custom PCB design and fabrication

[andrew.box]

I'm working on building a CRT oscilloscope from parts as a fun project and have finally decided it would be a good opportunity to try and do the circuit on a PCB which is something I've wanted to learn for a while now but I'm totally new to using any of the software.

What are the best schematic drawing and pcb layout programs for a newby to learn? Anyone use the ExpressPCB program and service?

Thanks!

[fechter]

Yes, I've used them extensively in the past. I like their software (free), I found it easy to learn and intuitive.
They aren't the cheapest, but they do good work and they're fast.

[Lebowski]

I have very good experiences with the free tool 'kicad' and PCB manufacturing from www.olimex.com
To see the results have a look at my controller PCB thread.

[999zip999]

Lebowski, Do yu have a link ?

[2moto]

You might also look at Design Spark as a completely free PCB design tool: http://www.designspark.com/pcb/

[Lebowski]

Lebowski, Do yu have a link ?

Www.kicad-pcb.org

[andrew.box]

Thanks to all who replied, I'll look into these different options. Sounds like there are several things out there and it's just a matter of sitting down and figuring out how to use one from start to finish.

Luckily the circuit if fairly simple so it should be easy (hopefully) to tell if anything is drastically wrong before having PCBs made up.

[Kin]

I was using fritzing for a week before I had to bail because I needed a real professional schematic. Now I have to convert 10+ hrs of work into KiCad, but I think it's a worthy endeavor to learn how to use a good program like KiCad. So far seems quite nice.

Fritzing I will continue to use in the future whenever I make an "instructables" or whatnot. The visual aspects of the breadboarding view are relatively great. And, maybe one day they will mature the program a bit more, it's still pretty young but quickly getting improved. An ideal world would have a mix between kicad and fritzing, imo . Fritzing was much more intuitive than eagle, and kicad seems something somewhat in between [I've needed a tutorial to get up to speed but it's not like eagle = frustration].

[Alan B]

I have a lot of experience with expresspcb. Works well, easy to learn, somewhat limited and sticks you to using that one vendor pretty much for your boards. They have a decent deal on 2.5 by 3.8 inch boards, but other sizes are pretty pricey.

I would recommend diptrace over kicad or eagle, and dorkbotpcb or batchpcb for low cost boards as worth looking into.

http://www.diptrace.com/
http://dorkbotpdx.org/wiki/pcb_order/
http://batchpcb.com/index.php/Faq

Regards,

[Kin]

hi Alan, diptrace was actually one of the other ones I was looking at. Are there any particular reasons for your preference over Kicad? I admit I didn't get a chance to try diptrace (only played a bit with designspark.)

[Alan B]

In my (limited) testing Kicad didn't do as well as diptrace.

Your mileage may vary.

[Lebowski]

In my (limited) testing Kicad didn't do as well as diptrace.

Your mileage may vary.

Kicad is free and diptrace is not, for me this makes it an easy decision...

For me too, it took some time to learn Kicd but I think the investment in learning will pay off. I found the
tool really good, especially the DRc and LVS features (design rule check and check to make sure schematic
and board are the same with no missing or wrong connections).

[Alan B]

If you want free and simple there is always FreePCB.

KiCad is interesting, I like free software, that one didn't seem worth the trouble to learn for me. It would be easier if you speak French and have the time to browse a lot of C++.

There are free versions of DipTrace and Eagle with some limits. Eagle is arguably the most popular, DipTrace is pretty popular as well. If you like a Unix command line program converted to GUI and well supported by a company then Eagle is for you. If you like a program designed to be GUI from the start and supported by a company then DipTrace is a good choice. If you want a small one person project that's less supported then KiCad is the ticket.