EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => PCB/EDA/CAD => Eagle => Topic started by: ebastler on January 19, 2019, 10:32:15 am
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I have an old Eagle V7.x "Make" license, limited to 16*10 cm² board size, and have used it on and off for various hobby projects. My current project will require a somewhat larger board, approx. 16*20 cm². I have largely completed the schematic using Eagle. (I tried KiCAD, but found its parts library lacking.) To do the PCB layout, I am considering two options:
- Import the project into KiCAD and do the layout there.
- Buy a one-month professional subscription for Eagle V9 to do the layout.
The Eagle V9 option would only make sense to me if I can make minor future changes with my trusty V7: Annotate the schematic, change parts values, change trace routing. I realize that moving parts around or placing new parts would require another monthly payment for the professional version (unless the parts happen to be in the restricted area which the Make version supports).
So -- is the schematic and board format in Eagle V9 still backwards compatible with V7? Can I make the above-mentioned changes with my V7 version once V9 has touched the design?
Thanks!
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There have been some changes to the file format to support new features but there is an option in v9 to export back to a v7 compatible format so your design will be usable in your older v7 once exported. You can export from v9 back to v7 even after your subscription has lapsed as you can still open larger designs so even if you forget to export it while you are working on it you should be able to create a version which is completely v7 compatible in the future.
Even if you did try to open a v9 design in v7 it'll possibly work anyway once it's gone through all the errors about unsupported tags in the XML. I've had this when going from the latest version back to an earlier v8 version before and although it whinges it's fine. But the export is there to make the transition from v9 to v7 smooth.
Best Regards,
Rachael
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Thank you for your thorough reply, Rachael! :-+
(As always on this forum. Autodesk should pay you for your Eagle support, or at least give you a free subscription!)
So the temporary V9 license seems like a viable option. While I would not mind getting some KiCAD experience, this particular project is getting a bit unwieldy, hence might not be the best opportunity to try a new tool.
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You're welcome :)
When you go to EAGLE v9 from v7, you'll notice it's changed in some respects quite a bit. There are loads of new features which make routing so much better than in the v7 days once you've got the hang of them. The combination of the preserve angles move and the various new routing modes (walk around, push & shove, loop removal) make complex multi-layer routing much easier. You can still do everything the same as in v7 too through if you want to keep with what's familiar.
If you need any help with any of the new v9 changes feel free to ask :)
Best Regards,
Rachael
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Thank you, Rachael -- I'm likely to take you up on your offer! :)
First I need to complete the schematics, and I will probably want to try out a few critical modules on a breadboard too. So it may be a couple of weeks before I get to the layout stage. I'll be back... ;)
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@ebastler, out of interest: what parts/informations does the KiCad library lack? Would be good to know what we missed.
Just a note: you can use the eagle library in KiCad as well.
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Thank you for asking, pointhi!
I got off to a rocky start using simple 74' series digital logic -- the second part I needed was a 74xx164, and I could not find it in any technology. Looking back at the 74' library now, it was an unlucky pick; the library seems pretty reasonable. (But the '164 is in active production as an HC part and probably in other technologies too, so it would be nice to add it at some point.)
Went on to a few 74xx1G parts. The basics are there, but I stumbled pretty quickly once more, looking for the '1G123 (monostable vibrator) and the '1G3157 (a very neat little 2:1 multiplexer/analog switch). I gave up at that point and decided to do at least the schematic capture in Eagle.
As mentioned above, I was (am?) considering to import the schematic to KiCAD to do the placement and routing there. (Tried the import, and it seems to work well.) I had not realized that using the Eagle libraries directly in KiCAD was another option. Good to know, thank you for the tip!
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Do you use KiCad 5? Because at least "74164" as well as "74LVC1G123" is available. But I agree, those logic libs need some refactor in the future.
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In KiCad you can use wildcards while searching for symbols.
For example the search string: "74*1g12" lists the symbols from the below screenshot.
Searching for "1g31" (without quotes) lists the 74lvc1g3157, so it seems that somebody who read this tread addid it in the last 4 days, or you have an old library.
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Thank you both, pointhi and Doctorandus_P. Strange, I had downloaded a fresh copy of KiCAD 5 just a two weeks before I tried it and then posted here. The full download does always come with the latest libraries, right? (Or should I have downloaded the libraries separately, because the distribution in the complete package lags behind a bit?)
Anyway, I think I will give KiCAD a try for routing once I get to that stage. My schematics are complete, but I have changed my plans a bit: I will first simulate the circuit in an FPGA before I commit to routing and having PCBs made, which will probably take an extra couple of weeks.
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Anyway, I think I will give KiCAD a try for routing once I get to that stage.
You should maybe give the new layout tools in EAGLE a shot first. They are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were in v7 so it's worth taking a look given that you are familiar with EAGLE and the schematics are done there. Then if you still want to look at KiCad you've got a better point of reference on how the two tools compare feature wise now.
Best Regards,
Rachael
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You should maybe give the new layout tools in EAGLE a shot first. They are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were in v7 so it's worth taking a look given that you are familiar with EAGLE and the schematics are done there. Then if you still want to look at KiCad you've got a better point of reference on how the two tools compare feature wise now.
Yes, I thought I'd try both. I expect the Eagle layout tool to be more powerful and friendly, especially in view of the fact that I am already familiar with the (older) Eagle user interface. On the other hand, KiCAD has the benefit of being free. :) I don't like the idea of being locked in to Eagle long-term, having to pay the monthly fee whenever I want to touch up a larger board.
Anyway -- not having used KiCAD, and not having used Eagle past V7, I don't know what I'm talking about. ;) A good reason to give both of them a try. I only wish that the project which has triggered this decision process were a smaller one...