Best free Schematic drawing program?

svstee · February 13, 2009, 02:51:13 PM

I love DIY layout creator, but I was wanting to draw up some schematics, and DIY layout doesn't have that option. I really don't like MS paint, as well. Are there any decent free programs floating around out there? Which are the easiest to use?

Thanks!

Edit: I just realized I left the "S" off of "Schematic"in the title...nice. Fixed. I'm getting more coffee.

Cliff Schecht · February 13, 2009, 03:37:29 PM

EagleCAD will allow you to do boards up to 4 inches tall for free. It's the best free, legal option you have IMO. I'm well versed in it so if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

svstee · February 13, 2009, 03:42:30 PM

Downloading it now, thanks.

teletroy · February 13, 2009, 03:59:24 PM

I use ExpressPCB - it comes with ExpressSCH - great schematic program.

kurtlives · February 13, 2009, 04:02:23 PM

Quote from: teletroy on February 13, 2009, 03:59:24 PM
I use ExpressPCB - it comes with ExpressSCH - great schematic program.

I use this as well...Super easy to use yet very professional looking.

The Tone God · February 13, 2009, 04:15:40 PM

If we are just talking schematic drawing and not boards then here is a basic short version.

ExpressPCB / PCB123 / etc. are options that while free and simple lock you into to the restrictions of the board manufacture who is providing the software. Sometimes you have develop various hacks like screen captures and manual part libraries to make it do what you want and even then you can have trouble.

You can find some free part libraries for vector, drawing, and CAD programs around in the intarnets.

You can make you own libraries for your favourite program.

I have been through probably a dozen programs through the ages. Right now I used Kicad. Not as shiny as other options but it is free and limitless and it runs on FreeBSD but there are win and mac ports.

Andrew

moosapotamus · February 13, 2009, 05:42:18 PM

Another vote for ExpressPCB.

~ Charlie

Ice-9 · February 13, 2009, 07:01:09 PM

My vote goes for Diptrace, they have just released ver 2 beta which gives 300 component hole size free, multilayer and quite good autoroute. and so easy to use

Ronsonic · February 13, 2009, 08:43:55 PM

Eagle is quirky but good. Get that. And go here for a quick introduction:

http://tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/

Ron

svstee · February 13, 2009, 09:15:49 PM

I download eagle and Express PCB, for now I'm likeing express pcb, but all I need to do are schematics, not layouts. Express seems more intuitive to me. still need to spend more time with both of 'em though.

Cliff Schecht · February 13, 2009, 09:38:18 PM

That's true about the Eagle quirks, but once you learn them you can haul ass through schematic capture, board layout and library editing. I can usually knock out a small schematic, board and any custom parts in less than an hour knowing that everything will work. The user programmable hotkeys make setup and drawing a breeze, plus the powerful user scripting language makes it possible to do all sorts of useful functions. With just one script (zooms to unrouted wires) and a good set of DRC rules, I never have to worry about missing a trace or having clearance issues.

tranceracer · February 14, 2009, 03:11:08 PM

Quote from: Ronsonic on February 13, 2009, 08:43:55 PM
Eagle is quirky but good. Get that. And go here for a quick introduction:

http://tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/

Ron

Yes, Eagle has it's quirks! I really like it tho!

Here are some additional great links to help overcome the learning curve:
http://gaussmarkov.net/wordpress/tools/software/eagle-cad/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Draw-Electronic-Schematics-with-CadSoft-EAGLE/
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=BEE-8-EagleSchematic

Build Your Own Printed Ckt Board by Al Williams is a pretty good book for those who want a printed reference.

John Lyons · February 14, 2009, 05:42:51 PM

An essential tip for expressPCB and or expressSch:
Download a"virtual printer" such as cutepdf.
Then just print your work to file (is save as a pdf) and you have a 1:1 exact size copy of your board or schematic.
Otherwise you have to print screen and resize since you can't save work to import into any other editor
short of the "print screen" hack... Still giddy about findin this out

john

Andi · February 14, 2009, 05:50:49 PM

EAGLE is fantastic once you get to know it. Plus it's an industry standard so if you ever want to move in to manufacture it's not a huge step and you don't need to learn another package. There's even an affordable "for profit" version that does all you'll ever need for effect PCBs.

railhead · February 14, 2009, 06:52:14 PM

I'm an EagleCAD fan.

DSV · February 14, 2009, 07:03:05 PM

I use Switchercad (primarily for simulating the circuits, but you can also save your schematics as a picture file).

birt · February 15, 2009, 04:46:25 AM

i use jschem

http://dhost.info/jschem/

oskar · February 15, 2009, 05:22:30 AM

http://www.cadint.com/

This one!

Compared to Eagle it has much more intuitive handling of Move, Copy, Stretch and expecially group actions!!!
Really professional. The least professional about this software was their homepage really, that just scared away customers in an epic way...

but it looks like they've improved lately.
It is swedish made (originally anyway but you just can't trust company nationality anymore) and really thought through.
Right now I use Eagle for drawings with digital components and actually LTSpiceIV whenever I can.
But this is the best program I've used so far.
The downside is that the trial version is more limited in size than Eagle. I don't know what holds true here because they've just released a new version and I'm going to download it straight away. Before anyway the projects where limited to some 200 connections for schematics and 80 for pcb's. But that could have been changed.

Edit!

From their homepage:
Try out CADint or design hobby projects for free. With CADint Freeware you get all the power of CADint PCB for small projects. Layouts are limited to 100 pads and schematic diagrams are limited to 350 nodes.

Happy drawing!

stm · February 15, 2009, 10:48:32 AM

Quote from: John Lyons on February 14, 2009, 05:42:51 PM
An essential tip for expressPCB and or expressSch:
Download a"virtual printer" such as cutepdf.
Then just print your work to file (is save as a pdf) and you have a 1:1 exact size copy of your board or schematic.
Otherwise you have to print screen and resize since you can't save work to import into any other editor
short of the "print screen" hack... Still giddy about findin this out

john

I think I already tried this long ago but couldn't get rid of the grid points, so I ended with the problem of getting a PDF editor to remove the grid.

arma61 · February 15, 2009, 02:21:53 PM

Quote from: John Lyons on February 14, 2009, 05:42:51 PM
An essential tip for expressPCB and or expressSch:
Download a"virtual printer" such as cutepdf.
Then just print your work to file (is save as a pdf) and you have a 1:1 exact size copy of your board or schematic.
Otherwise you have to print screen and resize since you can't save work to import into any other editor
short of the "print screen" hack... Still giddy about findin this out

john

THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!! THANKS !!!

think that I have one od those virtual printer already installed !!!!

Quote from: stm on February 15, 2009, 10:48:32 AM
I think I already tried this long ago but couldn't get rid of the grid points, so I ended with the problem of getting a PDF editor to remove the grid.

you can get rid of those grids with menu ->View ->Options then uncheck Show Grid.

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Best free Schematic drawing program?