Author Topic: Pcb Design Program  (Read 14331 times)

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Offline Ranger14Topic starter

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Pcb Design Program
« on: January 29, 2017, 04:02:21 am »
I am looking for a pcb design program for use on Linux Mint.. I tired Kicad but find the library a pain in the butt to use or to even find smd parts..
So I am looking for suggestions for a standalone pcb design that runs on linux mint and are able to make a negative for negative photoresist ??



 

Offline ataradov

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2017, 04:14:58 am »
It is not like there are too many options. Eagle is one. DipTrace also works fine under Wine.
Alex
 

Offline sleemanj

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2017, 07:39:34 am »
DipTrace

~~~
EEVBlog Members - get yourself 10% discount off all my electronic components for sale just use the Buy Direct links and use Coupon Code "eevblog" during checkout.  Shipping from New Zealand, international orders welcome :-)
 
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Offline Karel

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2017, 08:26:56 am »
I'm a happy Eagle user (professionally) and till two weeks ago I should have recommended it.
After the Autodesk debacle we have decided not to go for the subscription but to stick with V7
(which can still be downloaded for free here: ftp://ftp.cadsoft.de/eagle/program/).

In the mean time we will consider alternatives.

Long story short: I don't recommend to go with Eagle.

« Last Edit: January 29, 2017, 06:37:34 pm by Karel »
 

Offline Ranger14Topic starter

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2017, 05:30:59 pm »
Diptrace was one of my favorites but I can't for some reason get it to run under wine..
It installs and runs at first but certain options don't work.. After a restart the diptrace icon are file not found when clicked and system freezes with several areas.
 

Offline sleemanj

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2017, 07:20:22 pm »
What version?  I'm still using 2.4 on  my kubuntu workstation without issue.  Maybe try downloading that and see if it  works for you.
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Offline Ranger14Topic starter

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2017, 09:35:07 pm »
What version?  I'm still using 2.4 on  my kubuntu workstation without issue.  Maybe try downloading that and see if it  works for you.

I tried installing ver 3.0 of diptrace and nothing worked..
So I tried ver 2.4 as you suggested and now everything works as it should. The only issues I do have it the start menu diptrace icon doesn't work and still gives a no file found error but the shortcut works..


Thanks you very much
 

Offline scopeman

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2017, 01:57:38 am »
SprintLayout6.0

Not free but very inexpensive, about $44.00USD. Runs fine in Linux under Wine.

Sam
W3OHM

See here:(free demo available)


http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/sprint-layout.html
W3OHM
 

Offline timb

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2017, 06:59:43 am »
SprintLayout6.0

Not free but very inexpensive, about $44.00USD. Runs fine in Linux under Wine.

Sam
W3OHM

See here:(free demo available)


http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/sprint-layout.html

Why are you spamming all the PCB design threads with links to SprintLayout...?
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic; e.g., Cheez Whiz, Hot Dogs and RF.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2017, 08:35:07 am »
As someone who has been using KiCad for at least 8 years, and this applies to other EDAs too, forget most of the libraries and make your own. You'll waste far more time searching out precisely the right library parts than it takes to just draw up the ones you need. The basic stuff like resistors and capacitors and stuff are fine but for most other stuff it's easier to just make it and that way you don't end up with libraries cluttered with hundreds of components you never use. If you want a library of surface mount parts, I think "libcms" is the one I got the common jellybean stuff from.

My suggestion is to stick with KiCad and work your way over the hurdles. Once you get the hang of it, it really works quite well and is pleasant enough to work with. I tried probably 6 different EDAs and my conclusion at the time was that they all suck. They're all buggy, they all have quirks, they all have a somewhat steep learning curve, but once you do learn the workflow you stop noticing the quirks. There are some easier to use hobbyist-oriented products but they are very limiting. When it comes to Linux support the choices are even fewer, you pretty much have KiCad and gEDA. Eagle was a popular option but it's gone subscription (rental) only and users appear to be fleeing in droves.
 
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Offline scopeman

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2018, 04:02:11 am »
I am not "spamming" as you say. I just like the program, have no financial interest in the company but have created tens of dozens of layouts with it over the last few years.
It is easy to use, no wacko license requirements and very inexpensive. My guess is if you consider it spamming you have not tried the program.

Sam
W3OHM
W3OHM
 

Offline bson

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #11 on: January 07, 2018, 04:03:28 am »
KiCAD has been improving lately by leaps and bounds.  I've been using the nightly builds for a while (and reporting bugs), and just noticed a moment ago that the gerber viewer has been completely replaced and now is OpenGL based.  It's as smooth and fast as the PCB layout editor.  The old one was best avoided, but now it's actually quite usable!  It will load zip archives and happily exports to the PCB editor.  Still a few quirks that need to be worked out, and it's still incredibly rudimentary compared to say zofzpcb, but it's a huge leap forward.  Now it's actually quick and easy to double check what's in a zip file before submitting it, stepping through it layer by layer or file by file.
« Last Edit: January 07, 2018, 04:05:00 am by bson »
 

Offline DerekG

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #12 on: January 07, 2018, 04:18:39 am »
KiCAD has been improving lately by leaps and bounds.

The last time I used KiCAD, I could only choose a black or white background in the PCB module.

Are we now able to set whatever background colour we want in the PCB module?
I also sat between Elvis & Bigfoot on the UFO.
 

Offline ebastler

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #13 on: January 07, 2018, 08:57:57 am »
... the gerber viewer ... happily exports to the PCB editor. 

For my education, when would you use that function? Is this for a situation where you have Gerber files (from an old or 3rd party design) and want to make small modifications? I.e. you don't have a schematic at all, and essentially use the PCB editor as an object-oriented drawing program? -- Thanks!
 

Offline Joel_l

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #14 on: January 07, 2018, 02:51:38 pm »
Also not tried under wine but AutoTrax DEX, also inexpensive. A few concept ideas that keep it from being my main package. It is well supported and constantly updated. I think worth a look.
 

Offline SiliconWizard

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #15 on: January 07, 2018, 08:06:08 pm »
Also not tried under wine but AutoTrax DEX, also inexpensive. A few concept ideas that keep it from being my main package. It is well supported and constantly updated. I think worth a look.

I have tried AutoTrax DEX (on Windows). Pretty decent features. But I found it to be very slow even on small designs and I have a pretty powerful machine. I also don't like much its borderline-toyish UI. It is indeed worth a look, but some issues should be adressed IMO, especially performance-wise.

 

Offline Joel_l

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #16 on: January 07, 2018, 11:32:19 pm »
Hmmm, slow is not an issue for me. Even on my older system i7-930, DEX was plenty snappy. How long ago did you try it? There are now a few flavors of UI you can choose from, some more "toyish" than others. There are issues, but for me speed has not been one, lots faster than Circuit Studio that I also have.

Also not tried under wine but AutoTrax DEX, also inexpensive. A few concept ideas that keep it from being my main package. It is well supported and constantly updated. I think worth a look.

I have tried AutoTrax DEX (on Windows). Pretty decent features. But I found it to be very slow even on small designs and I have a pretty powerful machine. I also don't like much its borderline-toyish UI. It is indeed worth a look, but some issues should be adressed IMO, especially performance-wise.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2018, 03:45:55 pm by Joel_l »
 

Offline tycz

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #17 on: January 07, 2018, 11:48:28 pm »
You might check out DesignSpark PCB under WINE.  Some say it may work:
https://designspark.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/213438565-How-to-install-DesignSpark-PCB-on-Linux-with-Wine-

I have tried DesignSpark PCB under Linux WINE about a year ago and it worked OK, but with graphical glitches. The bug which causes these graphics problems has been fixed in WINE 2.14.
 
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Offline bson

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #18 on: January 08, 2018, 12:48:58 am »
Are we now able to set whatever background colour we want in the PCB module?
Don't know. Why does it matter?
 

Offline bson

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #19 on: January 08, 2018, 12:56:31 am »
... the gerber viewer ... happily exports to the PCB editor. 

For my education, when would you use that function? Is this for a situation where you have Gerber files (from an old or 3rd party design) and want to make small modifications? I.e. you don't have a schematic at all, and essentially use the PCB editor as an object-oriented drawing program? -- Thanks!
For schematics you can generally already import from a netlist.

Imagine you have a tool you pay $5000/yr for and want to stop doing this, so a viable migration strategy is to produce gerbers for everything and import them elsewhere, and when done and verified cancel your contract.  Sure you potentially lose something in the process, but that may not be a huge deal for simply maintaining access to legacy designs.  If all you want to do is resize a diode (because it has a habit of failing), change an obsolete connector, or something then all you need is the fundamentals.

There are also lots of old tools that hard to find, install, or use anymore as they might say require specific versions of DOS or a nonexistent key dongle.  In these cases just pulling the gerbers into KiCAD or some other contemporary tool lets you make progress.
 
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Offline DerekG

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #20 on: January 08, 2018, 01:49:38 am »
Are we now able to set whatever background colour we want in the PCB module?
Don't know. Why does it matter?

When a design engineer spends many tens of hours in front of a computer screen each week, it is important to reduce eye strain to a minimum.

Research has shown that a relatively dark shade of grey (as the background "colour") is optimal for reducing eye strain.

Unfortunately those working on KiCAD have glossed over this important fact.

As a result, many professional design engineers will avoid using KiCAD.

And no ............... a dark shade of grey does not even come close to black when looking to reduce eye strain.
I also sat between Elvis & Bigfoot on the UFO.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #21 on: January 08, 2018, 07:07:03 am »
I find a black background to be pleasing, I hate the trend in modern software to put everything on a blinding white background. The inability to select other colors is not something I had ever noticed until now and you're the first person I've ever seen mention that, have you put in a feature request? It seems like a pretty reasonable thing to ask for that shouldn't be too difficult to implement.
 

Offline SiliconWizard

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #22 on: January 08, 2018, 04:18:27 pm »
Hmmm, slow is not an issue for me. Even on my older system i7-930, DEX was plenty snappy. How long ago did you try it? There are now a few flavors of UI you can choose from, some more "toyish" than others. There are issues, but for me speed has not been one, lots faster than Circuit Studio that I also have.

I tried the very latest version on a i7-5930K@4.3Ghz, 32GB RAM, SSD, and a GTX660. Guess that should be about OK ;D

It's specifically the zooming in and out that I find slowish, in PCB layout views as well as when manipulating 3D views. DipTrace, for instance, is definitely much snappier on my machine.
I noticed that the installer does some funky "optimization" towards the end of installation, that lasts a while. No idea what it does, but I suspect it may do more harm than good on my setup for some reason if others don't have this kind this issue?


 

Offline Joel_l

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #23 on: January 09, 2018, 01:45:38 am »
I guess the variable is the complexity of the design. I was curious so I went down and tried the Arduino design that loads by default. Rotating the 3D view is smooth and real time. Zooming the 3D view is on my mouse ball and is also fast and smooth. In the PCB view I can move the board around fast and smooth. The zoom is on my mouse wheel and keeps up with each step just fine. I imagine the experience changes with a more complex board.

I 90% like DEX, if just a few things were changed and fixed, it would be my goto tool.

Hmmm, slow is not an issue for me. Even on my older system i7-930, DEX was plenty snappy. How long ago did you try it? There are now a few flavors of UI you can choose from, some more "toyish" than others. There are issues, but for me speed has not been one, lots faster than Circuit Studio that I also have.

I tried the very latest version on a i7-5930K@4.3Ghz, 32GB RAM, SSD, and a GTX660. Guess that should be about OK ;D

It's specifically the zooming in and out that I find slowish, in PCB layout views as well as when manipulating 3D views. DipTrace, for instance, is definitely much snappier on my machine.
I noticed that the installer does some funky "optimization" towards the end of installation, that lasts a while. No idea what it does, but I suspect it may do more harm than good on my setup for some reason if others don't have this kind this issue?
 

Offline SiliconWizard

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Re: Pcb Design Program
« Reply #24 on: January 09, 2018, 03:37:40 pm »
I guess the variable is the complexity of the design.

I found it slowish even with the default Arduino design. Maybe some specific issue with my setup. I tried version 10.177, I notice they just released 10.180 shortly after, maybe there are performance fixes? (I haven't found the release notes. I also noticed there is a user forum but it's completely empty...)

 


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