Drawing schematics using Inkscape

[voltsandjolts]

Ever get nostalgic about those 1990's era schematics in Elektor?
Were they drawn with S-Plan? I'm not sure, but they were always clear and uncluttered, more so than schematics drawn in EDA packages IMHO. Inkscape does a pretty good job at recreating that style. Get the grid set right for the symbol scale you want to work too, pick your line width, create some symbols and your up and running. Also a good habit to set the line end style, avoid joining wires at a right angle, only in straight line.

Here's some examples.

[voltsandjolts]

There is a inkscape schematic for the Hughes HCD125 resistance welder here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/hughes-hcd125-capacitor-discharge-welder/


...and here's another interesting cap discharger welder schematic in inkscape for the Miyachi UB25.
It has a 12V 2F cap bank outputting through 40 paralleled FETs used as a linear control element. Up to 1000A.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/miyachi-ub25-capacitor-discharge-resistance-welder/

[voltsandjolts]

Keithley 7700 scan card schematic based on user KungFuJosh's work seen in this thread:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/diy-scanner-card-for-daq6510/

[Doctorandus_P]

I have a vague memory of an elektor article about their own workflow. I think they used Ultiboard for a while, but completely redrew all schematics for publishing. But elektor spans a time from the '60-ies to now, so 50 to 60+ years of magazines. They must have used a bunch of different software over that timeframe.

There is also an "Elektuur style symbol Library" for KiCad.

Confirmed. The text below was copied form Elektor UK. Edition: 265  April 98.  Page: 60.

The PCB design process adopted by ourselves is by no means unusual: once a certain software system has been accepted, it is updated and extended whenever necessary, enabling it to grow with our requirements. In our design lab, the cad age
dawned about 10 years ago with the introduction of Ultimate Technology’s Ultiboard pcb design program suite. At that time, the dos version was used on at computers. Because Ultiboard was just a pcb design program at that time, a different program had to be used for schematic drawing: Orcad sdt. This combination is still in use as we write this. Pspice has been in use since 1989 for circuit simulation tasks. The article ‘Printed Circuit Board Production’ in Elektor Electronics November 1994 briefly describes our pcb production process.


The article from November 1994 is about the PCB production in a factory. It does not have a word about used software.

I'm also quite sure they once wrote another article about how they go from the schematic/PCB design software to an drawing fit for publishing, but further details elude me.

[ledtester]

Here's a set of symbols that can be used with Inkscape for schematics:

https://github.com/medwatt/circuitikz_symbols

How to use them is explained in this video:

How To Create Professional Looking Circuit Schematics Easily Using Inkscape -- Useful Knowledge
https://youtu.be/uQDgtME-7DQ

[jpyeron]

There is also an "Elektuur style symbol Library" for KiCad.

A quick google got me to https://forum.kicad.info/t/elektuur-iec-ieee-style-symbols-octagonal-pads-vias-oktizer-plugin/30379/64 which has https://gitlab.com/mgyger/kicad-addons/

Here's a set of symbols that can be used with Inkscape for schematics:

https://github.com/medwatt/circuitikz_symbols

How to use them is explained in this video:

How To Create Professional Looking Circuit Schematics Easily Using Inkscape -- Useful Knowledge
https://youtu.be/uQDgtME-7DQ

So why use inkscape as the authoring environment?

When I need to publish, I capture my actual schematic, and updates are made in the same tool, netlists exported for simulation, etc...

I export the schematic and edit in inkscape or illustrator (if needed) before including in my publication.

Starting in inkscape is asking for electrical/logical errors and no DRC!

[free_electron]

Elektor used Ultiboard and Osmond PCB.
Schematics were Orcad with custom library.
Now they are on Altium, again with custom library.

[voltsandjolts]

So why use inkscape as the authoring environment?
When I need to publish, I capture my actual schematic, and updates are made in the same tool, netlists exported for simulation, etc...
I export the schematic and edit in inkscape or illustrator (if needed) before including in my publication.
Starting in inkscape is asking for electrical/logical errors and no DRC!

Of course you wouldn't use inkscape for production, but it's a great tool for documentation, presentation, slides etc. Inkscape gives a wealth of drawing tools far beyond what EDA tools provide. It makes it easy to add graphs, overlays, oscillograms...all in publication ready vector format.

[Doctorandus_P]

KiCad can export to SVG. So you can use it to draw the schematic, and PCB,  and then export the schematic and open it in Inkscape for post processing and documentation.

Addition:
To do this, use: Schematic Editor / File / Plot / Output Format SVG

[jpyeron]

KiCad can export to SVG. So you can use it to draw the schematic, and PCB,  and then export the schematic and open it in Inkscape for post processing and documentation.

doing that right now... I actually like the fact I can also convert to spice netlist and run simulations.

KiCad -> SPICE -> plots / tools -> LaTeX (or MS Word)
KiCad -> SVG -> Inkscape / Illustrator -> LaTeX (or MS Word)

My biggest pet peeve is when lines don't connect in schematics and flow charts (different topic). This is why I would NEVER start in inkscape!

[voltsandjolts]

My biggest pet peeve is when lines don't connect in schematics and flow charts (different topic). This is why I would NEVER start in inkscape!

It sounds like you've never used inkscape. It has snap grid and snap points on objects. It's easy to connect lines.

[jpyeron]

It's not a snap to grid issue as much as human error. E.g. forgetting

[voltsandjolts]

It's not a snap to grid issue as much as human error. E.g. forgetting

What? How is that different to drawing a schematic in any program?

And they only need to be connected visually, you're not making a netlist as with ECAD, which needs perfect connection.