Recommended EDA tools
1. Cicada
Cicadais an open source software suite for electronic design automation (EDA) made for designing schematics of electronic circuits and printed circuit boards (PCB). KiCad is developed by the KiCad Developers Team, and features an integrated environment with schematic capture, bill of materials list, PCB layout and much more.
KiCad Tools
KiCad software is organized of five main software tools:
- kicad - the project manager.
- eeschema - the schematic capture editor.
- cvpcb - the footprint selector for components used in the circuit design.
- pcbnew - the PCB layout program. It also has 3D View.
- gerbview - the Gerber (photoplotter documents) viewer.
See more at KiCad homepage.
2. Eagle
EAGLE ( E asily A pplicable G raphical L ayout E ditor) by Cadsoft is a flexible and expandable EDA schematic capture, PCB layout, autorouter and CAM program widely used since 1988. EAGLE is popular among hobbyists because of its freeware license and rich availability of component libraries on the web.
The EAGLE Light Edition can be used for free ! 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 .
Apart from these three limitations the EAGLE Light Edition can do anything the Professional Edition can do. You can even load, view and print drawings that exceed these limits!
The Freeware version of EAGLE Light adds these limitations:
- Support is only available via email or through our forum (no fax or phone support).
- Use is limited to non-profit applications or evaluation purposes.
3. OrCad
Industry-proven OrCAD solutions are available as standalone products or in comprehensive suites. Unlike other PCB design tools, OrCAD PCB design suites provide a feature-rich, fully scalable solution that can be expanded and upgraded as PCB challenges and the level of design sophistication grows.
See more at Cadence OrCAD Solutions