[volt-nuts] PCB Artist

[NeonJohn]

On 12/13/2016 08:22 AM, Herbert Poetzl wrote:
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 04:39:36PM -0800, Randy Evans wrote:
>> Does anyone have experience with PCBArtist?  
> 
> Sorry, no PCBArtist experience here.
> 
>> It looks pretty good for 2-layer board up to 60 
>> in^2 for $33 but I have no experience with it.  
> 
>> I was looking at Eagle PCB but it's pretty expensive 
>> for a 4-layer capability version.
> 
> A litte apples and oranges here :)

Well, maybe big apples and little apples :-)

> 
> The Eagle Light version can be used for free for
> non-profit purposes and works for up to 4x3.2inch 
> with two layers.

Our company has been committed to Eagle for about 5 years.  The problem
you face is that your investment in IP (schematics, board layouts,
component libraries, etc) vastly out-values the software.  With a
proprietary system, you're either locked in or face huge costs in
converting.

> 
> If you don't have any personal preference, then
> KiCad is definitely the way to go. It has improved
> dramatically since it got the CERN treatment and
> doesn't cost a cent regardless of size and layers.

Indeed.  I am just about to pull the trigger on KiCAD company-wide.  I
think it is ready for the kind of work we do (4 layer boards, some with
high current/voltage traces).  The only thing holding me back IS our
investment in IP.  Maybe with Eagle 7 using XML for data storage,
someone will write an Eagle to KiCAD converter.

I strongly recommend learning KiCAD (a fairly daunting task) before you
get any significant amount of IP committed to a proprietary format.

John

-- 
John DeArmond
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