schematic drawing software

[belkin321]

Is there a freeware software download available to draw circuit schematics then convert it to a PCB pattern? Thanks for any assistance.

[Pat Amaral]

I ran across this site a few weeks ago and ordered the disk. There are a ton of useful programs. There are also a lot of programs I'll never use but, for the price, it's worth it. Most of the programs can be downloaded instead of buying the disk if you would rather go that route.

[macfrank]

Eagle CAD has a free version. The free version has some limitations (only two layers & the board size is limited to 100 x 80 mm (4 x 3.2 inches)). The size is pretty generous, actually.

It also has a fairly good autorouter, and what is really the critical part of any PCB design software - it has a good library of parts.

Its main drawback is the Windows 3.1 era interface; the router parts placement is not all that intuitive. Making a copper fill (which is important if you're doing low noise work or etching the board yourself) is not obvious.

Frank

[rpauly]

I got just what you're looking for.

[en'til Zog]

YEEE-HA! Eagle has a MAC VERSION!

YAYAYAYAYAY!

Thanks Frank!

[macfrank]

I got just what you're looking for.

It doesn't have a built-in autorouter and I found the library to be really anemic. Otherwise, it's good for manual layouts.

Clyde, the Mac version of Eagle is an almost straight port (interface-wise) of the PC version... but it at least runs on Macs!

And while not exactly PCB related, Rhino 4 is in beta testing for OS X. I tried it and it works very well.

[jwrjr]

I use WinQCad. The free version will let you print a board up to a certain size. To print a larger board costs money (not too much). But you can lay out as large of a board as you want.

[en'til Zog]

Tanks, Frank! I have a number of projects that need boarding.