PCB Design Software

[Reactance]

Hi,

Can some please let me know where i can download TRAXMAKER libraries, I tried using google but i cannot seem to find a reliable source ??

I’m mostly looking for common transistor and capacitor component packages example : TO3-BL,TO-220 ect I suck at drawing the component package from scratch !

I have another problem im using protel 5.0.0.1 but when i try to save my work i get an odbc error i installed the service pack 1 still nothing , i tried installing the odbc 3.0 driver still nothing, the error message is as follows : Mircosoft odbc error string cannot be truncated
whats up with that ???


P.S
I just luv protels 3D view of the PCB!! and huge database of components, really looks good, Traxmaker is very good indeed, and very easy too use, not to mention very tightly integrated with circuitmaker 2000.


Any advice will be highly appreciated,

By the way my version of P3A will be coming soon !! stay tuned !

Thanks in advance !

[VS]

Hi,

In fact the site www.circuitmaker.com (where the libraries could be found) as changed to Altium Limited....

I have the full libraries however, what you really want ?

Regards,
VS

[adx]

The other day I found a schematic + PCB package from a place here in new Zealand:

Rimu PCB
http://www.hutson.co.nz/rimupcb.htm

From a quick hack it looked ok, though I haven't tried to do a board in it. It's about 100 times cheaper than Protel (which I use in my day to day work), which would be of great interest to me, had I not already paid 100 times as much for Protel...

May be worth checking out.

[sagarverma]

protel from altium is very good.

go for it if u have deep pockets.i used its 30day trial,really liked it very much,but cost too much for diy''ing.its autorouter is the best i have seen till now.very powerful.


eagle is more than sufficient for a diy''er.very good for its price.value for money and a powerful package.good autorouter.



express pcb is for 'paint' level people.very intutive,simple.i will call it impotent.recommended only for very very basic circuits.

moreover,it is a big fraud.i spent three days making circuit on this ****** program and when i took out prints,what i got was dotted pcb,all traces shorted in printout.i had to reinvent the wheel later on on eagle.

[pinkmouse]

Originally posted by adx
The other day I found a schematic + PCB package from a place here in new Zealand:

Do you have it? What file formats does it import? What are the component libraries like?

[BrianDonegan]

The PCB app imports Protel and Tango. Schematic doesn't import anything, but does include a simulator.

[Mrttg]

For me protel is the bes tools... take a look to this free cad:

http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/

http://www.freepcb.com/

Ciao Mrttg

[pinkmouse]

It's a shame none of thes packages has sorted out an Eagle import function yet. I suspect the first decent one that does will do very well.

sagarverma- autorouting for audio PCBs? I hope you're joking...

[adx]

Yes, Rimu SCH / PCB supports a simulator and PLD compiler! (though not internally). The schematic is quite similar to drive as Protel, but more point and click and less menu keys. Decent libraries (enough to get you going anyway). Both sch and pcb have neat features like having the most commonly used generic parts like resistors and caps on a toolbar for easy access.

Rimu PCB is still quite similar to drive as Protel in some ways, but I really notice the differences. Libraries appear to be more complete/sane than Protel, but remember Protel has long legacy of old libraries to deal with. Rimu PCB libraries come with physical and silkscreen layers, which is nice. They might even be usable as-is (I almost never use a Protel footprint as-is) - the guy who made Rimu PCB appears to be a PCB designer, the same can't be said for Protel (by their own admission). Rimu PCB does copper pours nicely, and some aspects of track editing a vastly better than Protel's, although some things I can't seem to do. Until I did a board with a few hundred parts I wouldn't really know.

Never tried Eagle but it looks good from the walkthrough on their website. I personally wouldn't bother changing from one package to another unless there is a good reason - especialy for hobby use.

Protel is good these days (as in not completely infuriating to use), but their latest (Protel 2004) attempts to be much more than a PCB package, with FPGA design, simulation, software development. I sometimes think PCB layout is getting left behind. I design products for mass production, that means boards full of generic parts not FPGAs! The core PCB functionality is VERY similar to early Windows versons (and Autotrax), which is good from a use point of view, but the new features that are actually useful (some extremely useful I must admit) are few and far between.

[Leolabs]

I have tried numerous,still Express PCB is my favourite.The only main drawback is the grids problem.Well,I use some sorts of virtual printer,like the Zan Image Printer to print out and get rid of them(the grids) with just the Microsoft Paint