PCB design software (EDA) for Linux users

[rik]

I am using my Ubuntu laptop more and more often. And today I found myself wanting to throw together a simple schematic for posting on LMR. So I needed to find a CAD program for that. One that works on Linux.

Shouting in the shoutbox is fun and all, but valuable info gets lost. So please everyone, use this thread to post your experiences and recommendations.

So far I discovered in my Ubuntu (10.04) repository:
kicad
geda
eagle

google them for links or downloads. I will post my experiences with them here as I gather them.

[GroG]

Hi Rik!

I have limited experience with Eagle only - I have seen Spice and Gspice lying around for ever.

sudo yum -y install geda-gaf 

will get geda installed on Fedora 

this appears to be parts site http://gedasymbols.org/

Requirements:
For me autoroute would be a requirement for any PCB package & the ability to “easily” edit or create new component packages

 

[jimlovell777]

KiCAD
I use KiCAD quite a bit. It has a few cons, such as limited part selection, but nothing a little time won’t/can’t fix. It offers plenty of features, a 3D view of your board and components and supports the most common formats.

[tmoney68]

Autorouting

You can go to http://www.freerouting.net/ to route the board…and "it fits together with FreePCB, Kicad, gEDA, CadSoft-Eagle "

I only use Linux…period… and refuse to use M$ when there is plenty of open source software and hardware in the world!

I also use code:blocks and/or eclipse with plugins for my programming, also open source.

 

Just my opinion.

[ultramagnus]

in addition to those, you

in addition to those, you could try fritzing.

[rik]

geda seems limited

Tried my first circuit with geda. I am moving on to the next proggie now. This geda just does not feel right to me. I had to crop this image with an external program before I could use it here.

[rik]

Do’h

Geda zooms in to a region of the schemtaic and THAT part is exported into an image…

[rik]

Eagle for Linux

I worked with Eagle CAD before. Correction, I “worked” with it before. The Windows edition. The Linux edition is not very different. It still takes some time to get used to the parts library (which is huge). Moving a group of elements is not very intuitive. But I am liking Eagle a lot.

Here’s the same schematic as before. Now done in Eagle.

[barnes]

I know Sparkfun uses Eagle

I know Sparkfun uses Eagle for all of their PCBs. I use it at work but yet to produce a full PCB with it. It take some getting used to, but the Sparkfun hotkeys and library really make it much easier to handle.

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorial_info.php?tutorials_id=108

[feather]

Great PCB design software on Linux

EasyEDA is a free, open source PCB design software which support Linux, Mac, Windows, etc. It is a great circuit simulator and fast PCB designer that helps you complete the design from schematics to the finished PCB in the easiest way.

What does EasyEDA provide to you?

Schematic capture

Spice simulation

Fast PCB layout

Import and Export file

Convert your shcematics to PCB easily

PCB prototype service  (low price, top quality PCB with precise tolerances on solder mask, absolutely no errors)

[muzi]

reliable PCB service applied in the astronomy technolog

Exploring space is a dream for any tech enthusiast. Recently we were contacted by Scientists from the Friedrich-Alexander-University (FAU) in Germany. Together with Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (The German Aerospace Center, or DLR for short), they prepare the Eu:CROPIS satellite mission for 2017/2018. And some of our boards will be right on it! We cannot explain how excited we are!

The DLR is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research in Germany. It engages in a wide range of research and development projects for national and international partnerships.

The Eu:CROPIS mission (Euglena and Combined Regenerative Organic-Food Production in Space) is one of their projects. In this project they aim to create a symbiotic community of bacteria, tomatoes and single-celled algae using synthetic urine(!) on board a satellite that simulates the gravity of the Moon or Mars.

The project will last for one year. Two greenhouses are scheduled to launch into space in 2017. Inside, waste products will be recycled to produce fertilizer for growing tomatoes. 

This mission will observe the greenhouses while they are in differing levels of gravity: for the first 6 months, the satellite will spin with a rotational speed creating lunar gravity inside. Then it will speed up to simulate Martian gravity and start the second experiment run. It will also aim to collect data on long-term exposure to cosmic radiation over the course of the space flight. In addition, the US space agency NASA will contribute a small independent experiment to measure the rate of photosynthesis in algae.

These experiments are expected to deliver important results to help enable humankind to survive in hostile environments – whether in space or here on Earth.

Thanks to the trust of FAU and DLR, a small part of DFRobot is going to travel into space！FAU and DLR ordered some of the boards via DFRobot’s (A PCB manufacture) and give a positive feedback for the reliable DFRobot’s products.

We hope this project is a great success and its experiment will benefit humanity. We also hope the reliable DFRobot products could be involved in all of the industries to stimulate exploration of the unknown worlds! 

For more information about Eu:CROPIS you can follow this link:

http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10212/332_read-10095/year-all/#/gallery/14438

For more information about DFRobot’s PCB service, you can follow this link:

https://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=product/pcb