[sdiy] KiCad, Was Proteus software

[Karl Ekdahl]

I run KiCad and have so far designed all of my commercial projects in it, i think it's quiet excellent.

I have been curious about gEda though, it seems to me that consensus is that gEda is a step above KiCad - i'm wondering if this is generally true and thus whether it's worth me spending time to learn another software. If there are benefits - are they benefits that will help the typical small-scale designer? Not making any 8 layer boards here...

I'd put another vouch in for Inkscape - making all my panels in it and it's pretty great!

Also i'd like to issue a small warning about the various softwares made by PCB houses; it feels like these softwares are more short-lived then others, that they have a smaller user group (i.e. only customer of theirs) thus support in the shape of forums, and are often locked in functionality somehow to the manufacturer. I used to use PCB Express from the same company and when trying to migrate to another software and looking for another fab house it became evident that starting with that software was a mistake...

Karl

--- Den sön 2011-02-20 skrev Veronica Merryfield <veronica.merryfield at shaw.ca>:

> Från: Veronica Merryfield <veronica.merryfield at shaw.ca>
> Ämne: [sdiy] KiCad, Was Proteus software
> Till: "synth DIY" <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
> Datum: söndag 20 februari 2011 00:39
> I've not had any issues with the
> newer version and I am two projects down with it. I am on my
> 5th or 6th major paying project using KiCad and am happy
> with it other than the Mac native version which just closes
> on me for no apparent reason from time to time. I run XP in
> Fusion and all is well.
> 
> On 2011-02-19, at 2:48 PM, megaohm wrote:
> 
> > On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 6:45 PM, Tim Parkhurst <tim.parkhurst at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > 
> >>> Anyone else using KiCad?
> >>> 
> >> 
> > They've finally created a companion
> >> program that allows you to import a bitmap image
> to a layout.
> > 
> > Where do I find the companion bitmap program to do
> this?
> > Is it included in the KiCAD package?
> > 
> > Also, I'm using windows XP. There are two different
> versions.
> > One came out this year, the other last year.
> > I don't want to function as a 'tester' until I know my
> way around the
> > program a little bit.
> > Is the latest one all good or is that still in the
> initial testing stages?
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > Phil
> > 
> > PS: Have been using TinyCAD paired with FreePCB but I
> want to give KiCAD a try.
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> > Synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
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