMaker website.
“We’re excited to see how the CircuitMaker community will grow and evolve during this open beta program,” said Ben Jordan, Product Manager at Altium. “The electronics maker community has always been characterised by a very organic and collaborative growth process, and now electronics designers at all scales have CircuitMaker with which to voice their creativity.”
The open beta testing program allows anyone to download and begin using CircuitMaker today and become part of a growing electronics design community where designs can be shared and collaborated on. This open beta process will also provide feedback and input to refine CircuitMaker, for electronic designers in the maker community.
CircuitMaker will be available at no cost to anyone interested in using the software, with no limits to design capability.
http://www.altium.com/circuitmaker/overview
Tomi Engdahl says:
CircuitMaker Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OP6oncMXPQ
Tomi Engdahl says:
CircuitMaker Tutorial: Schematic Capture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96tek7FFEww
CircuitMaker Tutorial: PCB Layout
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEO0PsuyxeI
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fritzing and CircuitMaker: Adventures in PCB design
As easy as building Ardiuno breadboard
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1326876&
Fritzing fills the the gap between tools for complete beginners and developers with some experience in printed circuit board design.
This is the first in a series of blogs exploring open-source and free printed circuit design tools and online communities for developers who either do not have the experience or the bankroll to go to a professional tool.
After reading a few comments on Altium’s new free CircuitMaker PCB design tool and community, I decided to take a closer look at the Fritzing tool and community web site, which several readers recommended to me.
Altium’s CircuitMaker
I have been familiarizing myself with Altium’s new free PCB design tool and community and so far I like what I see. It encompasses much of what I like and need in such a community. In addition to dozens of online video tutorials it has several dozen detailed written presentations. During its first nine months or so of existence many designs and examples have been added that you can learn from, or modify to fit your needs.
Also, even though the CircuitMaker site has a community willing to support fellow PCB designers in their efforts, it is almost too helpful, with constant comments from members when they see someone making a mistake.
Fritzing and learning from mistakes
That’s why I was pleased to be introduced to the Fritzing open source tool and community web site. Although I am not abandoning Circuit Maker, the Fritzing site has a set of tools that are more helpful as I explore all the ins and outs of PCB design.
the Fritzing PCB design approach draws its inspiration from the Arduino breadboard-based paradigm that is popular among hardware do-it-yourselfers. But as Arduino users eventually discover, that platform’s breadboard approach is too fragile to be practical in any sort of commercial end product. If it is targeted at some sort of IoT application it is just too big.
That’s where the Fritzing tool comes in. It is designed for non-engineers or first semester engineering students who are just the first couple of steps beyond an Arduino or other bread-boarding prototype platform. Indeed, if a user of the Fritzing tool has created an Arduino design and wants his or her first Fritzing PCB to interface to it, the defaults are set to an “Arduino shield” to allow it to plug in to the Arduino platform.
Similar to CircuitMaker, the Fritzing site has a library of components from which you can create your basic designs. Though it is not as comprehensive as CircuitMaker, it does allow you to create your own custom components and add them to the library on the site.
In the breadboard view, a designer can drag and drop visual representations from the library of common electrical parts.
The final result in the breadboard view is then converted into a schematic diagram where circuit mistakes are identified and can be corrected. The final result is then displayed in a traditional PCB view, where the user can make modifications to the board size or geometry. Once a design is created, changes in one view are reflected in all the others via an XML schema that links all of the underlying native files.
Because the breadboard view is similar to the Arduino physical layout, it will allow DIYers who want to create a product based on what they have created to go to the next step and use it as the template using the Fritzing tool.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Altium sets up open Beta programme for community-driven, free PCB design tool
http://www.edn-europe.com/en/altium-sets-up-open-beta-programme-for-community-driven-free-pcb-design-tool.html?cmp_id=7&news_id=10006426&vID=1320#.VYJv1UZLZ4A
The latest stage in the development of Altium’s CircuitMaker is to make it available for Use worldwide as part of an open beta testing programme.
CircuitMaker will be available worldwide to all interested electronics designers, and aims to address the specific needs of the electronics maker and hobbyist community with a free software offering. All those interested in participating in the open beta can register now at the CircuitMaker website, with invitations being sent out from week of May 18, 2015.
“We’re excited to see how the CircuitMaker community will grow and evolve during this open beta program,” said Ben Jordan, Product Manager at Altium. “The electronics maker community has always been characterised by a very organic and collaborative growth process, and now electronics designers at all scales have CircuitMaker with which to voice their creativity.”
Altium adds that the growth of the electronics maker community has created a niche market and, the company believes the need for a specialised PCB design tool. Altium has committed itself to addressing the need of this growing community with a PCB design tool focused on open hardware and shared design resources.
Altium adds that the growth of the electronics maker community has created a niche market and, the company believes the need for a specialised PCB design tool.
Built from the foundation of existing Altium technology, all of the typical features needed for modern PCB design are built in to CircuitMaker. This includes schematic-PCB integration, interactive routing, and output generation tools.
Advanced community collaboration. With CircuitMaker, designers have the opportunity to collaborate in a community-driven design environment, with unlimited access to contributed design and component data. This collaboratively design process is made possible by combining a cloud-based platform and an industry-standard user experience in a native application-based design environment.
http://www.altium.com/circuitmaker/overview
Tomi Engdahl says:
Altium Gives Away The Farm With New Circuit Maker Software
http://hackaday.com/2015/06/20/altium-gives-away-the-farm-with-new-circuit-maker-software/
Things are about to get interesting in the world of PCB design software for the open source hardware community. This week, Altium launched the open public beta for its new Circuit Maker software, and it’s a major change from what we looked at previously. Everything is free.
You heard that right, free. Unlimited board size, and unlimited layers – all free. And this isn’t some stripped-down, bare-bones software here. They’ve thrown in almost everything under the sun; a 3D viewer, team project collaboration, EagleCAD and DFX import, integrated Octopart supplier and pricing information, no commercial usage limits, and project sharing. And if that isn’t enough, the “engine” seems to be the exact same back-end that is used in the full $10,000 Altium Designer as well(with a bit easier to use user interface on top).
If you want to see in-depth review of Circuit Maker, we highly recommend you watch the video after the break.
http://www.circuitmaker.com/#why_circuitmaker
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Breadboard In A Browser
http://hackaday.com/2015/07/20/a-breadboard-in-a-browser/
[Flownez] sent in a tip that a port of the venerable Falstad circuit simulator is now available that doesn’t require Java (it uses HTML 5). This is a welcome port since some modern browsers (particularly Chrome) make it difficult to run Java applets and prevented the Falstad simulator’s execution.
Circuit Simulator
http://lushprojects.com/circuitjs/
This electronic circuit simulator is highly interactive giving the feeling of playing with real components. It’s very helpful for experimentation and visualization. Best of all, thanks to the power of HTML5, no plug-ins are required!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Design & simulate in the clouds
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/benchtalk/4440093/Design—simulate-in-the-clouds?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150812&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150812&elq=bd0421c99a4740ad9d3df86b77be181a&elqCampaignId=24327&elqaid=27479&elqat=1&elqTrackId=0f1949a52de649b8b8cf9e04d9f0c91a
It was a few years ago that I first heard of a free site where you could draw and simulate designs. “What’s the point?” I thought. But, the idea is taking off. Was I wrong?
I questioned the usefulness of this cloud concept because there had already long existed good, free circuit simulators. A quick download, and off you go, drawing and simulating. Why deal with the extra vagaries of service-provider availability, and of course, Internet access?
Well, as with any other cloud-based service, there are advantages, such as being able to work anywhere, on any supported device, and not having to deal with the software directly. And while the services out there now seem mostly suited to exploration, hobby, and simple prototype use, they will keep getting better. Some are arguably already professional grade.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Tale of Two Browser PCB Tools
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/21/a-tale-of-two-browser-pcb-tools/
We live in a golden age of free Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. It wasn’t that long ago that an engineering workstation was an expensive piece of hardware running very expensive software that typically had annual fees. Now, you can go to your local electronics store and buy a PC that would shame that old workstation and download plenty of software to design schematics, simulate circuits, program devices, and lay out PCBs.
The only problem with a lot of this free software is it runs on Windows. I do sometimes run Windows, but I most often use Linux
I wanted to look briefly at two Web-based EDA tools: EasyEDA and MeowCAD. Both offer similar features: draw a schematic, populate a PCB, and download manufacturing files (that is, Gerber files). EasyEDA also offers SPICE simulation.
There’s a lot of advantages: the software is always up to date. You can use it just about anywhere and have access to your files. Of course, there are some cons too: Many people don’t trust their designs in the hands of some alien server. There’s also the problem of what happens if the Web-based service pulls the plug.
People have demonstrated they have a very low tolerance for paying for access to a Web site. Yet, it costs money to run a site, so how will the tool sustain itself? Each tool has a different answer to that question.
EasyEDA has promised that if they were to shut down they would open source their code and also provide adequate time to download files.
MeowCAD, on the other hand, is already open source. That means you could host it yourself now which would prevent you from worrying about them leaving and might also mitigate some privacy concerns.
So the choice is easy, right? Use MeowCAD (despite the silly name and the slightly annoying cat motif). Well, not so fast. If you try both, you will quickly see that EasyEDA is the more polished product
https://easyeda.com/
https://hackaday.io/project/7229-meowcad
https://meowcad.com
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using LTSpice to Measure Total Harmonic Distortion
http://hackaday.com/2015/09/07/using-ltspice-to-measure-total-harmonic-distortion/
Audiophiles spend a lot of time and effort worrying about audio specs like Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). Makes sense, because THD affects the quality of audio reproduction. However, THD can also affect interference from radio signals and even losses in power transfer systems.
If a circuit produced a perfect sine wave, there would be no harmonics. There are many ways to measure THD in practice, but [Michael Jackson] has an interesting video showing how he easily visualizes THD using LTSpice. Assuming you already have the system in question in LTSpice (or you could use another simulation tool, if you prefer) it is fairly straightforward.
The key concept is to find what the expected output is.
The rest is probably pretty obvious. You replace the load and look at the output of the differential amplifier. You can do an FFT on it to gain further insight into what’s happening.
LTSPICE THD in Audio amplifiers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKlMVNoQGiY
Tomi Engdahl says:
Onshape’s Cloud-Based CAD Tool Gets $80 Million in Funding
http://www.wired.com/2015/09/onshapes-cloud-based-cad-tool-gets-80-million-funding/
If you work with computer-aided design (CAD) tools, there’s a good chance you’ve heard tell of Onshape. The Cambridge Massachusetts–based company claims to offer the first full-cloud professional 3D CAD system capable of running on any computer or mobile device.
The beta has been live for about six months, in which time CEO and co-founder John McEleney says the software—which allows users to collaborate on CAD projects via a mobile device or web browser— has gained more than 10,000 users and logged upwards of 200,000 hours of usage.
Onshape runs on a freemium model, and the incentive for upgrading is privacy; non-paying users can keep ten designs classified, but anything more than that is open to the public. Paying users shell out 100 bucks a month.
Onshape is entirely cloud-based, so you can access it anywhere with solid Internet
“What we’ve done is we’ve built Google Docs for CAD.”
https://www.onshape.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Worst CAD Package Ever is Still Handy
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/05/the-worst-cad-package-ever-is-still-handy/
A lot of great schematics wind up on the back of bar napkins or diner place mats. When inspiration strikes, you have to capture it, after all. Today, you are as likely to draw schematics on a computer and there are plenty of options for that; if you can install software your options are almost limitless. And if you have a modern Web browser, there are lots of good options that don’t even require an install.
Try out the Klunky Schematic Editor. Your browser will need Javascript, but that’s about all. No HTML 5 or anything fancy.
True to its name, the editor is klunky by almost any definition.
If you have even a slightly more powerful computer and browser, you could try something like Schem-it (see the video below) or EasyEDA. Or maybe you’d rather install KiCAD or another real schematic capture package. But despite being klunky, Klunky Schematic Editor can be surprisingly useful.
http://www.qsl.net/wd9eyb/klunky/framed.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Password Haters Can Now Use Parts.io
http://hackaday.com/2015/10/06/password-haters-can-now-use-parts-io/
You can’t be bothered to sign up for a free parts.io account? Fine. You also don’t want to sign in each time you need to look up a component? Got it. You’ve made your point and the folks over at parts.io have made it so.
http://blog.parts.io/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Upverter update creates symbols & footprints for you
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4440538/Upverter-update-creates-symbols—footprints-for-you?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20151012&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20151012&elq=c39fee3be11a4a8380cfcf173d785401&elqCampaignId=25164&elqaid=28604&elqat=1&elqTrackId=efac12d603a0424884d8191c0d3aca37
We’ve looked at Upverter – the ambitious cloud-based ECAD system – before on EDN (see links below). These days, it’s easy to lose count of online schematic capture (and sometimes simulation) services, but there are very few that also feature PCB capability like Upverter does.
The newest feature ups the value proposition a bit more: Parts Concierge. If a part doesn’t already exist in Upverter’s voluminous library, they will create it for you, pronto.
Useful? You tell me. Library part creation is always a bit tricky. Even if you do it yourself, how many times do you check your work? Do you trust yourself to do it right? Your colleagues?
Tomi Engdahl says:
kicad StepUp script hacks MCAD world!
https://hackaday.io/project/7926-kicad-stepup-script-hacks-mcad-world
kicad ECAD meets MCAD world:
with this hack, you can finally export your kicad board and assemblies to MCAD world!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Getting to Blinky
My run through of Contextual Electronics cool Getting to Blinky KiCAD tutorial.
https://hackaday.io/project/4339-getting-to-blinky
I followed the instructions in a free KiCAD tutorial, but I used Upverter instead.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Altium’s CircuitMaker saves the day
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/now-hear-this/4440708/Altium-s-CircuitMaker-saves-the-day?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151029&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151029&elq=72eee0bd2ab0440c9305c6fabe3c30b4&elqCampaignId=25476&elqaid=28972&elqat=1&elqTrackId=5288a3423c834340a830321b9126868d
Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday that I was waffling on about the introduction of Altium’s free CircuitMaker schematic capture and board layout tool; in reality, however, a year’s worth of Pooh Sticks have floated down the river of time (see Free CircuitMaker PCB Tool From Altium).
Well, so much has changed that I don’t really know where to start. First of all, the original idea was for CircuitMaker to follow the “Freemium” model — that is, you start off with a free but limited tool, and then you pay to add more layers and/or more nets and/or greater board sizes.
Now, I’m not saying this is a bad model — it seems to work OK for tools like Eagle PCB — but I know to my cost how frustrating it is to have almost finished a design when you run up against some limitation wall or other.
Happily, the folks at Altium have had a re-think — they’ve decided to embrace the maker movement and students and hobbyists and professionals — so the latest-and-greatest version of CircuitMaker is unlimited in terms of layer count, net count, number of layers, and almost any other thing you care to mention. Furthermore, you can use CircuitMaker to create production products, sell millions of units, and become fabulously rich — the only requirement being that you make such designs open source, which I personally don’t regard as being in any way unfair.
Another way in which CircuitMaker distinguishes itself from lesser competitors is that it’s based on the same underlying data structures and engines as Altium Designer, which is an incredibly powerful, robust, and proven tool.
One area where CircuitMaker really distinguishes itself from the pack is its integration with the Octopart database and search aggregator, which allows users to search across hundreds of component distributors and thousands of manufacturers.
Octopart boasts 30+ million component records. In addition to standard components, it allows users to track down unusual parts from obscure vendors, and it also identifies the distributors who currently have those parts in stock, including quantities and prices. Furthermore, the library has been seeded with 200,000+ schematic symbols and layout land patterns
Tomi Engdahl says:
Designing a power supply in five simple steps: LTpowerCAD
http://www.edn.com/design/power-management/4440789/Designing-a-power-supply-in-five-simple-steps–LTpowerCAD?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151112&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151112&elq=800f5e14c6c94569a99ed99dbf80d1a8&elqCampaignId=25702&elqaid=29251&elqat=1&elqTrackId=e01f6ddb78c84a27880488a66e2faec7
System boards today have an increasing number of power rails and supplies. Since solution size, efficiency, thermal and transient performance are all critical for advanced power solutions, it is more efficient and cost effective to design customized onboard power solutions for a specific application, rather than use commercial power supply bricks. To system engineers, designing and optimizing switching mode power supplies is becoming a more common and necessary task. Unfortunately, this task is often time consuming and technically challenging.
To simplify the design task and improve design quality and productivity, the LTpowerCADTM program has been developed by power application experts at Linear Technology Corp. as a power supply design and optimization tool. This PC-based program is available for free download at http://www.linear.com/LTpowercad
Tomi Engdahl says:
Circuit Sim with SPICE @ 2015 SuperConference
https://hackaday.io/project/8392-circuit-sim-with-spice-2015-superconference
Learn circuit simulation with LTspice or NGSpice. Enter a schematic, simulate, view the results, and make simulation models.
Tomi Engdahl says:
KiCad 4.0 is Released
http://hackaday.com/2015/11/30/kicad-4-0-is-released/
If you’re a KiCad user, as many of us here at Hackaday are, you’ll be elated to hear that KiCad 4.0 has just been released! If you’re not yet a KiCad user, or if you’ve given it a shot in the past, now’s probably a good time to give it a try.
The official part footprint libraries changed their format sometime in 2014, and are all now hosted on GitHub in separate “.pretty” folders for modularity and ease of updating.
The most interesting change, from a basic PCB-layout perspective, is the push-and-shove router.
If you’re doing a board where timing is critical, KiCad 4.0 has a bunch of differential trace and trace-length tuning options that are something far beyond the last release. The 3D board rendering has also greatly improved.
KiCad 4.0.0 Is Out!
http://kicad-pcb.org/post/release-4.0.0/
Tomi Engdahl says:
EDN Hot 100 products of 2015: Development Kits, CAD/CAM
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4440951/EDN-Hot-100-products-of-2015–Development-Kits–CAD-CAM
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eagle to KiCad made easy
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/27/eagle-to-kicad-made-easy/
One barrier for those wanting to switch over from Eagle to KiCad has been the lack of a way to convert existing projects from one to the other. An Eagle to KiCad ULP exists, but it only converts the schematic, albeit with errors and hence not too helpful. And for quite some time, KiCad has been able to open Eagle .brd layout files. But without a netlist to read and check for errors, that’s not too useful either. [Lachlan] has written a comprehensive set of Eagle to KiCad ULP scripts to convert schematics, symbols and footprints. Board conversion is still done using KiCad’s built in converter, since it works quite well.
Overall, the process works pretty well, and we were able to successfully convert two projects from Eagle. The entire process took only about 10 to 15 minutes of clean up after running the scripts.
Eagle SCH/LIB to KiCad SCH/LIB ULP conversion script
https://github.com/lachlanA/eagle-to-kicad
Tomi Engdahl says:
OPENCORES: Tools
http://opencores.org/opencores,tools
There are plenty of good EDA tools that are open source available. The use of such tools makes it easier to collaborate at the opencores site. An IP that has readily available scripts for an open source HDL simulator makes it easier for an other person to verify and possibly update that particular core. A test environment that is built for a commercial simulator that only a limited number of people have access to makes verification more complicated.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CADSTAR tool available free of charge for a limited time
Zuken has made an offer to the hard circuit cards for those planning teams. CADSTAR circuit diagram of the tool (Schematics Design Tool) can now be downloaded for free. The tool is worth over EUR 500.
The campaign is valid until the end of March. By downloading the tool gets together for the bound MAC address of a permanent tool license, 68-page instruction book and CADSTAR Library Editor software.
Zukenin point of view it is just a project to make CADSTAR better known. When the tool can be tried out for free, at the same time sees the suitability of the total CADSTAR environment for your work.
Zuken also provides designers always free express CADSTAR Express tool. In the design size is limited to 50 components and 300 pin.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3835:cadstar-tyokalun-saa-ilmaiseksi-rajoitetun-ajan&catid=13&Itemid=101
More information can be found Zukenin website
http://www.zuken.com/en/campaigns/cadstar-schematics
Tomi Engdahl says:
Components wholesale Mouser Electronics’ range is from autumn 2014 onwards have been are based on National Instruments Multisim tool PCB tool MultiSIM Blue. Now, the tool will be available in the professional version.
Previously MultiSIM projects the number of components on the circuit board was limited to 50. Now the Professional version of the tool is set to the annual license price of $ 299. At the same time the number of components restriction is removed.
MultiSIM Blue was one and a half years ago, the first free tool for successful design simulation circuit diagram, layout and routing of the circuit board and the calculation of the material cost of the finished design.
Tool old strengths are unchanged. Design simulation manages to Berkeley SPICE simulator and the NI virtual instruments
Ultiboard will place the components card and automatically routed wires automatically in a few seconds. The card size is limited
Prepare the card can be viewed in 3D format, after which the design will be exported – again push of a button – the Gerber file. It creates the BOM card
The user can still design the cards MultiSIM Blue freeware (with the original restrictions)
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3834:ilmaisen-tyokalun-rajoitukset-poistuivat&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
SPISim makes a wide range of SI/PI and simulation tools, including a free SPILite version. Kudos to them for making it multi-platform (Linux, OS X, Win).
http://www.spisim.com/products/spilite-free-si-snp-ibis-tool/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Download Copper Connection, the PCB layout software.
Free to display, edit, and etch at home.
Copper Connection™ Software
http://www.robotroom.com/CopperConnection/
http://robotroom.com/CopperConnection/Download.aspx
Copper Connection is a modern PCB layout editor for creating printed circuit boards at home or commercially. The software is easy enough for hobbyists and students, but includes rich features for the benefit of professionals.
You make the circuit layout the same way you would draw something in any other drawing program — using lines, shapes, and ready-made parts (similar to clip art). Then, either print the board for etching at home, or export the board to an industry standard format to order from the PCB manufacturer of your choice.
The Home Edition is free of charge and can be upgraded at any time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCBmodE
http://pcbmode.com/
PCBmodE is a printed circuit board design Python script that creates an SVG from JSON input files, and then creates Gerber and Excellon files for manufacturing.
PCBmodE gives the designer the freedome to place any arbitrary shape on any layer, as it is natively vector-based. Much of the design is done in a text editor — editing JSON — with viewing and some editing — routing mostly — done with Inkscape.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Free PCB ECAD: The Ultimate list
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/all-aboard-/4441802/Free-PCB-ECAD–The-Ultimate-list?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160411&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_pcbdesigncenter_20160411&elqTrackId=f3846d61d90b436daf43883e49a0039a&elq=810b1cbcc94b4723a7fa5e8008f38dc3&elqaid=31753&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=27734
The world of PCB CAD software has been very active in recent years – so much so that it’s easy to lose track of all the players and products.
The lower end in particular offers many new options, including many FREE ones, so let’s take a look. You’ll see that free no longer means toy.
The approaches to these ECAD (electronic computer-aided design) systems are varied, ranging from open-source, to proprietary (some with upgradeability to more capable paid versions), to cloud-based, work-anywhere systems that run in a Web-browser window. Read on to learn about the products in each category. Which will you try for your next project?
Tomi Engdahl says:
OneSolver Does What Wolfram Can’t
http://hackaday.com/2016/04/22/onesolver-does-what-wolfram-cant/
Wolfram Alpha has been “helping” students get through higher math and science classes for years. It can do almost everything from solving Laplace transforms to various differential equations. It’s a little lacking when it comes to solving circuits, though, which is where [Grant] steps in. He’s come up with a tool called OneSolver which can help anyone work out a number of electrical circuits (and a few common physics problems, too).
[Grant] has been slowly building an online database of circuit designs that has gotten up to around a hundred unique solvers. The interesting thing is that the site implements a unique algorithm where all input fields of a circuits design can also become output fields. This is unique to most other online calculators because it lets you do things that circuit simulators and commercial math packages can’t.
http://onesolver.com/#!service=wiki_get&name=main&history=0
Tomi Engdahl says:
Interactive Software to Solve Crosstalk Problems
http://hackaday.com/2015/04/20/interactive-software-to-solve-crosstalk-problems/
A link to this video demonstrating PCB cross-talk ended up in my mailbox the other day as I tend to stay on the mailing lists of the some of the high end CAD companies. There are some really interesting and powerful “mega-tools” that do things like plot noise density for decoupling analysis and extremely high speed timing analysis, though the costs of these tools are commensurate with their capabilities. This one is part of the Mentor Graphics PCB Simulation software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Reinventing VHDL Badly
http://hackaday.com/2016/05/16/reinventing-vhdl-badly/
A few years ago, Philip Peter started a little pet project. He wanted to build his own processor. This really isn’t out of the ordinary – every few months you’ll find someone with a new project to build a CPU out of relays, logic chips, or bare transistors.
Search the Internet for some tips and tricks for schematic capture programs like KiCad and Eagle, and you’ll find some terrible design choices. If you want more than one copy of a very specific circuit on your board, you have to copy and paste. Circuit simulation is completely separate from schematic capture and PCB design, and unit testing – making sure the circuit you designed does what it’s supposed to do – is a completely foreign concept. Schematic capture and EDA suites are decades behind the curve compared to even the most minimal software IDE.
Philip is using Eagle to build his small processor – not that there’s anything wrong with that – but with the choice of EDA suite comes a 30-year history of updates to what is essentially a program written for DOS. That said, Eagle does have a lot of options for scripting common tasks, and combined with a few custom Python scripts to write those Eagle scripts, Phillip managed to do a lot with a little.
Taking a software development background to schematic capture and board design can go so much further than adding modules and objects to Eagle, though. Test-driven development is where it’s at, and Philip is designing his processor with the belief that eventually, he will mess something up. Software devs are humble like that.
Philip is relying on SPICE, a simulator for analog hardware, to see if the circuits will pass the unit tests.
Schematic capture and board design is a very, very hard problem to solve. Eagle has been in development for almost 30 years, and it’s still not ideal. Altium has been around for even longer, and there are still problems and unintuitive ways of doing things. KiCad is still a baby at 25 years old, and the general assumption is that KiCad is getting there, but it isn’t for prime time yet.
What Philip has done is bring tools and techniques in from the software development world, producing something that is much, much better than what we have now. It’s more abstract, yes, but that’s never stopped anyone from putting enterprise Java on their resume.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s Time to Finally Figure Out How to Use KiCAD
http://hackaday.com/2016/06/04/its-time-to-finally-figure-out-how-to-use-kicad/
KiCAD has been making leaps and bounds recently, especially since CERN is using it almost exclusively. However, while many things are the same, just enough of them are different from our regular CAD packages that it’s hard to get started in the new suite.
10 Part Tutorial On Designing/Building A PCB (Using FOSS)
https://contextualelectronics.com/gtb-kicad-4-0/