PCB design...

[SolderBoy]

Hi Guys.

What is the cheap/free PCB design program of choice around here?

Just doing two-layer stuff.  A bit of smt, but mostly through-hole.  Yeah, typical audio hobbyist stuff.

And also what small run PCB manufacturers do you recommend for hobbyists?


Cheers!

[bloxstompboxes]

Both Eagle and Diptrace have free usage with some sort of limitation but none that really affect us much. I like diptrace a lot and find it very user friendly when compared to Eagle. Though I haven't looked at Eagle much since I started using Diptrace. The learning curve may have straightened out since then. But I have yet to feel the need to try anything else since I became familiar with Diptrace.

[Phoenix]

I'm a fan of KiCad which is a free open source EDA (electronic design aid). It's backed by CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and they are assisting with its development, so it looks to have a very bright future.

For PCB fabrication, check out PCB Shopper which allows you to compare various outfits, and has moderated reviews to give you a good idea of their various merits or shortcomings.

Hope this helps.

[GiovannyS10]

I use three for different purposes. The DIYLC for pedals, Fritzing for pedals and other small things and PCBWeb sometime for big projects. But i am horrible with drawing PCBs hahaa. Good luck!

[287m]

i use eagle free for drawing, just because my first learn is use eagle
and, for a lazy single perfboarder, its just one minute from heaven 

then use diptrace 3D to preview, because i can't just imagine,
and (honestly) i get error when instal sketchup etc, my old pc took long enough to work with software like that
BUT, when my internet connection is fast, just use online eagle 3D viewer

i just experienced with seedstudio and dirty pcb, is cheap for <= 10 board, if i remember correctly

[Magnus]

Hello,
I use the DIY-Layout-Creator but its only for single-layer-layouts...


Greetings
Magnus

[D.C.]

I've only made one PCB (currently working on a second), but I'll put in a second endorsement for KiCAD. These are my favorite YouTube videos to get you started on KiCAD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6IWdPpZ4mc (Part 1 of 3)

Those videos (and a bit of Googling) got me through my first successful PCB design. (Worked the first time!)

[GGBB]

I'll put in a vote for Eagle Free. Not because I think it's the best, but because one thing I've found in checking out various pcb fabs is that they often provide a design rule file for Eagle, and sometimes allow you to just upload your Eagle project rather than having to make gerbers. I haven't seen anywhere near as much support for other software as I have for Eagle. Personally I'm fine with making gerbers (ymmv), but the design rule check file is particularly useful to the point of almost essential. As an example, on one occasion it showed me that I needed to adjust my layout in order to keep my ground fill contiguous - another fab's drc didn't have that problem.

As for fabs, I recently posted about my experience with two of them here: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=114548.

[LiLFX]

Diptrace user here. Once you get your head around library creation the entire program falls into place and is really intuitive.

[MetalGuy]

If you're a beginner in the PCB design rule number one basically is to stay away from Eagle at any cost!

[vigilante397]

If you have the RullyWow DIY libraries (specifically created for pedal building) DipTrace is amazing. Not the most powerful one out there (we use Altium for everything in school ) but hands down the most intuitive, user-friendly CAD software I've ever used.

[ElectricDruid]

Another +1 for Diptrace from me. I've used it for all sorts of stuff, some quite a bit more complex than pedals, and I like it a lot. Very easy to use, easy to set up DRC, easy to export gerbers and drill files.

I tried Eagle before that (probably nearly ten years ago) and I'd rather have my fingernails pulled out one by one with threads attached to wild snails. The interface was obscure to the point of total impenetrability, and used a Human-Computer Interface standard that was entirely it's own. But apparently it's improved a lot since then.

Tom

[xjordanx]

Definitely CircuitMaker out. I have built templates for the hammond enclosures you can fork (copy) and use to your hearts content. It will model everything in 3D too.

Links to template PCB designs to help get started:
http://circuitmaker.com/Projects/Details/Ben-Jordan-2/1590B-Template - 1590B enclosure
http://circuitmaker.com/Projects/Details/Ben-Jordan-2/Hammond-1590BX2 - 1590BX (good for multiple switches)

There's already a few other users besides me doing DIY stompbox designs in the CircuitMaker community. There's a hub for Audio and another for DSP as well. Eli Hughes added his design for doing Audio I/O on top of the Freescale FRDM-K20D50M board (an ARM microcontroller with DSP capabilities).

[alexradium]

Sprint is very fast and easy, intuitive interface, even I was able to create some pcbs in minutes.

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[SolderBoy]

Thanks so much guys.  I really appreciate all these replies.

So, in summary,

Diptrace (never heard of this one) is intuitive easy to use, quick to learn.  Ideal for pure DIY/hobbist.

Eagle (I've had a look at this one in the past) is more of an industry standard, but harder to get your head around.  Good if you may want to turn your hobby into a business down the track.  Right?

Kicad, circuitmaker, sprint.  Less known, more for the hobbiest as well? 

I'll definitely check out all of these.

For PCB fabrication, check out PCB Shopper

This is great.  There are so many out there these days...

Thanks again y'all.

[GGBB]

Diptrace (never heard of this one) is intuitive easy to use, quick to learn.  Ideal for pure DIY/hobbist.

Eagle (I've had a look at this one in the past) is more of an industry standard, but harder to get your head around.  Good if you may want to turn your hobby into a business down the track.  Right?

Kicad, circuitmaker, sprint.  Less known, more for the hobbiest as well? 

I've tried Diptrace, Eagle, and KiCad and ended up sticking with Eagle for aforementioned reasons. I'd agree Diptrace is easier - at first - but not that much. As someone mentioned earlier about Diptrace - the program falls into place once you get your head around library stuff - the same is true for Eagle. All of them feel very foreign at first - I wouldn't describe any of them as particularly intuitive to a complete newb.

[MetalGuy]

Sprint is very fast and easy, intuitive interface, even I was able to create some pcbs in minutes.

If you meant Sprint Layout you're absolutely right.

[Groovenut]

Sprint is very fast and easy, intuitive interface, even I was able to create some pcbs in minutes.

If you meant Sprint Layout you're absolutely right.

Another vote for Sprint Layout. Great program, easy to use and build your own component libraries. If they added a schematic capture feature, it would be perfect.

[flanagan0718]

I've used Eagle for a few boards now. The library stuff can be a little confusing. I just ditched the ones that came with the software and downloaded the Madbeans library. It's much easier to use. Osh park has a really good DRU that you can download right from their site. For small quantities of boards I use osh park and elecrow. Both are inexpensive. Elecrow requires Ferber files, but you and get their job process right from their site too.


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[miech]

I've used Eagle since version 3 or 4. Once you know how packages and symbols are connected to each other, it's not actually that hard.
You can make your own design rules in Eagle if the pcb supplier doesn't offer them.

I order pcb's either from Eurocircuits (fast and exceptionally good) or from makepcb.com (slower and less advanced, but cheaper).