Author Topic: Best CAD Program to do learn for PCB Design  (Read 12797 times)

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Offline Gibson486

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Re: Best CAD Program to do learn for PCB Design
« Reply #25 on: January 28, 2019, 03:48:42 pm »
Nothings changed much, Altium is still a defacto standard in industry. KiCAD has gotten much better, but Eagle and KiCAD et.al likely aren't going to impress anyone much on a resume at any decent sized company.
If you have access to an Altium license then learn that.

That's something I've always found strange though, because as you said the important part is "learning how to draw", once you know how to design PCBs learning a new tool can be accomplished fairly quickly, the workflow is similar on every EDA I've tried. Every time I've taken a new job I've had to learn whatever software tools the company is using. When I've interviewed candidates for (software) jobs I never cared much what specific tools they used before. I mean it's always a plus if they happen to have loads of experience with the software we use but I place far more weight on other factors.

I agree with this. At the end of the day, they all do the same thing. None of them fix bad designs.
 

Offline cdev

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Re: Best CAD Program to do learn for PCB Design
« Reply #26 on: January 28, 2019, 04:13:26 pm »
There should be an open long running thread for people to ask questions, especially Kicad questions, so short and minor that they don't deserve the starting of a new thread.

The kinds of stupid questions that arise when trying to do something simple, that one doesn't know the search term to access or which the documentation doesn't seem to explain.

"What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away."
 

Offline Bassman59

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Re: Best CAD Program to do learn for PCB Design
« Reply #27 on: January 30, 2019, 05:03:57 pm »
Nothings changed much, Altium is still a defacto standard in industry. KiCAD has gotten much better, but Eagle and KiCAD et.al likely aren't going to impress anyone much on a resume at any decent sized company.
If you have access to an Altium license then learn that.

If your job is full-time PCB layout, then sure, you want to have gobs of experience using the tools used by potential employers.

If your job is design engineer, then experience with any PCB CAD tool is fine, and honestly, if you're anything other than a freshout, you've had experience with at least one such tool, and you should be able to come up to speed on any other in a short amount of time. This is because you already know what you are trying to accomplish, and it becomes a matter of learning the menus and working with your employer's libraries. You draw the schematic, add design rules (either in the schematic or in notes to the layout person) and hand it off to layout.
 


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