PC boards

[Jay Vaughan]

At 12:17 AM 6/10/97 -0700, you wrote:
>Are there any programs that you enter a circuit and it outputs a pc board 
>layout for you?

Tons.  There's one called SPICE for circuit development, it emulates your
circuit, etc. and I think it'll do PCB layout.  There are also many others
-- these are called 'autorouter' programs, so if you do a search for
PCB+autorouter with altavista you'll probably come up with something...

>Also, how does every body come upwith their pc board ideas?

Usually a circuit idea is based upon a collection of stable theorems, or
axioms, of electronics, and the combination of these results in a completed
circuit.  There are literally thousands of potential designs, etc. and the
average Electronic Engineer (either hobbyist or pro) usually has a few good
'basic circuit' books and references at his disposal, which he then works
from.  And usually (though not in every case), the circuit designer has a
very wide and all-embracing understanding of the basic circuit components,
resulting in enhanced application of the techniques to higher quality designs.

I'm certainly not an Electronic Engineer, but I have 'tinkered' with
designs in the past, so take my word with a grain of salt!

Good luck, let me know if you come up with anything interesting!


j.

--

Jay Vaughan          
jay at teklab.com