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

[mac]

I guess the code is not so difficult, and could easily be transported to a mac platform, ie, realbasic (realsoftware.com) or similar, or translated to java.

mac

[bancika]

It doesn't need startup screen at the moment because it loads very fast (less than a second).
and Mac, if you think it's easy to convert to mac I'll send you code, so you translate it. At the moment it has 1100 lines, so good luck

[rockgardenlove]

Do it Mac!  I beg of you!

[bancika]

It would be nice, just to warn you: it won't be easy. There are many platform dependent components which can't be used anywhere else as well as few API calls. Why bothering when it can work on emulator. Since Apple switched to Intel processors, these emulators should get only better.
Anyway, I'm going out of town for two days so here's latest version. Try it and post your comments so I can change/add things when I come back.
link (410KB)
Good thing is, I don't think that final version will be above 500KB + 300KB for setup (if I make it in self extracting ZIP it will be about 50KB for setup).

Edit: which color should I use for transistors, ICs and trimmers?
Also, are there any other components beside listed that I should include

Edit2: someone please try printing. I don't have a printer so I have no clue if it works

[brad]

Great work bancika! 

[rockgardenlove]

It would be nice, just to warn you: it won't be easy. There are many platform dependent components which can't be used anywhere else as well as few API calls. Why bothering when it can work on emulator. Since Apple switched to Intel processors, these emulators should get only better.
Anyway, I'm going out of town for two days so here's latest version. Try it and post your comments so I can change/add things when I come back.
link (410KB)
Good thing is, I don't think that final version will be above 500KB + 300KB for setup (if I make it in self extracting ZIP it will be about 50KB for setup).

Edit: which color should I use for transistors, ICs and trimmers?
Also, are there any other components beside listed that I should include

Edit2: someone please try printing. I don't have a printer so I have no clue if it works

I'll check the update tomorrow

And I for one, can't afford virtual PC, and I have a PPC Mac, no Intel for me yet.  And why make an installer?  I find them useless and they gunk up your computer...thats one of my favorite things about Macs is that all the applications are self contained, they can't get all fragmented up, etc.  I say leave it as just an .exe

[idiot savant]

first let me say fantastic job!
a piece of software like this would make layouts a breeze!

my one suggestion, as far as the perfboard layouts are concerned, it would be nice to be able to place under board traces(perhaps use a different color so you can tell it is an under board connection). as it is you cant re-use the pads for connections. only one leg of a component can be placed per hole. so there's no way to join components together.

this isn't a problem for vero since the traces are already there to join placed parts together.

[bancika]

Well, I plan to change that "only one lead per hole" rule, so it won't be a problem.
And about under board traces, I'll think. Since all these components are drawn with same engine I'd have to figure out way to incorporate it without major modification.

[calpolyengineer]

Where have I been? I don't know how this happened but I just now found this thread. I have got to say bancika, you are the man! The only request I have is schematic checking, though I can understand if that is too much of a problem. I think it would be possible to check the layout against a netlist rather than have your own schematic editor. Netlists just label all of the nodes in a circuit and note which pins on the components are attached to what nodes. In your program, the jumpers are the nodes. I think with a little ingenuity, this is completely possible. Good luck, and most of all thanks for all you have done.

-Joe

[bancika]

Thanks 
I'll think about that. What about this: "connection test" which will for given two holes test and if they are connected it should highlight signal path. This isn't what you guys ask for, but it should speed up verification and not so hard to do

[syndromet]

I tried printing, and image was realy tiny un a corner. Great program, however

[bancika]

Ok, I'll fix that. Thank

[bancika]

I need you opinion on IC editing. I wanted to make is as simple as possible for both me and user. So concept is simple: user clicks on first and last pin. First pin is determined with click order: first clicked is first pin. Here's shot
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c22/bancika/software6.gif
What do you think about that? Is it necessary to draw IC pins?
Tnx

[JimRayden]

The ICs look great.

A few more "bugs":

If the board gets too big, one should be able to scroll around, now the board just goes out of the reach. This would also be useful for people with tiny displays.

I currently don't find the perfboard mode effective, since it doesn't let me create a jumper from the hole where a component is placed. With perfboards, one usually uses the connector of a component to connect to other pads. From what I see, the tools for perfboards and veroboards should be slightly different.

------------
Jimbo

[bancika]

Here's updated version of ICs, I had to do pins anyway

I'll think about scrolling...
and for perfboard, I know it's useless now, I'll enable more connections to one pad ASAP.

[rockgardenlove]

Another idea:

For perfboard, it might be nice to be able to flip the board upside down, so you can see all the things you jumper underneith.  Its almost useless without this because 95% of the connections are underneith the board, and you can't see them because the parts are fully opaque.


Might be a good idea to have trimpots, and places where wires can leave the boards too

[bancika]

Wire can leave board if you use jumper. Click on any hole that's on border of board and then click outside of board.
I'll think about rotation for perfboard...

[calpolyengineer]

rather than flipping the board over, you could just make another tool that is identical to the jumper tool except make it a different color. I think that would be extremely easy to do.

-Joe

[bancika]

Or maybe transparent line instead of solid color. That's because those underboard traces usually go below some component. If line is solid it can cover component name or something, so transparent one seems to be a solution

[lchyi]

Sweet piece of work!

Anyway, a suggestion for me is to enlarge the radius where you can click. Instead of a tiny circle, can you make it a square grid so that the user can just hover "around" the point and click? That'd make things a lot easier for me b/c I always seem to miss the points with my clumsy mouse hands.