• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

Pcb software for tube designs

Status
Not open for further replies.
Why bother. Unless you plan on doing a production run or building some complicated ARC type behemoth, there isn't a need. Point to point it. The parts are few in number and usually larger. It'll sound better anyway.

Cheers
 
All,
i have such on my back burner but it is not yet ready. It is an AutoCAD plug-in, written in LISP and also supports p2p-wiring as the logic behind is not coupled to the graphics as is with usual ECADs. PCB components, p2p components, schematic symbols are completely equivalent and contain the same data. To enable bidirectional annotation. But one warning: fancy rubber bands and density histograms and autorouters will not be part of the show. It is not your task to check connection state but it is your task to draw routes on the PCB and wires and lines in schematics yourself. OTOH, if oyu know what you are doing, you can use teardrops and other fancy PCB stunts like provided only by $$$$ ECADS like PADDS.

It is part of my AutoCAD utilities which will be downloadable from my website soon.

Watch out for my announcement that NetCAD is ready if this part of the routines are the only part of interest to you.

Libraries: can be created from AutoCAD drawings; i will provide example drawings.
Consider this is real CAD and you can draw everything like you want it, not as withing the limited limits of ECAD.
The routines also contain a powerful automatic symbol/component creator and update routines for existing library drawings.
If i find there is sufficient interest, i will increase my priorities on that project; currently priorities are low.

Below i have a schematic drawn with it.It is an obsolete version of my phono preamp
 

Attachments

  • preamp_e2.gif
    preamp_e2.gif
    38.9 KB · Views: 1,213
I´m using Protel 99SE for simulation and PCB. At the moment I only have a problem with the tube library, ´cause 6DJ8 and 12AT7 didn´t appear, but It´s no problem If you only need the PCB facility.
Regards,
Marcelo
 
Most of the PCB programs have edit

Ultiboard has a component shape editor. It allows one to draw lines, arcs, pads etc. I've used this with some of the National Semi chips like the LMD18201 H-Bridge Controller and the LM3875 single chip amp as the pins are on 67 mil centers.

Ultiboard isn't the easiest program to use, but if you are going to do anything with more than a few components you really should have a program which allows you to create and route nets.
 
I´m sorry Tiroth but I was a mistake. I was talking about the simulation library...
If you want to use the PCB facility, You have to use other componet. I mean, You can use the "adv" library and use three pins connectos or something like that. The point It´s that You have to achieve that autorounting doesn´t see any "floating point"
I´m building a SRPP. You can imagine that my PCB It´s very simple...
I´ll take a look in Protel site, ´cause It´s extrange that appears tubes in the simulation library and not footprint...
Marcelo.
 
You can also place a "pad"

Since all the PCBoard software programs include X-Y coordinates, you can always just place a pad where the tube socket pins are going to be. You just need to remember some trig to calculate the coordinates. In Ultiboard, you can also place a "Hole" -- as always these can be edited.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.