Zero to Expert in pcb design

[captainKKK]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

I kinda like Mentor Graphics PADS almost as well as Altrium. Proteus also has a lot to offer.

[Curious.George]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

Knowing how to route traces for high speed, to avoid noise and EMC, you learn the hard way.

Actually, they are getting smarter. They also tackle things like packaging, thermal analysis, etc. And, many now offer some of the tools that you will need to do high-speed layouts that are tedious/impossible to do without! (e.g., balancing trace lengths to minimize skew between signals).

pick the software that has the largest component library - preferably with the ability to add user/3rd party library's

Pick the tool that has the best capability for creating your own symbols. And, make sure you understand the "rules" and mechanics behind symbol creation (e.g., why there are "input" pins and "output" pins -- regardless of where they exist on the device). Every vendor will have some "basic" library components so, if you're doing a trivial design, it won't matter much. But, you WILL need to create some symbols of your own, for at least some of your components -- either because they aren't supported in the "standard" libraries or because you want a visually different symbol/footprint than whatever the library designer had envisioned.

How complex is the board that you are trying to design?
Altium is not cheap.

Not only is it "not cheap" in a monetary sense but it is also not cheap in terms of the investment required to learn/use it.

If you're just doing one or two boards, pick "whatever is cheapest" -- or, farm it out to a service bureau. Only make the investment in the tool if this is a skill you want/NEED to develop and think you will have an ongoing set of future projects to justify the cost/investment you'll be making.

[I deliberately hold off hardware designs and board layouts until I have several that need to be done. Clustering them, like this, lets me amortize the RE-learning required (to get back up to speed with the tools) over multiple designs. Otherwise, you spend a lot of time trying to remember the quirks of each particular tool -- only to forget it, again, before you get around to the next design.]

[[ALL EDA packages have bugs. Familiarity with your package (from actual USE) helps you remember which "wacky behaviors" are the result of YOU doing something incorrectly vs. the tool screwing up ("known bug")]]

[budm]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

How complex is the board that you are trying to design?
Altium is not cheap.

[captainKKK]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

Seems that Altium Designer has the largest libraries available

[stj]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

bit of advice,
pick the software that has the largest component library - preferably with the ability to add user/3rd party library's

i use eaglecad for that reason.
version 7.7 - the last version before it got raped in the ass by the AutoDesk takeover!!

[5chematic]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

Sprint-Layout is good, I have used it a few times to create a few boards.

[redwire]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

No, I'm afraid you'll actually have to do some work.
Nothing will auto-check a design beyond the wiring (netlist) and some basic spacings and clearance.
PCB CAD programs are all very basic. Every component footprint you have to check and verify yourself unless you can afford expensive third-party libraries. Knowing how to route traces for high speed, to avoid noise and EMC, you learn the hard way. A few books are on PCB design but the CAD programs are still quite stupid and don't have AI yet.

[captainKKK]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

I want a program that will auto check my design for mistakes in my selection of components and design, is there anything out there that does that?

[mariushm]

Re: Zero to Expert in pcb design

Depends on your needs. For some niches some tools are better than others.

For simple boards, KiCad, DipTrace, even Eagle could be good enough.

For more complex stuff, there's other players in the market like Zuken (Sony likes them) or PADS from Mentor, or Orcad ...

[captainKKK]

Is Altium the best pcb design software or is there better?