Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

--- On Sun, 14/10/12, n1bru <bkramer@...> wrote:

From: n1bru <bkramer@...>
Subject: [Homebrew_PCBs] Newbie
To: Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, 14 October, 2012, 22:12
















 









>Hi everyone, I am really new to circuit board construction. I came here in >hopes of learning everything there is to making circuit boards.

>1. what program is the best for free?

>2. what materials do I need to make circuit boards?

>3. Where is the best place to purchase the euipment, chemicals boards etc?

>As you can see I need much guidance and information. If this has been >brought up before, please point me into the right direction, I want to get >going ASAP. I am eager to learn.

>Thank You all in advance for your help and guidance in making circuit >boards.



>Bruce 73

?N1BRU











Hello Bruce,
As to your question 1) about the best schematic/PCB programmes, both DIPTrace and Eagle provide a free version of their programmes.
I personally prefer DIPTrace for ease of use(over the years I have compiled large component/PCB footprints for users to incorperate in their designs).
DIPTrace has a large following with a forum, shared libraries and one-to-one problem solving with the owners and staff.
An added feature( besides a 2-layer auto-place, auto-route, DFX and Gerber Import/Export, 3D-Viewer and PDF/BMP output formats) is the ability to covert between Eagle and Diptrace and vise-versa.
As well as these two programmes, a lot of board manafacturers provide "freebies",with the drawback that you cannot print the board yourself.
I hope this is of some help

Links:-
http://diptrace.com/

http://www.cadsoft.de/?language=de&lang=en















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