How to find a suitable PCB design software?
PCB design is a very long work. In PCB design, the first thing to do is to choose design software, there is no perfect PCB design software, the key is to find a suitable tool, which can quickly and easily complete their own design work. Of course, in their daily use, for different tasks, it is necessary to choose different design software, or even multiple software collaborative design. This paper will introduce PCB design tools for your reference.
Protel
Protel is undoubtedly the earliest eda software that most designers have contacted. Protel software courses are available in most universities, but we have to admit that Protel is indeed one of the lowest-end software in eda software. The two-layer board is still handy, but the four-layer board starts to feel unusable, let alone more layers. If a designer can use Protel to make high-quality high-frequency high-speed multilayer boards, it means that his design level is extraordinary.Whether Protel will be eliminated in the future, it is hard to say, people who use Protel now still have a considerable market. Learning PROTEL is the foundation for learning high-end PCB software.
Altium Designer (AD)
The design software that most PCB engineers contact basically starts with AD. AD is an easy-to-learn basic entry-level hardware design software. It is suitable for drawing simple single and double panels and four or six-layer boards. Through schematic design and circuit simulation, PCB drawing, signal integrity analysis and other aspects of the perfect fusion of technologies, so that PCB engineers can easily design if you can use this software skilled, it will greatly improve the quality and efficiency of the circuit design.Mentor PADS
More and more people are using this software. It's simple to use, and it is relatively easier to learn and easier to operate than Protel. This software is more suitable for low-end and mid-range designs. His function is easy to interact with the schematic. Unlike Allegro, sometimes the schematic cannot be connected to the PCB. In addition, it supports real-time modification of the network, suitable for routing small changes or simple boards.PADS provides interfaces with other PCB design software, CAM processing software and mechanical design software. These interfaces facilitate data conversion and transmission in different design environments. The main disadvantage of PADS is that it is prone to program errors.
Cadence allegro
The biggest advantage of this software is that it is very convenient to repair the line, it is more intelligent and can display DRC in real-time. In addition, it is more convenient to paste wires, and both wiring and winding are convenient. Nowadays, the advantages of teamwork are more and more obvious. Allegro has more advantages than other PCB software in multi-person cooperation.Mentor EN
Mentor EN is Mentor Board Station. It is a schematic and PCB design software launched by Mentor Graphics. It supports both Unix and Windows systems (Win2000 and WinXP). EN is short for Enterprise. Many large electrical IT companies, such as Intel, Lucent, Flextronics, Siemens, and Bird all use Mentor EN for PCB design.Mentor EN series is the most professional PCB tool software transplanted from the early UNIX system to Windows system, but its learning is difficult. Therefore, self-study is not recommended.
