Software for Layouts and schematics

[plook]

yeah, I made blocks for tubes resistors capacitors and diodes - didn't take very long.

the real win with autocad is the turret board layout - I measured and drew each component and placed turrets around them. The result is beautiful - especially for the big Sprague caps.

I also map out every screw hole and use the same template that I have for turrets as a drill template to mount the board to the chassis - perfection every time. Autocad is great for that kind of thing.

Umm, i see you are the guy with the wonderfully designed web site who i suspect has a graphics background. My learning curve with AutoCAD would be steep. i tried a couple of years ago to draw up a 5E5 cabinet and i had to go and rest with a damp cloth on my head after admitting defeat.

Been using DIY Layout Creator and really like it, but it keeps crashing. Here is something i just did. I am adding a cathode/fixed bias switch to an amp and don't have a -ve bias supply, so after a bit of reading up in amp books decided to draw this in a way I can follow in the future.

[husky]

Can anyone point me towards Mac software for doing layout and schematics.

EAGLE ! Cad soft USA
You can use middle layers for routing off board wires.
Maybe not as "pretty" as using an art program like Illustrator but the only way IMO to marry the layout and the schematic that are linked. That way you have full error checking as well

[plook]

Can anyone point me towards Mac software for doing layout and schematics.

EAGLE ! Cad soft USA
You can use middle layers for routing off board wires.
Maybe not as "pretty" as using an art program like Illustrator but the only way IMO to marry the layout and the schematic that are linked. That way you have full error checking as well

Have you got an example Eagle file containing the most common components? I'll give it a try.

[MCK]

The other benefit to Eagle is that if you are designing a PCB based amp then you can give your Eagle file to the PCB makers and they will work with that. Not sure about other formats but I often see the reference to Eagle when it comes to small volume PCB makers.

[husky]

The other benefit to Eagle is that if you are designing a PCB based amp then you can give your Eagle file to the PCB makers and they will work with that. Not sure about other formats but I often see the reference to Eagle when it comes to small volume PCB makers.

Eagle is like any other package, you export to Gerber. Really easy as pie once you know what buttons to flip.

[plook]

The other benefit to Eagle is that if you are designing a PCB based amp then you can give your Eagle file to the PCB makers and they will work with that. Not sure about other formats but I often see the reference to Eagle when it comes to small volume PCB makers.

Eagle is like any other package, you export to Gerber. Really easy as pie once you know what buttons to flip.

Looking at it now, it looks bewildering.

[Structo]

Looks like Eagle has a Freeware version for home use.

Only limitations are:
The following limitations apply to the EAGLE Light Edition in general:
The useable board area is limited to 100 x 80 mm (4 x 3.2 inches).
Only two signal layers can be used (Top and Bottom).
The schematic editor can only create one sheet.

http://www.cadsoftusa.com/downloads/

[Milkmansound]

Umm, i see you are the guy with the wonderfully designed web site who i suspect has a graphics background.

you have figured me wrong my friend! I am terrible with this kind of thing. That said, I do spend a lot of time making electrical block diagrams with autocad for my day job which helped gaining the cad chops.

my website was designed with iWeb on my mac, and is just a place holder until the real website is built. I will take the compliment though! I am pretty happy with how it turned out considering its kind of a hack job on my part.

your layout looks great - much more pro than mine! Then again, mine are just for my internal purposes. There is a lot of red pen on my plots which I actually build my amps from

[husky]

Looks like Eagle has a Freeware version for home use.

Only limitations are:
The following limitations apply to the EAGLE Light Edition in general:
The useable board area is limited to 100 x 80 mm (4 x 3.2 inches).
Only two signal layers can be used (Top and Bottom).
The schematic editor can only create one sheet.

http://www.cadsoftusa.com/downloads/

Yeah well I wasn't talking about the light version. Good tools cost money. In the long run it is stupid cheap for what it does even if you buy the package. Plus all your work is finished and could be sent to a board house or someone like me could drill all the board holes for you. Free support and minor upgrades, major upgrades very reasonable.

If you want a free board package a little less intuitive try douglas.com. I believe the layout at least is free but there is no exporting to Gerber unless you pay to have them do it or have them make the boards. I used to use that as does Soldano. They are Mac as well

This is a quick mock up screen shot on how I would use it to do an Eyelet board. Naturally in real the resolution is excellent. Ignore the pads V1-1 etc are supposed to be V1-6, 7, 8 etc I changed my mind on which half to use the last second

[husky]

The other benefit to Eagle is that if you are designing a PCB based amp then you can give your Eagle file to the PCB makers and they will work with that. Not sure about other formats but I often see the reference to Eagle when it comes to small volume PCB makers.

Eagle is like any other package, you export to Gerber. Really easy as pie once you know what buttons to flip.

Looking at it now, it looks bewildering.

It is not, at least compared to Altium.
The board and Schematic are always synced. Delete it on the schematic and it is gone from the board. Very quick program to use and easy compared to most.

[plook]

Eagle is like any other package, you export to Gerber. Really easy as pie once you know what buttons to flip.

Looking at it now, it looks bewildering.

It is not, at least compared to Altium.
The board and Schematic are always synced. Delete it on the schematic and it is gone from the board. Very quick program to use and easy compared to most.

I'll find a tutorial for it and give it a go.

[Aurora]

The real advantage to using a proper electronics design package, is the linking between the schematic and board. In most cases, once you enter a component into the schematics, you also define the physical layout of the component. Once you start designing the board and moving the components around, all the connections to later become wires, are "rubber banded", i.e following the components as you move them. This gives an advantage that it is presumably more difficult to "forget" any connections. Once you have physica placement, which is usually the first stage of a normal PCB design, you can stop there and use eyelets and turrets, or go ahead and make "proper" PCB .
The drawback with most packages, is that you most probably have to design some component schemas and outlines, as a fair amount of "tube type" components are unlikely to be present in most modern component libraries.
OTOH - there are often small libraries available on the net, to suit various software packages. I found one several years ago, that fits the OrCAD package we use at work. There are several others out there.

[plook]

In Eagle, when you select something like a resistor or capacitor, there seem to be so many options. is there some logic to what you choose in terms of size, value, etc? I ask because the code numbers they have don't mean anything to me. I like this type of program though in that it encourages you to think schematically and it creates a layout for you - this is very new to me.

[Gaz]

Wow, Eagle seems a little overkill for turret board layouts. DIY layout creator is all I need, just wish it had more components.

[Aurora]

I think it is a somewhat general concensus among pro designers that autoplace and autoroute for analogue circuits are dubious at best. I certainly don't use it much, but that is th ebeauty of the pro packages - I place the componenetsas I like, and still have the rubberband traces, if I want to use the trace route function. For guitar amps this is where you'd stop, and just use the outline to make the eyelet board.

Plook - I don't use Eagle, but the component value is one of the labels you assign along with the component type. As an example, the cap or resistor value is as such of no importance for the process of making a board.What is important, is to select the correct component type and outline size. For instance, - non polar cap can be turned either way ( mostly ) but a 'lytic cannot......

EDIT: I forgot - over at the Hoffman site, there used to be a rather simpler but free schematics and layout program, along with a library of various schematics and layouts, but for the best of me I cannot remember the name of that program... ?