When asked which E-CAD tools designers use , the answers were as follows

[GreggD]

Per Printed Circuit Design & Fab Magazine
Used weekly

•Altium Designer:   (30.9%)
•Cadence Allegro:   (29.9%)
•Mentor XPedition:  (23.9%)
•Mentor Pads:         (20.3%)
•Cadence OrCAD:    (15.3%)
•Mentor Board Station: (5.6%)
•Zuken CR-5000:   (5%)
•Zuken CR-8000:   (2.3%)
•Eagle:                 (1.7%)
•Zuken CADStar:   (1%)
•Other:                 (12%)

http://pcdandf.com/pcdesign/index.php/magazine/11908-salary-survey-1708

I use Orcad for schematics and Pads for pcbs.

[BigBoss]

I use Orcad for schematics and Pads for pcbs.

How to convert the netlist of orCAD to PADS ??Or how to use both simultaneously

[thm_w]

If you do by company:

- Mentor     49.8%
- Cadence  45.2%
- Altium      30.9%
- Zuken      8.3%

Can anyone comment on the difference between XPedition/Pads/board station or the various Zukens? Is it similar to altium vs circuit maker?

[Alex Eisenhut]

I use Orcad for schematics and Pads for pcbs.

How to convert the netlist of orCAD to PADS ??Or how to use both simultaneously

I don't think you need to convert anything, simply select "other" when creating the netlist and there's a bunch of formatters to pick from. How well it works, I don't know.

[DerekG]

Per Printed Circuit Design & Fab Magazine

Only professional engineers would likely read this magazine & only if they have time. So one would expect that the survey results would only include expensive top line pcb design software.

I've never read the magazine, nor am I ever likely to. I design boards (often) on a day in day out basis. I have Altium Designer, but generally I dislike it along with disliking Altium the Corporation.

For 90%+ of my boards designs I use DipTrace. It is a very cable tool that has logical menus etc etc. I just like it, so I use it.

As a contract design engineer I'm often asked "which is the best circuit board design software?" My usual answer is "any package that does what you require & that you enjoy using".

I can export my designs into may formats include Altium, so for me it makes little difference which package I'm requested to use as long as I can find a suitable export filter in DipTrace.

[GreggD]

Many IC companies use Orcad for schematics and Pads or Allegro for layout. Many of them have them available for download. Allegro useds Orcad (Orcad Capture)(Design Entry CIS) for schematics.
Yes for netlist from Orcad its Netlist, other, orPadspcb.dll But I use Chuck T's Orcad-to-Pads netlister, PowerNET.exe which must be renamed orPowerNET.exe
It is a much better solution. But wait there is more! In Orcad export to 16.2 format, in Pads Logic, import, tools, Pads Layout. and now you are cross probing which makes part placement a wiz.