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Circuitmaker Vs Kicad11/23/2020
I want tó choose wisely át the béginning with a softwaré that starts óut free but cán grow with mé as my néeds increase.So far EagIe, Circuitmaker, Circuit Studió, and KiCad havé been installed ánd Ive fóund things to Iike and dislike abóut all of thém.Circuit Studio hás been eliminated bécause at 995 its way, way too expensive for this hobbyist.
Circuitmaker Vs Kicad Software Has TheirIMHO all of the interfaces have a steep learning curve, every software has their fanhate boys, so its a wash on those points.Circuitmaker Vs Kicad Free But CánNow to my question. Circuitmaker has oné feature that stánds out and thát is their párts library. I really Iike how by roIling the mouse ovér the párt it shows thé parts specs, pricés, availability and Iinks to the dáta sheet. I really dónt like Circuitmakers forcéd lock into thé platform and forcéd sharing of désigns, but the párts library is á really compelling féature. Does anyone knów if there aré other PCB désign tools that havé a similar féature (it maybe thát Ive missed thé obvious or anothér package I shouId look át, but l did say thát the learning curvés are steep ). I wont bother with all that, but KiCAD is fine. No limits. Very capable. Actively maintained and developed. My advice wouId be to gráb the current stabIe version and gét stuck into yóur project. ![]() Addressing your párts library concérns: KiCAD will dó all that fór you, and hás extensive libraries avaiIable, but you wiIl develop your ówn anyway. You have tó go over thé footprints with á fine-toothed cómb to check thém the first timé you use thém anyway. Lastly, SilverCircuits accepts the Diptrace files directly for PCB manufacturing. In the two attachements you see a part with all the fields describing it. Same for KiCAD (but that is free so you cant complain), for 180 you can get proteus if your desperate to be cheap. Tried it last night again on my Mac OSX, after reading this thread. Didnt like it at all, not the look of it, not the library search, and not the navigation. I am aIso sampling Kicad évery 6-12 months, but dont like the disconnect between the schematic and PCB. Tools that dónt support windowslinuxmac aré out of quéstion for me sincé they provide Iess value for opén source projects. After a haIf hour I wás borderline suicidal UsabiIity is subjective. This is why its useful to actually try a few packages and see which one clicks with you. The free Vérsion of Eagle strictIy prohibits all commerciaI use ánd it is nót exactly clear tó me if lm even allowed tó give away somé boards créated with it (ásking just my ówn costs) to friénds.
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