"" And isn't it the point of a PCB pgm -- generate
the CAM files, not a printout? ""
I am doing a toner transfer to copper clad and etching the board myself.
Hence .. the printout ..
I'll take a look at that other schematic editor you mentioned.
Thanks for all the good info and help
Randy
________________________________
From: Charles Patton <
charles.r.patton@...>
To:
Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.comSent: Sat, February 19, 2011 6:03:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: Free PCB question
I guess it boils down to different strokes for different folks. I've
done boards using FreePCB, KiCad, PC Express, Eagle, and early ORCAD.
I just don't do boards very often. So pgms with large learning curves
get a personal negative from me, no matter how good they are. So,
although FreePCB doesn't have a print capability, it does just fine with
its Gerber generation. And isn't it the point of a PCB pgm -- generate
the CAM files, not a printout? I'd much rather have the Gerbers than
the printer function. As the program has been around for awhile, and
the print function has not been implemented, I assume other people
pretty much felt the same way. So:
Eagle -- bad for a large learning curve and crippled to boot - bd size,
number of components and layers. Money to un-cripple.
PC Express -- simple to use, but limited to one board house -- that
makes it hard to get competitive bids and thereby unacceptable to me.
KiCad -- bad for a large learning curve, other than that it seems to be
quite capable.
FreePCB -- Simple to use, as I have said, it's free, it's not crippled,
and I find the ASCII file structure of the data saves rather easy to
understand without any manuals about it. This enables me to use the pgm
as is, or to go into the file structure and tweak items such as add
additional menu items such as different grid spacings. I can go into the
file and with a text editor paste in a multi-thousand point NC file to
get around the rather simple, limited geometry capability. (After all,
it's a simple PCB pgm, not a SolidWorks, or major drafting pgm.) The
lack of direct printing is not a problem, as I always just dump the CAM
files and use GC-Prevue, a less than one minute process. I concede that
the schematic editor is the worst problem, but as I said, there are at
least two ways around that, too. Using the Suigyodo
(
http://www.suigyodo.com/online/e/index.htm) schematic editor, I found
I could easily make a simple board. This pgm is in early development,
so a bit rough around the edges, but again, it's simple, a big plus in
my book. I will also admit that I personally use an old version of
Orcad because I have it and I've used it for years, so I don't forget
quite so quickly on it. But if I was starting from scratch, I think I
would probably shy away from it due to some of its complexities.
So in summary, if a person intends to do boards every day to every week
(?), surely something like KiCad would be a good choice -- but if
months or years will go by between boards, I'm not so sure that it is
the best choice and I would lean to the simple FreePCB.
Regards,
Charles R. Patton
On 2/19/2011 12:21 PM, Andrew wrote:
>
> Okay -- no schematic editor, no way to print out directly from the
> program ... I don't mean to be rude (well, maybe just a little! :)),
> but why would anyone use FreePCB??
>
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:Homebrew_PCBs%40yahoogroups.com>, Charles Patton
> <charles.r.patton@...> wrote:
> >
> > Free editors I suggested earlier are:
>
> <snip>
>
> > So do your schematic and simulations in LTspice, then export the netlist
> > and make it compatible to FreePCB.
> >
> >
> > On 2/19/2011 8:09 AM, Randy S. wrote:
> > >
> > > I would but .. sorry for ignorance here .. dont see a schematic
> editor
> > > with
> > > FreePCB ??
> > > Do I import it form another program?
>
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