circuit boards undergo a schematic design process. pcb design programs are tools that capture single or multilayer printed circuit board designs. The software specifies where cuts, solders, holes and circuit board components belong. PCB designs become circuit board prototypes or manufactured parts of electrical products. Printed circuit board manufacturers sometimes streamline production by offering free PCB design programs that send files directly to them. Competing independent software developers often create free versions for drawing attention to their professional software versions.
Printed Circuit Board Editor
Printed Circuit Board Editor is a free open source Electronics Design Automation suite. The Linux Fund raises money to fortify it with what it calls "powerful capabilities found in modern proprietary layout editors." It runs in Mac's X11 system and on a PC with Cygwin (a "Lunix-like" Windows environment). This PCB design software can handle up to eight copper layout designs, NC Drill outputting and connectivity verification. The program features a rats nest, a Design Rule Checker and Centroid data output. Download the program at pcb.gpleda.org.
ExpressPCB
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology recommends ExpressPCB CAD software because it "makes designing PC boards simple for the beginner and efficient for the professional." Use of ExpressPCB requires downloading their free installer. The installation process adds ExpressSCH, a schematic drawing program, to your system. ExpressPCB supports drag and drop design elements. By linking your schematic drawing to the PCB, ExpressPCB will automatically highlight pin wiring areas. As proprietary software, they make sending the design to their manufacturing center easy. By clicking on "Order Boards Via The Internet" an order form will open. The software supports PC operating system. The product website is expresspcb.com.
PCB123
PCB123 is the name of Sunstone Circuit's software. This PC board manufacturer shares that they serve MIT, Purdue University, the US Naval Research Lab, General Electric and Intel with this full service PCB design program. PCB123 imports CAD vendor lists and features 145,000 parts in its library. The program also creates solder-masks and up to six signal layers. Free email customer support ensures that users can easily export PCB designs to Sunstone circuit's manufacturing center. Learn more at pcb123.com.
EAGLE Layout Editor Light Edition
The name EAGLE stands for Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor. The independent software company, Cadsoft, offers a free, light version to PCB designers. The light version limits users to making one schematic sheet with two signal layers---top and bottom. It also contains a layout editor, a schematic editor, and an auto-router. Cadsoft reports that EAGLE is compatible with Windows, Lunix and Mac operating systems. The company's website is cadsoft.de.
OrCAD PCB Designer
OrCAD PCB Designer is produced by Cadence, an independent software developer. The software's interactive environment allows multilayer editing. According to the manufacturer, OrCAD PCB Designer contains a "fully integrated design flow that includes a constraint manager, design capture technology, component tools, a PCB editor...and an auto/interactive router." Increasing productivity through application integration makes this program a comprehensive PCB design solution. OrCAD PCB Designer includes a project management system, unlimited databases and split pain support for customizing drill legends. The company website is cadence.com.
