[sdiy] OT: OrCad

[Bert Schiettecatte]

Now that we're on the topic: how are the electrical / mechanical components
of
a synth designed before it goes into prototyping or production?

On one side I have Eagle PCB, or CadStar (at the university). On the other
side,
I have a variety of vector drawing programs and 3D modeling tools I can use
to create a mechanical 'design' for a front panel in the case of a modular
synth
for example. But how do you integrate both processes? Especially if you have
to
mount the PCB to the panel with a display for example, you have 2 different
software
packages working with different dimensions and units, etc etc etc... Help!

bert

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
[mailto:owner-synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl]On Behalf Of j vallier
Sent: donderdag 3 april 2003 6:50
To: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
Cc: harrybissell at prodigy.net
Subject: Re: [sdiy] OT: OrCad


I use Orcad at work and I hate it. Compared with even my nearly 10-year old
version or DesignWorks 2.4 for the Mac (which I still use on a Mac Plus and
am more productive than my dual Pentium desktop at work) it is neandrathal,
unintuitive, and full of bugs that have cost me untold days of rework. I
wonder how many Les Pauls we had to sell just to pay for my lost/ineffecient
time designing the last project with Orcad...

On the good side, it is entrenched in the industry and compatible with many
vendors and PCB layout tools, or if you have Mac haters in the office. It is
a good if not the only choice if your company works with many contract
manufacturers. Prepare for a steep learning curve if you want to use it for
more complex stuff. The "getting started" tutorials will have you up and
running quickly but fall short on "power user" info.

What would I recommend? Don't know. Designworks has free downloads for both
PC/Mac and also exports Orcad netlists. Great if you want to be creative and
design things, bad if you like to fight with design tools. I'm generally
disappointed with most design tools out there, especially considering what
you pay for them. Why did IDEs for software get so much better the last few
years while EDA has not evolved much past DOS-land?

Sorry for the negative feedback, but that's my experiences with it in a real
life situation. I am sure some people love it and if they do, I wish them
the best.

Peff






>From: harrybissell <harrybissell at prodigy.net>
>CC: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
>Subject: [sdiy] OT: OrCad
>Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 23:00:43 -0500
>
>Any listmembers using OrCad on a professional basis ???
>I'm charged with giving my company an informed opinion
>about the product... so I'd like to have YOUR opinion...
>
>TIA
>
>H^) harry
>
>
>


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