--===============68057203593689275== Content-Type: multipart/signed; micalg=pgp-sha1; protocol="application/pgp-signature"; boundary="6c2NcOVqGQ03X4Wi" Content-Disposition: inline --6c2NcOVqGQ03X4Wi Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Fri, Dec 02, 2005 at 08:16:37AM -0600, Tim N9PUZ wrote: > The January 2006 issue of Linux Journal=20 > () has an article by Stuart Brorson on a=20 > suite of CAD tools for Linux that includes schematic capture, SPICE,=20 > and printed circuit board layout. >=20 > I'm curious to hear about anyones experience that's used these tools=20 > to layout a circuit board. I've used it for two major projects now. It's good software, but does have some rough bits. One of the key things to get used to is the idea that schematic symbols and board footprints are completely disconnected. Basically I can draw, say, a switch in gschem but have it map to an actual board footprint that could really be anything, from two pins next to each other to a custom switch footprint for some 50amp monster. Footprints are often parametric as well. So I can easilly say CONNECTOR 2 1 for a connector 2 pins wide by one pin deep or CONNECTOR 5 2 for a 5x2 connector. Figuring out what footprint value to use is annoying though, there is no documentation for that other than reading the scripted definitions in /usr/share/pcb/=20 Another gotcha to watch out for is to make sure your pin hole sizes are correct in your pcb. I've found that many common footprints for common components have silly defaults, like 20mil holes for 1/4W resistors. Messed up a run of 72 boards I just did... Fortunately it didn't take much time to fix with a drill! On the other hand it's trivial to parametrically change the definitions and fix the problem.=20 Otherwise I've had a fair bit of success with gschem/pcb. My first project was a fairly complex 12"x12" duel-sided board with over 300 components. Worked perfectly with manually corrected some hole sizes. Incedentally that was the first PCB board I've ever had made... Didn't even do any testing first, though it's a little easier when the board is a 16x16 LED array... One thing I really *love* about gschem is the user interface. The single key commands are very powerfull and very fast. Learn what keystrokes map to what command and you can do things *very* quickly. I don't know how much you know about Linux, but if you use vi, you'll quickly understand. If you don't use vi, try it someday. :) I just wish pcb would adopt a similar interface, or if it has one, document it. My advice would be to read http://www.geda.seul.org/docs/current/tutorials/gsch2pcb/tutorial.html It's what I read to learn it all, excellent advice. That and triple check everything! Saved me $300 on my first project, but I forgot to fix the exact same mistake on my second. Doh! Good luck. --=20 pete@petertodd.ca http://www.petertodd.ca --6c2NcOVqGQ03X4Wi Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc" Content-Description: Digital signature Content-Disposition: inline -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFDkiJG3bMhDbI9xWQRAoabAKCXu2zZDNofgaedP6zqZRExFp6f6ACdGm+O ZHUOymKsdV/Y4NR7LaUUc5c= =Jpg0 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --6c2NcOVqGQ03X4Wi-- --===============68057203593689275== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist --===============68057203593689275==--