Electronics > Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff
Software tools to create double-sided circuit boards?
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nigelwright7557:
There are literally hundreds of PCBCAD packages out there now on websites or ebay.
You can pay anything from zero pounds to thousands.

Had a go with KICAD but didnt like it. As often happens with free software they let out latest versions that arent completely debugged and wait for feedback about bugs. I thought Microsoft just did that !

Wimberleytech:

--- Quote from: nigelwright7557 on February 05, 2020, 10:59:50 pm ---There are literally hundreds of PCBCAD packages out there now on websites or ebay.
You can pay anything from zero pounds to thousands.

Had a go with KICAD but didnt like it. As often happens with free software they let out latest versions that arent completely debugged and wait for feedback about bugs. I thought Microsoft just did that !

--- End quote ---

Apple does it too   :-DD
Nominal Animal:
You might also take a look at EasyEda.  It's a "cloud-based" (runs in your browser) editor, that to a complete newbie like me seemed to have a much gentler learning curve than e.g KiCad.  I also liked the fact that its coupled to lcsc.com (for parts) and jlcpcb.com (for board manufacturing); made it pretty painless for me to get my very first boards made.  I do believe it is well suited for visually-oriented people, as an introduction to board design.  You can just draw a PCB without a schematic, too.

That said, I do not think it is an optimal tool by any means.  All the boards are stored in the cloud (you do need to create an account at EasyEda, but it costs nothing), and you need internet connectivity to access the boards and the editor, and so on.

I just think it is a good soft start for board editing; and for me, someone who was familiar with circuit diagrams but had never created their own board before, helped understand the underlying logic in e.g. KiCad, so I can move on to a proper tool if I ever need/want to.
DBecker:
There are many packages out there.  Consider your options carefully.

Old technology through-hole boards tend to be physically large.  With the no-cost version of commercial packages you may run into the arbitrary limitation of what the free version will do, such the maximum size.  And even if it allows that size today, there is a risk that they will change it in a future version.

I've used several schematic capture and PCB layout programs in the past.  The largest count and effort used Eagle.  But their change to a subscription model was a eye-opening warning about the risk.  I don't see how anyone can put their future ability to access their own designs at risk by relying on the continued availability from a fickle company.  You need to keep paying to have access, while they could decide at any time to change their terms, their pricing tiers or even the availability of the program.

Because of that I've switched entirely to Kicad.  There was a challenging re-learning process, but once that pain was in the past I was happy I made the transition.
nigelwright7557:

--- Quote from: DBecker on February 06, 2020, 01:23:38 am ---Because of that I've switched entirely to Kicad.  There was a challenging re-learning process, but once that pain was in the past I was happy I made the transition.

--- End quote ---

Kicad libraries aren't too bad for a free package.
I did struggle adding new parts.
The problem with new designs is sods law states the one component you want to use isnt in the library.

When I wrote my own PCBCAD software I added a few components to the libraries as I went along but also added a "Component wizard" which greatly simplifies adding new library components. Input a few parameters and out pops a BGA etc. package.
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