A program for creating circuit boards from a circuit. Folder Circuit and Printed Circuit Board Design

The material was written for the RCOnline.ru website in 2007.

Some time ago, I stumbled across two very interesting programs on the Internet for drawing circuit diagrams and PCB layout. Both programs have been translated from German into Russian by V. Shcherbakov, which allows even inexperienced modellers and novice electronics engineers to use them. The programs are not related to each other, and do not have such broad capabilities as the well-known OrCad, PCad and Accel-EDA packages and others, however, with their help, you can draw a rather complex circuit and trace a double-sided printed circuit board. Both programs have ready-made element libraries, in addition, in each of them you can easily create your own element, both schematic and PCB.

Since both of these programs were announced as Freeware, I think that I will not violate anyone's copyright by publishing them on this site.

The first program, Splan, is a schematic drawing tool. contains nine files of the "body" of the program and the bibo folder containing ready-made libraries of schematic elements. It should be noted that the set of ready-made elements, especially digital and analog microcircuits, is not very large, but the user can draw the necessary elements using the built-in editor. The program supports continuous numbering of the same type of parts.

Of course, the program allows you to draw basic geometric shapes, lines, connection points, make text inserts and inscriptions, as well as draw up a finished diagram in accordance with the requirements for technical drawings.

The program does not require installation, per se. You just need to unpack the archive file into the desired folder and the program is ready to go. The program is designed to work under Windows of any version (Win- *, NT, 2000, XP), and occupies a little more than one megabyte on the disk.

I draw your attention to the fact that all my further developments and publications with schematic diagrams and drawings of printed circuit boards I will do using these two programs!

P.S. Life does not stand still - over the past 7 years, both programs have been significantly modified by the developers. Currently relevant and. The programs have significantly greater capabilities than their predecessors, for example, Sprint-Layout, is able to route four-layer printed circuit boards, and has much more convenient service capabilities, and sPlan is presented in a portable version that does not require installation on a hard drive. Both new versions of the programs are available in the attached archives.

Please note that the output file formats created in earlier versions of programs are read by older versions, while they, as a rule, are modified to match the format of the older version. But, unfortunately, younger versions of programs do not understand files created in older versions of sPlan and Sprint-Layout.

DipTrace it is a computer-aided design and development system schematic diagrams and printed circuit boards... It includes four programs: PCB Layout - pCB design with interactive automatic tracing, Schematic - creation of schematic diagrams, which can later be converted into boards, ComEdit - allows you to edit packages for printed circuit boards and SchemEdit - component editor, drawing circuitry symbols in conjunction with enclosures. CAD DipTrace very convenient, work in it is accompanied by highlighting objects to improve the visual perception of the edited material (schematic diagram or board). The program interface supports Russian, DipTrace free for the home user with a limit of 300 pins on the diagram.

PCB program

The program supports four proprietary file formats: PCB files.dip, schematic diagrams.dch, package libraries.lib, and component libraries with the extension .eli. In addition, the utility supports DipTrace ASCII - data stored in text format; Netlist - import and export of netlists; Autorouter DSN and SES - format for working with Electra / Specctra autorouters; Gerber RS-274X, PADS ASCII, OrCAD MIN Interchange - import and export to PCB Layout; N / C Drill, Mach 2/3 Drill G-code, Pick and Place - export from PCB Layout; DXF - export from PCB Layout and Schematic and import to PCB Layout and Pattern Editor; P-CAD ASCII - export and import to PCB Layout and Schematic; P-CAD PDIF - import of PCB Layout and Schematic.

Professional solutions

The program libraries contain over 40,000 components from well-known manufacturers. The construction logic and structure of a printed circuit board or circuit diagram are generated immediately when objects are built and modified and are reflected in the elements that depend on them. The program has a rendering function - you can see a 3D visualization of the final structure. Schematic diagrams and printed circuit boards can be output to the printer at any scale. Using the function of exporting a stroke to DXF with a DXF to G-code converter, it is possible to produce printed circuit boards by milling. The archive for downloading additionally includes a crack for the program interface including the help system and user manual in Russian.

Official site: http://www.diptrace.com
OS: 32bit, Windows, Linux
Supported languages: English and Russian
Version: 2.3.1.0
License:freeware (is free) for home use with limitation (no more than 300 pins)

File size 60.7 MB

More interesting programs:

• SmartLombard is the first Russian program to optimize the management of the pawnshop business

Do you need a free PCB design tool or software to put your project into practice? So, in this list, you will be presented with the 10 best programs available on the Internet and they will help you design your printed circuit board faster and easier. https://easyeda.com/ru

Using EasyEDA you can order a printed circuit board. You can solder all the components together at home, or send them to the factory.

ZenitPCB

A wonderful program for creating PCB layout, aimed at the implementation of professional work. It is very easy to use CAD software, which allows you to bring your projects to life in a short time. With ZenitPCB it is possible to start work either by entering the electrical circuit or by the wiring itself.

This program allows you to draw circuit diagrams. Includes a symbol library for immediate development. In addition, in addition to being able to print your sketches, you can also publish your diagrams by copying the image to a Word file or save them in PNG format.

OsmondPCB

Universal tool for PCB development. It runs on a Macintosh system and includes features such as unlimited board size, multiple layers for working with the board, part numbering, support for both through holes and surface mounting, etc.

A program for building circuits in Windows. The name of the program is an abbreviation for Basic Shematic (author's note). For ease of use, only basic functions are built in.

ExpressPCB

This program is very easy to learn and use even for beginners.

An open source program for creating electronic circuits and PCBs. Useful for everyone who works with software development.

Runs on Linux and has build tools for circuit creation, circuit description input, simulation, prototyping, and manufacturing. Currently, gEDA offers a sophisticated package of free schematic design software including description entry, attribute change, BOM generation, netlist with over 20 formats, analog and digital simulation, and of course, PCB design.

PCBWebDesigner

Free CAD application for the design and manufacture of electronic products. Create multilayer wiring with a quick and easy-to-use function. Create multilayer boards with copper fill support and check design for errors (). Built-in directory digital components with a list of materials.

DesignSparkPCB

DesignSparkPCB is the most widely used circuit design software. Easy to learn and operate, designed to dramatically reduce build time from concept to finished model. At the heart of such unique capabilities lies the powerful engine of the program.

Free full-featured cloud-based PCB design system that does not require installation on a local computer (Figure 1). Despite the fact that EasyEDA is a cloud service and a new developing project, it boasts functionality, reliability, stability and speed of work, a simple and intuitive interface, a rich set of component libraries with an automatic update function, and the ability to import projects from other design systems. The system includes a schematic editor, a mixed signal simulator using SPICE models and schematics, a multilayer PCB editor with an autorouter, and a PCB preparation system. And most importantly, the EasyEDA system has a Russian user interface.

In addition, the EasyEDA system, which has the functionality of professional PCB design tools, adds the advantages typical of cloud services: automatic updating of element libraries (for the schematic editor, SPICE simulator and PCB editor), the ability to share your designs and libraries, access to a huge collections of professional Open Source modules, operational technical support and communication with system developers.

EasyEDA can be used from any browser. The presence of a textbook, a manual for the SPICE simulator, a huge number of examples of professional projects, an intuitive user interface ensure the ease of mastering the system.

The main advantages of EasyEDA:

• free, cross-platform, no-install, cloud-based toolkit that combines powerful circuit editing, digital-to-analog circuit modeling, and PCB design in a web browser for electronics engineers, educators, students, and hobbyists.
• all the advantages of a cloud service: work from a browser in any operating system Linux, Mac, Windows, Android;
• fast drawing in the browser of electronic circuits using available libraries, efficient automatic updating;
• libraries from SeedStudio, SparkFun, Adafruit, KiCad, DangerousPrototype;
• manager of work with libraries of elements, quick search for elements in system and user libraries;
• verification of analog, digital and mixed circuits using SPICE models and subcircuits;
• work on multilayer boards with thousands of contact pads;
• the ability to import projects from Eagle, Altium, Kicad and LTspice;
• the ability to customize sharing and collaboration on projects;
• access to Open Source modules developed by thousands of electronic engineers;
• the ability to share your developments using public or private access settings.

TinyCAD

The free design system for professional electronic circuits is positioned as an ordinary application for drawing and editing two-dimensional hierarchical electronic circuits of various degrees of complexity (Figure 3). A fairly extensive library of components, support for export and import of projects, collaboration with the FreePCB PCB design environment and the LTspice simulator make TinyCAD a powerful enough free end-to-end design system that can compete with commercial products.

ZenitPCB

Simple and flexible CAD, which is a semi-professional software for drawing electrical circuits and tracing printed circuit boards (Figure 4). The application consists of four independent modules: ZenitCapture (electrical diagram editor), ZenitParts (component editor), ZenitPCB GerberView (Gerber file viewer) and ZenitPCB itself (printed circuit board editor). The sequence of operations in the ZenitPCB program is as follows: placing components in the ZenitCapture module, setting connections between them, creating a list of connections, developing a board outline in the ZenitPCB module, loading the list of connections into the ZenitPCB module, routing operations. Supports import / export of DXF-files, export of IDF (3D) files, printout of work results in each module of the application. However, the main disadvantage of ZenitPCB is the lack of useful features such as automatic routing and automatic placement of component cases.

FreePCB

Free open source program for editing printed circuit boards (Figure 5). When creating the program, the task was set to make it as simple as possible to study and use, but capable of ensuring the professional quality of development. Itself is designed only for manual routing of boards, however, it allows you to use the FreeRouting autorouter available on the network.

Here are some of the features of the program:

• operating environment - Microsoft Windows;
• support from 1 to 16 layers;
• the maximum size of the printed circuit board is 1524 × 1524 mm;
• most functions accept both imperial and metric units (mils or mm);
• case libraries courtesy of Design International, PCB Matrix and IPC;
• filling polygons;
• editor and wizard for creating and modifying component footprints;
• import of netlist from LTspice simulator;
• import / export of net lists to PADS-PCB;
• export of topology files to extended Gerber format (RS274X) and drilling files to Excellon format;
• verification of compliance with design standards;
• autosave.

KiCad

Free cross-platform system with Russian interface for creating electrical circuits and printed circuit boards. KiCad includes a suite of programs for automating the design of electronic devices (Electronic Design Automation - EDA). The work in the system is carried out entirely through the graphical interface. You drag and drop the necessary elements into the workspace, add links between them, and make captions to them. A distinctive feature is the support for 3D visualization of the PCB design (Figure 6).

KiCad consists of the following components: Eeschema - electrical schematic editor; Pcbnew - editor of printed circuit boards (also includes a viewer of volumetric images of printed circuit boards); Gerbview - photomask viewer; Cvpcb - selection of footprints for components used in the diagram; Kicad is a project manager.

(DSPCB) from RS Components (RS) is arguably the world's most affordable electronic design software (Figure 7). It is easy to learn and easy to use. It is specially designed for non-CAD professionals to shorten the time between the idea of \u200b\u200ba device and the start of its production, to speed up the time to market of the finished product. allows you to draw electrical circuits, develop the design of a printed circuit board and its routing, and also offers ready-made models of electronic components provided by RS Components.

In addition, this program performs automatic component placement and autorouting of the links of the printed image. The results obtained are corrected manually. It is important that the program is free of practical limitations on board size, component pin count, board layers, and output file formats. Therefore, it can be used not only for drawing circuits and PCB, but also for creating files for production.

Recently, several cloud-based PCB design systems have appeared, but some of them are limited in functionality and are not suitable even for radio amateurs, let alone professionals. The rest of the programs are comparable to desktop applications, but have become paid. For example, the free online system EasyEDA can become a worthy competitor to the product from Aspen Labs, the full version of which has become paid.

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