[sdiy] PCB Layout Software?

[Terry Shultz]

http://www.pcblibraries.com/forum/pcb-footprint-expert-on-demand-demo_topic481.html

Terry
On Aug 13, 2013, at 7:48 AM, Terry Shultz <thx1138 at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Hi Guys,
> 
> Check out PCBLIBRARIES.COM and see if this helps at all.
> 
> There are paid sites as well, but they go for about $5,000 licenses wise.
> 
> Neil is right as going from Pads MPABGA to other tools can be a bit daunting. 
> 
> Not everything translates between tool vendors.
> 
> Example Orcad/Allegro format beyond 16.2 version changed file format making it difficult to import schematic/layout into Altium 13.x.x
> 
> Atium expects an ascii file format I found out. So if you save Orcad file as 16.2 file, it will import into Altium.
> 
> Pads DxDesigner files/project can be imported into Altium. I have not tried to import Pads into Orcad.
> 
> I just purchased the Altium designer last month for $5,500.00 and so far it seem fine. I also have Protel99SE, Pads 2007.4 and Pads ver. 9.4.
> 
> Orcad 16.6 Lite is free btw. But it is limited to a small design size. I installed it to be able to read my Orcad files from Freescale.
> 
> Eagle and Kicad and others are unchecked out as we were not allowed at Freescale to use these tools for design, but some guys did use Pads some time back , hence why I have Pads.
> 
> I never trust imported files to be correct, I double check myself as I have found that somethings can be in error.
> 
> just my 2 cents.
> 
> Terry
> 
> 
> On Aug 13, 2013, at 4:22 AM, Neil Johnson <neil.johnson71 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> Donald Tillman wrote:
>>>>> User's needs are going to be wildly diverse, so in practice I think most people will end up building their own libraries anyway, or at least heavily modifying existing symbols and footprints, and so a universal standard library may not be the best goal.
>> 
>> Tom Wiltshire wrote:
>>>> Don makes a good point, 'though I don't agree totally. I made myself a library of "SDIY" parts that you don't find often - CA3080, SSM2164, suff like that. But having standard libraries for parts like 74HC series, voltage regulators, and that kind of thing definitely saves time. I wouldn't expect to have to make my own library for every transistor I put in a board, and I'd expect a decent PCB design package to include a good selection of standard parts in a usable form.
>> 
>> cheater00 wrote:
>>> In addition to that, it's simply not possible to model the parts
>>> correctly yourself for 3D renders and spatial compliance testing.
>> 
>> Having been caught out by errors in CAD vendors libraries I now create
>> my own from scratch.  You do carefully check the vendor libs against
>> the datasheet and the physical part don't you (in case of errors in
>> the datasheet)?
>> 
>> And I'm not talking at the cheap end either.
>> 
>> Neil
>> --
>> http://www.njohnson.co.uk
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