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layout tool selection PCB design

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pragash

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we are a start up company, looking to purchase a layout tool such as cadence, altium and mentor graphics. i need some advice. i want to what is the best tool for me. the aspect im looking at his cost, features (end of life bom analysis), easy to use/learn. please let me know your experience.
 

Personally i do not like Altium, but as i said that is a personal choice. I have not tried the other two so i can not comment.

All of the layout packages have free demo software for the asking. You should try all the packages you can afford to buy.
 

hi flapjack,
i dont time to do that. thats why im asking advice i can do it quickly..
 

pragash said:
hi flapjack,
i dont time to do that. thats why im asking advice i can do it quickly..
Click to expand...

I suggest that you find the time to research the different packages. The tools mentioned can be a very expensive mistake if the wrong one is selected. And Cadence and Mentor are far from easy to learn. I don't know about Altium.
 

im asking those who have experience with most of the tools so i can save time!!!:bang:
 

pragash said:
im asking those who have experience with most of the tools so i can save time!!!:bang:
Click to expand...

I would say that no one knows your needs better than you. You have given very little in terms of your needs or your applications. What is your product? What is the complexity? Are more than one person going to be working on the design at the same time? Etc, etc, etc.

I have experience with both Cadence and Mentor - I literally hated using both.
 

i have expereince with all three. the intention im posting here to double check my opinion. in my opinion, altium is cheaper and have lot of features for the money you pay!

i believe you cant differentiate them interms of complexity and product. all of them will work on any kind of product and any kind of complexity!! maybe two or three may work on my design simulatenously..
 

When you say Mentor or Cadence, both vendors have each two cad platforms (Pads, Expedition, Orcad, Allegro) and different configuration levels on offer. Which are you talking about?
 

im talking about PCB schematic and layout which is allegro
 

Make your own mind up... no-one can do it for you and all these threads achieve is a collection of views, often at odds with each other. One persons view is not necesecerily be the best view for yourself, you need to put the effort in yourself and make your own decision, you will have to stand by that decision...
You don't even say how much you want to pay per seat, the complexity of the designs you will be doing, whether you need high speed tools etc.
The main contenders will be packages from...
Cadence.
Zuken.
Mentor.
Altium...
after these main vendors you then get to the semi-professional software such as Eagle etc.
 

altium may be a better choice . main attractions are low cost , better 3D rendering , easy to learn (compared to Allegro or pads),vast library, can import almost all major PCB formats ( can import and edit Allegro , pads files) .
 
The main contenders will be packages from...
Cadence.
Zuken.
Mentor.
Altium...
Click to expand...
I would also add Pulsonix (a Zuken spinoff) to the list.
 

NIKHILRAJ said:
altium may be a better choice . main attractions are low cost , better 3D rendering , easy to learn (compared to Allegro or pads),vast library, can import almost all major PCB formats ( can import and edit Allegro , pads files) .
Click to expand...
3D rendering is not that important to PCB design, just looks fancy...
As to the other factors, again this is only your opinion so is not valid (neither is my opinion on the best package, hence I have not given it...).
 

hi marce,
i created this thread to get opinion from others not to gain my own experience. please let me know what works for you so i will figure out what works for me from that..
 

So we do not know what your requirements are, technology level you will be using, what your budget is, what functions you need and what you want, what inputs and outputs you want, are you going to get training or just figure it out youself and so on. And you want us to give you an opinion on PCB tools, each of them having their own distinct edge over others, their on bugs, quirks and eccentricities.

Then I'll give you an opinion - get Zuken CADSTAR.
AFAIK it's cheaper than Altium and the European\UK support and training is highly recommended (I can guarantee that :) ).
So far there has been nothing that I have not been able to do in CADSTAR and the only mistakes ever made are human error, it catches everything else.

Is that a fair opinion? I think so but then I am highly biased as I have used it for over 20 years.

The other tools - I just see lots of how to's on here and hear lots of swearing from someone using them in the office :)

Now if your going to spend several $K based on an opinion - I'm afraid you are foolish.
 
What works for me....
I have used at some point all the major packages, all have there good points, all have their bad points... What works for me is setting up whichever system I am stuck with to allow me to layout PCBs with the minimum of hassle. So I customise my user interface, colour files, macros/scripts to do the job how I want to work. I also insist on libraries being perfect as anything less causes problems later on...
I also always use a two screen set up with the schematic always open as this is my guide to the layout (any PCB designers that cant follow a schematic properly are in the wrong job) and minimum clutter visible on the PCB screen, just have visible what I need to do the task I am doing...
And never ever use Red and Blue as your basic colours it is bad for your eyes and long term concentration when doing a layout...
 

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