Post by thread:PCB/SCHEMATIC/MECHANICAL Design Software

M.Montaigne ramblings about design software to Lawrence Lile: > I am using Tango, the old DOS version and am presently attempting to > learn Autocad for mechanical drawings. Orcad (old DOS STD III) is my > schematic > package. Tango works well for me but there is no video driver (or any > other) > support and it hangs even more often, under Win95 than it did under > DOS. I would > like to buy a new package but don't know what to buy, it is very > expensive to make a mistake > (5-10k) yearly support is also expensive, and learning curve is long - > (maybe I'm getting old also). I bought Tango PRO and never really used it, The program makes you work from a netlist, and I find I do a lot of my design at the PCB board level and THEN go back and update my schematic. (Am I just strange, or does anyone else do this also? The TANGO people sure were not very understanding or sympathetic to my mode of operation.) {Quote hidden}> The real problem other than above, and I think this will be a common > thread to this newsgroup is, I work on one or more projects at a > time and each project is usually done in 2-3 months. A project > consists of interfacing with the customer, design, software debug, > PC layout, sending the girber files for manufacture, mechanical > design/layout, assembling the > hardware and testing it, schematic draw, documentation and finally, > the part I like, sending a bill/getting a paycheck. Most of the > packages I have/am > looking at are for full time PC layout people - (draftsmen?), not jack > of all > trades like myself (us). Hope these ramblings are useful, Does anyone have any comments/helpful suggestions? Mike Montaigne {Quote hidden}> ---------- > From: Lawrence Lile[SMTP:spam_OUTlilelTakeThisOuTTOASTMASTER.COM] > Sent: Friday, January 09, 1998 6:36 AM > To: .....PICLISTKILLspam@spam@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: Re: (Well OT) PCB Design Software > > My only comment is - Use AutoCad. There are pro's and cons, but IF > YOU HAVE TO INTERFACE WITH MECHANICAL DESIGNERS Autocad has a big > plus. IF YOU HAVE TO LEARN ACAD ANYWAY you also should consider > using it for circuit board design. They mechanical designers will > either use AutoCad or something that will talk "AutoSpeak" . You > have to buy a separate package to convert Autocad files into Gerber > files. The best is the CAM350 series from Advance Cam Technologies, > and costs about $950 US. Most of the others are inadequate. > > Autocad plus CAM350 would run you about $3k US > > AutoCad is really stable. You don't get constant GP faults and > "Violated SYstem Integrity" messages like with some electronics > packages. > > AutoCad will draw anything you can imagine. There is no shape, > trace, text, funny shaped component, etc. that Autocad can't > represent. Many electronic CAD packages will only do a small subset > of parts, limit you on nodes, etc. etc. > > AutoCad Lite ($500) would probably be adequate for PC board design if > you don't care to draw in 3D or use custom LISP routines. > > I've revved up my Autocad blocks for PC board design to include 3d > representations of each part. My Mechanical designers take an > Autocad generated IGES file and import it directly into their 3d > model, and it's all made from the same file as my basic copper > layout. I'll post them (the blocks, not the mechanical > designers...) on my web page as soon as I can catch my breath, maybe > 2-4 weeks. I'm also working on sticking these symbols onto a Kurta > tablet, so if you need a resistor you just click on the picture. > > The biggest con to AutoCad is that it does not do schematic capture. > You have to manually insure that your copper matches your schematic. > For my purposes this is fine, I never design anything with more than > 100 nodes, and I always have a technician double check lots of things > anyway. For a really complex project like laying out a motherboard > AutoCad would be unacceptable. > > > A good set of Autocad resources for electronics is located at: > http://members.sockets.net/~llile/index.htm > Along with a bunch of dorky pictures of my family and other detritus > found on similarly bad web pages. > > Best Regards, > > Lawrence Lile >