DIY Layout Creator - software for easy drawing PCB, vero and perfboard layouts

[Leviathan]

Wow that program is great - you did an awesome job

Being a beginner, I REALLY like the resistor calculator XD

[bancika]

Thanks Leviathan,
speaking of calculator, I found mistake, so when you convert value to color code you might get wrong result. It will be fixed.
choklitlove, damn I'm total moron. Uploaded wrong version again Now it should be ok.

By the way, someone just submited layout for HIAWATA (guess it's hiwat emulator), but it lacks pot labels and descriptions, so if guy who made it reads this please update it and send it again. I'll be more than happy to upload it.
Tnx

[choklitlove]

choklitlove, damn I'm total moron. Uploaded wrong version again Now it should be ok.

that's cool.  it works perfectly now, and is a very awesome feature.  good job!

what program do you use to make this software?  visualbasic?  something else?  what language?  i remember you saying earlier, but this is a behemoth thread now, so i don't want to look.  what's the chance of this ware ever being open source?  thanks!

[bancika]

It's made in Delphi 7. As for source code, I'm using some components that are not free, so even if one has source it cannot be compiled.
I'm willing to share segments of source. I doubt that someone will have guts to rewrite more than 4000 lines to make it work on other platform.

[rockgardenlove]

I'm still bitter over the lack of a Mac version.

Really amazing job.  Nice one.

[stumper1]

Did I miss something...

I thought I read that "Select All" was now added.  I just downloaded new version and don't see it - I DO see the "rotate" function...NICE!!!!   Read back thru the last couple of pages and didn't see anything about the "Select All".

Was I imagining this - or did it happen?

Thanks,
Deric

[bancika]

read manual 

[choklitlove]

I'm still bitter over the lack of a Mac version.

Really amazing job.  Nice one.

he said he uses delphi 7, which i don't know anything about.  but several programming wares i've seen have an export for mac function.  maybe delphi doesn't though.

[bancika]

Nope, delphi compiles only Win applications. There's Kylix, which is delphi for linux, but you can't open same project (it uses some platform specific components, like menu on left)

[stumper1]

read manual 

Duh!!!  Thanks!  I swear I read it last night but........  I'll look closer next time.

[bancika]

Call for all: if you think there's something I should add to Tutorials please post here or PM/mail me...

[stankyfish]

I'm still bitter over the lack of a Mac version.

Really amazing job.  Nice one.

I'm currently scoping out what it would take for the Mac and what would be the best approach.  Keep asking and I might just get around to producing something, since I, too, use a Mac most of the time.   

[rockgardenlove]

Oooo yesss! 

[stumper1]

Call for all: if you think there's something I should add to Tutorials please post here or PM/mail me...

Bancika, 
On your web site it says you can adjust the width of traces and solder pads.  I didn't see that in the Tutorial - of course this wouldn't be the first time I missed something.

[bancika]

Good idea, I forgot to add it (before I do it, Value property sets width of traces). Unit is PIXELS, not mm
Tnx

[stumper1]

 

[bancika]

Hey guys, it's been a while. I had some complaints that sometimes it's not easy to see trace/cut below components. I was thinking about that and came up with this: when you want to "reveal" part of the board just move cursor over it and press SPACE. Whole area with 1cm diameter is made more transparent (components only, not board/traces/cuts/jumpers) so it's easier to see below. When you're done peeking below press SPACE again and it's all normal. I uploaded new version, check it out and tell me what you think of it.
Cheers

[stm]

Dear Bancika:

Receive my sincere congratulations for the great layout software you've written. It is very likely its becoming the layout standard for the forum. I love the visual appearance of the program. A real treat to the eyes.

I've refrained to report bugs and suggestions during the initial stage of development to avoid overwhelming you with requests since you've been working freely and generously on this. Nevertheless, I started using the program myself and feel some things might be improved, so here I go:

BUGS:

1. When rotating a part with an even size (like a length 3 capacitor or DIP14 IC) the component size is changed to an even size, thus the size 3 capacitor turns into size 2 and the DIP14 which covers a 3x7 grid space changes to 4x7.  This behaviour does not hapen with even sized components or DIP8 package. The component should be rotated without altering its size.

2. The standard size of the tracks should be an ODD number (like 5, for instance), otherwise when doing a PnP render in PCB mode the tracks come off uncentered out of the pads.

SUGGESTIONS:

1. It should be great to be able to define the current trace and solder pad sizes to use in the Board Properties menu, so you don't have to keep editing each trace/pad individually should you decide to use other size for the complete project.

2. In PCB mode the leads of the components which are black mix up with the tracks. In order to avoid this I would suggest making  the components leads another color. Gray would be fine, as it corresponds to the actual appearance.

3. In order to allow seeing through the components to have a better view of the tracks underneath, I would suggest having two settings of alpha for the components, on is the standard alpha (currently used), and a very light one. I would alternate between these two settings with the space bar, for instance. I think doing this for the complete board instead of a small area is preferred and simpler.

4. The right-click button action is a bit confusing for selecting a component. I think the first menu item of the right-click action should be called "Select" instead of "Replace" (after all, what are you replacing?).  Also, I would suggest to implement double-click as a means to select a component in case you just want to move it, rotate it or delete it.  Currently the right-click action forces you to right click on the component and the select the "Replace" item and then go to the arrows.

5. The Explorer side bar is a great aid, however I'm not really sure of the usefulness of showing SOLDER PADS and TRACES here, as these elements don't have an ID on the board side. I collapsed the TRACES and SOLDER PADS sublists, however adding another component automatically expanded the SOLDER PADS view again. When more than 20 solder pads are present this just clutters the view. I believe the SOLDER PADS and TRACES are not necessary to be shown on the Explorer sidebar, since you can still select, edit and move them around.

6. Trimmers with 3 pins in a row would be good to have as well.

Sorry if I'm being a PITA.

Best regards,

STM

[bancika]

Hey STM,
First of all thanks for kind words and for feedback. Let's start:
BUGS:
1) Hmm...I think I noticed that also. The thing is, component place is determined by two points. I use affine transformations to rotate those points around center point (center can be real number, if area size is even). So when you rotate two integer points you can get real points. But to place them on board I have to round to integers. Than it can happen to round one to greater value and one to smaller value so you get changed size. I'll think about solving that, tnx.
2) Damn, I didn't see that. Good point
SUGGESTIONS:
1) Integesting, I'm not sure if it should be defined on project level or global level (program settings), but it should be added, that's for sure.
2) I'll do it now, great.
3) Maybe you're right, I'll try that.
4) Hmm...right click does both selection and popup menu. So if you don't want to do anything from menu just close it (Esc or click on blank area). But I admit it's little stupid...
5) Maybe you're right, but then it would require changing lots of code. How about this: trace and pad categories don't auto-expand?
6) I didn't know those exist (after all, I'm pretty new into electronics...just over 6 months)

Thanks again for suggestions. I'm stuck with exams until next week, so I can't do much till then. I'm glad that many people involved into this, it will help me make program we can all use...

Cheers,
Bane

[stm]

This image summarizes the trimpot kinds. I am using the second from left to right, which is currently not included.



Regarding keeping the lists collapsed is a good solution to avoid cluttering the Explorer view with respect to the SOLDER PADS and TRACES.

Another bug related to rotation: I placed a trimpot (2x2) in PCB mode and when I rotated one of the solder pads did not rotate properly.

Cheers.