Which PCB tool to choose?

[amjad]

POWER PCB version 5 is very much friendly and easy to use and also suitable for you.

There is also a software named CADSTAR version 6 you can also use it which helps simulation

 

[ynhe]

OrCAD and POWERPCB

ynhe

Added after 2 minutes:

OrCAD and POWERPCB

ynhe

 

[sanJerry2004]

ORCAD & POWERPCB is my choice.

 

[chinara]

For my opinion, protel is poor on netlist change an annotation. Orcad layout is terrible and layout with Orcad is a disaster. PADS is well for the PCB under 8 layers, but it is very slow to pour the gnd or ech. And PADS could not produce complex symbol or pad. So I believe the Allegro is best tools for your design.

 

[wanttoknow]

U can refer to the following one:
**broken link removed**

 

[heywood]

If you are a beginner of PCB, I advise you to use Allegro, though it more complex
than PADS, but it has more powerful function

 

[Pipeline]

Eagle?

 

[do interior]

PCAD2002+Specctra is very good.

 

[Tahar]

Hi guys,


Is it that difficult for those who argue that protel is shit to develop a little more and to expose some pieces of arguments ??



Thank you in advance.

 

[creepy]

Hi guys,


Is it that difficult for those who argue that P*otel is shit to develop a little more and to expose some pieces of arguments ??



Thank you in advance.

I only know 99SE

Pro:

-Easy to learn


Contra:

-Badly programmed (slow compared to others on same system).
-Bad routing tools (not even parallel movement of segments is possible).
-If you move a routed component , it gets disconnected from the routing tracks.
-Every copper pour must be refreshed manually and seperately (no global refresh).
-Bad wiring tool in schematics (imagine to draw wires with MS Word's polygon tool).

 

[Tahar]

thanks for such a detailed summary, however dont you (to all members) think that protel 2004 is somewhat different ? isnt there a big improvment with respect to protel 99 ?

( I am not a specialist in this area, but I am interested though)

 

[jdhar]

I believe there is a huge improvement over 99. Not in their autorouting, but in the UI, definitely.
- You can globally repour copper planes now.
- Wiring in the schematic editor is nicer than any others I have seen.
- You can drag components to maintain their routed connections.
- On my 1.4 GHz, Protel 2004 runs extremely well. Again, this doesn't take into account auto-routing. I think 99's auto router is better than 2004, but I don't use auto-routing anyway.

I would love to see some quality feedback on it's controlled impedance routing abilities as i have not had the opportunity to use them yet.

 

[hock]

specfication wise protel DSP and 2004 are very good.
the worst part is the learning curve.
you need ages to learn it.
you make any change in your design and you are in big trouble.
hell of a job to change varification.
hock

 

[Uky]

I have used OrCAD with (OrCAD)Layout. IMHO: Crap. Cadence will most likely discontinue the Layout tool since they are pushing a "Lite" version of Allegro with the 10.3 release CD. The Capture tool is very nice to work with and one of it's big advantage is the vast number of different net list formats it can provide.

PCAD2002. Nice and with lot's of goodies but has some flaws particurlarly when it comes to design changes. ECO-files may fail to execute. Then layout has to be edited manually. I have seen some very nice designs created using PCAD2002. Unless you use the space bar for toggling when routing or placing wires in schematic, the pointer finger will be exhausted since it has to be pressed for the wire to be routed...

OrCAD Capture with Allegro Layout. A very nice solution except that it is almost a must to use the CIS-option to use Capture as a part oriented system. Forward annotation and ECO's works great! It is also easy to separate the layout from the schematic (Useful for consultants). Allegro is a very nice and dangerous tool. DRC check is solid and I have never seen it fail to miss an error. Learning curve is steep and Gerber file setup is really messy.

Mentor Expedition. Perhaps the best of them all, but with a high pricetag. Disadvantage: Complex system. Do something wrong with any of the files in the design folder tree and you are in deep shit! Mentor SupportNet is great though, and you will need it! This is a part oriented system, and the Library Manager is probably the best there is. Invoking it is akward, since you need an instance of Capture to be open in order to use the symbol creation module. Likewise an instance of Expedition (Layout) needs to be open if you want to use the cell (footprint) creation module. Otherwise, you must purchase a separate license for the Library Manager.

Mentor BoardStation: Unless you are working in a large organization: Forget it.

 

[eDance]

I had tried to study PADS2004 before, but I found that PADS' placement tool and route tool are tow separator programs, which ara PowerPCB & BlazeRouter. This seems stranger & is confusing me yet. The same situation is exist in Zuken CADSTAR and many other PCB design tools. Zuken's router tool even can't move the components, so if we want to change the board layout, we had to return back to layout enviroment. So I think Protel is the best choice for most no-complex system design, since it has the most operationbility.

 

[Taew]

I think Protel is good as well.

 

[omara007]

I used OrCAD and Allegro .. Allegro is almost offering everything to the designer .. I guess Allegro is the best PCB tool now .. it also offers connecting between more than one tool ..

 

[agha]

If you can define proper routing rules it is better to use spectra otherwise try using alegro all of them are tools of Cadence PSD.

 

[sudeepb]

I use Orcad Capture for circuit schematic and Cadstar for PCB routing . Orcad layout is very messy when compared with Cadstar.

Sudeep

 

[ZHOUMINF]

I think Cadence is the best tool in PCBdesign ,if your design are large and need high qualify PCB ,I suggest you use Cadence