Friday, March 19, 2010

A great tool for designing printed circuit boards

I recently came across a great tool for designing printed circuits. That tool is DipTrace. (http://www.diptrace.com/) In a market where a full function package can cost $5,000 or more, it is refreshing to see such an excellent product for just $695 for the full version. Add to this a limited use freeware version (This is what I'm using until I can afford the full version) and a 30 day trial of the full version, you have the makings of a great deal. All of the versions come with a great library of parts including some fairly new stuff, but if your part isn't included, the tools to create both the schematic symbols and the PCB pad layout are included. I find that this product is much easier to use than Eagle and nearly as easy as Protel 99se was. This after less than 2 hours spent learning the product.

2 comments:

  1. I'm curious. What are you designing?

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  2. Mostly Embedded micro stuff (sorry I can't be more specific, but most of my projects are under NDA's. Some of the projects involve DC control, (LEDS, sound, motors, etc). Sound generation for toys, etc.

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