What schematic/pcb program are we all using now?

[mth5044]

Hey all!

Returning from quite a long hiatus. Excited to be back and see many familiar names and faces.

I used to use Eagle with modified gaussmarkov's library and then eventually madbeans. It looks like Eagle has gone through some... interesting changes? Autodesk, fusion 360, needing a license - is it worth figuring all that out, or is there a better option for the 2023 DIYer?

Thank you!

[FSFX]

I use KiCAD 6.0 as do lots of other pedal builders. It is free and highly functional.

[r080]

I was working on a list last year:

https://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=129068.msg1245602#msg1245602

It seems like KiCAD and Diptrace have the big positive over eagle that 3D modeling is available in a free version. I am new to PCB design, having done just a couple in Eagle. I am working to switch to Diptrace because of all of Eagle's stuff.

Rullywow has a library for Diptrace. Not sure what libraries there are for KiCAD.

[FiveseveN]

I finally switched to KiCAD 7 and it has some welcome additions. And the built-in libraries should cover you (they even include tubes!).

[tommy.genes]

Definitely KiCAD here, though I haven't upgraded to 7.0 yet.

As I've put it before: "free or not, if it was good enough for the Large Hadron Collider, it's good enough for me!"

(Just as background, CERN does substantially contribute to the KiCAD project, but I can't say for sure that they used it on the LHC.)

-- T. G. --

[marcelomd]

Kicad++

I use custom symbols and footprints, because I'm OCD, but other than that, works out of the box and has batteries included.

I still miss Altium, but less and less.

[Kevin Mitchell]

Kicad for PCBs. I moved from Eagle/autodesk and haven't turned back. Absolutely enjoy it.

Fusion 360 (free) for models and stuff. You don't need to pay for membership - you are allotted so many editable files before it caps out. When it caps just mark your old projects read only so you can start up a new one. Could always go back to make it editable again - provided you've made space for it within the allotment.
That's been my workaround.

[mth5044]

Amazing, thanks everyone! Looks like I'll be learning KiCAD!

[Lino22]

Paint Shop Pro 7.