Randy wrote:
KiCad looks very good and I downloaded it to try it out.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Sprint-Layout from Abacom:
<http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/sprint-layout.html>
Back in January 2015, Sam Reaves posted a nice writeup of this package.
Based on his post, I tried it, loved it, and bought it (it's very
reasonable). I also have KiCAD, the free version of Eagle, and the
DipTrace demo version. I've gotten to where I can use all of them, but
when it comes time to do a board, I almost always go straight to
Sprint-Layout. Certainly, anyone who balks at the steep learning curves
of KiCAD, Eagle, and DipTrace will just love the intuitive operation of
Sprint-Layout.
I've pasted part of Sam's original message below.
Best regards,
Charles
The excellent, not free but very inexpensive (49 Euros) PCB package from
Abacom called SprintLayout6.0 (link below). If you are outside of the EU
the cost is 19% less (minus their VAT).
You can download a demo that does everything but save your work for free.
And they take PayPal. There is also a free viewer that can view the native
files. Although you may never need it they have excellent support. Bugs
have been minimal and the product has been very stable for me. I have run
it on XP and Win7 32/64 with no issues. Licensing is simple and you can
install on more than one PC as long as you use it only on one PC at a time.
Here is a short list of exceptional features that this program has that is
(for me) a good bang for the buck (or euro!)
1. Ability to import 274X Gerber files to allow you to easily turn them
into an editable PCB file (I found this really handy to create PCB's from
Eagle and other PCB CAD package files.
2. Ability to import a BMP file from a scanned image and scale and float it
in the background so that you can trace over it to create editable artwork.
Really handy for those old designs or for working from artwork from
magazines or the back of the ARRL handbook.
3. Easy Ground plane/Power plane pour. Pads can be set as thermals to
connect to the plane with independent connection to either plane. Zone
pours and cutouts can also be done.
4. Support for four layer boards.
5. Easy to use footprint creation tool for SMT/Thoughhole parts
6. Easy to use part library generation. Many parts available.
7. The ability to rotate parts in very fine increments.
8. Photo view mode that shows you exactly how the finished PCB will look.
9. Isolation generator for creating milling plots for making PCB's on a CNC
mill. Worth the price for this feature alone. When used with Bernhard
Pahl's SL2M3 program which converts the HPGL milling plot files and the
drill/mill data to G-Code for running CNC programs like Mach-3. With some
manual editing of the G-Code text one can use the program with LinuxCNC.
10. Simple point to point semi-automatic router that works with manually
placed connections.
11. Moving the reference datum (X0 , Y0) point for all layers is really
easy and I have not found any other program that does this as easily.
12. Perhaps most important: The program is very easy to use and learn and I
have made dozens of boards using it in all of the modes.
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