Schematic Drawing Software

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wiredmonkey

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Joined 2006
#1
Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone knows any schematic drawing software that will output images of the same quality as seen in silicon chip (australian elec magazine)... I'm trying to find a good package fand really like the look of what they do.

Thanks 😀
 
#2
i am using Microsoft Visio 2003 for the schematics....but, this program is not intended to be used only with electronics so i made my lybrary of parts that i need...it is really easy to use (similar logic as for example Corel Draw)...also it will output the quality of the images that you want - you decide - you can save the files as *.jpg and tell to the program in which resolution you want them to be saved.....very nice, good and easy......i recommend it for sure 🙂
 
#4
I've been using xcircuit for publishable schematics and diagrams (for my thesis). It's open source, and makes really beautiful postscript output.

Inkscape is also really useful for diagrams, and with a little mucking about, you can get xcircuit schematics into inkscape. The combination is really unbeatable.

Xcircuit is also able to export spice netlists, though I've never used it for that, as I use LTspice, which has its own editor.

I've included an example of the output, in .pdf format. This is a fast frequency divider circuit.
 

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#9
suzyj said:
I've included an example of the output, in .pdf format. This is a fast frequency divider circuit.
Click to expand...

That is pretty good. The other features are interesting although i do find the UI on most X11 software to be kinda crude.

Note: whatever you are using to generate pdfs is generating a pdf that turns out as a white sheet in my prime pdf reader (OS X's preview). It took a pass thru acrobat to fix it.

dave
 
#10
planet10 said:
That is pretty good. The other features are interesting although i do find the UI on most X11 software to be kinda crude.
Click to expand...

Xcircuit is no exception. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the interface, but once you do it's very fast to use. It doesn't appear to have the font support that I need, so I use it to draw the actual circuit, and use Inkscape to add the labels.

Inkscape has a really wonderful user interface, at least by open source standards. It's a fantastic vector editor - I'd put it in the same league as commercial offerings like Corel, except that it uses open formats for files and is a lot less bloated.

planet10 said:
Note: whatever you are using to generate pdfs is generating a pdf that turns out as a white sheet in my prime pdf reader (OS X's preview). It took a pass thru acrobat to fix it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. The figure I posted is one from my thesis (a 10GHz CMOS divider). I'm writing my thesis in Latex, using pdf figures. I'll have to do some checking to ensure that the final Latex output is widely readable, not just with the tools that I'm using to create it.
 
#11
suzyj said:
I'd put it in the same league as commercial offerings like Corel, except that it uses open formats for files and is a lot less bloated.
Click to expand...

That comparison doesn't say a whole lot... Corel Draw in my books is a real ugly piece of software 🙂 -- i've been fighting with it since the early 80s and avoid it when i can.

Maybe i'm just spoiled -- the vector tools i use cost more than most people's 'puters and to my mind are good value for the money (if you can use them professionally)

dave
 
#12
Re: Re: Schematic Drawing Software

wiredmonkey said:

Just wondering if anyone knows any schematic drawing software that will output images of the same quality as seen in silicon chip (australian elec magazine)... I'm trying to find a good package fand really like the look of what they do.
Click to expand...


planet10 said:

Do you have any examples?
Click to expand...


Here is an example of Silicon Chip Schematics:
http://diyaudioprojects.com/Tubes/12AX7_Preamp/

This may sound stupid, but I use MS Paint and GIMP for my schematics. It gets the point across. Here is an example (Drawing 02 and 03):
http://diyaudioprojects.com/Tubes/50EH5/50EH5.htm

You can download the symbols from Geek's site:
http://geek.scorpiorising.ca/symbols.html
 
#15
Re: Re: Re: Re: Schematic Drawing Software

planet10 said:

The drawing is fine, but someone needs to tell them you NEVER save a scematic as a jpg.... it has "fur" on it now.
Click to expand...

I agree. If they had saved it as a .png it would be crisp and SMALLER in size!

I suspect that their schematics are drawn using a graphics editor. Once you build up a nice collection of symbols, it goes pretty quick.

Gio.
 
#20
Nordic, there is one in maxim.lbr - always check all the libs when you're after a package layout 🙂

To copy this into your own library, open your own library and then in the command line, type:

"copy SOT23-5L.pac@maxim.lbr"

This will copy the SOT23-5L package from the maxim library into your own library. You can then use it with your own parts, alter it, etc.


IMO, what EAGLE should have is the ability to have a common library of symbols and packages that you can call up in your own libraries - without having to copy them.
 
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