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[on:]

hi

is there any easy to use app to make PCB layouts?

nothing fancy, just single layer PCBs, no silkscreen, no autorouting, no simulation or whatsoever.
just pin-to-pin routes and like that.

i've tried Eagle in the Light version, but it looks still too complicated

[Reply #1 on:]

Adobe Illustrator or equivalent?

Andrew

[Reply #2 on:]

Eagle is an excellent editor, and works great on the mac.  It is really not that complicated.  Also, since you are talking about the mac, your options are also limited.(I'm a mac guy too)

Go to the sparkfun website, they have some great eagle tutorials, they walk you through making a basic circuit.  Take an hour or two to learn eagle.  With these really with these tutorials that's all you will need.  

Once you have learned it you will be able to send out pcb designs to a real fab house, they don't accept pdf files  Take a little time to learn it, is realy is pretty easy, and you will be glad you did.

here is a link http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/tutorials.php

[Reply #3 on:]

I use Eagle on the Mac.  While there's a bit of a learning curve, I don't think it's THAT hard to use; in fact, comparable to the pain that you'll cause yourself trying to use a familiar drawing package (I once had some MacDraw clipart for chips/etc!) to PCB layout (which is more complicated than drawing.  Really.)

There are lots of tutorials for Eagle (including some of mine at http://www.instructables.com/id/Draw-Electronic-Schematics-with-CadSoft-EAGLE/ and some from Sparkfun), and learning how to use it gives you something that is directly portable to PC and Linux environments, plus a bunch of concepts portable to other PCB packages.    "It's good for you!"

There is also the Gnu GEDA package, which can be convinced to run on Macs (used by Evil Mad Scientists Labs), and "Osmond" (http://pages.swcp.com/~jchavez/osmond.html) (which is used by Modern Devices Inc.)  IMO, neither is significantly "easier" than EAGLE.

[Reply #4 on:]

also, since eagle tends to be the goto editor, at least in the DIY world; when you have questions, there are a lot of people out there on the forums who can help you.

FYI, I'm a total newb to this stuff... if I can learn it anyone can.

[Reply #5 on:]

Another plus for Eagle (or any decent schematic capture/PCB layout combination) is that it helps you get the circuit and board created correctly, without crossed pins, etc.  A simple generic drawing program won't help you with that.

-j

[Reply #6 on:]

You know, if everybody is throwing suggestions out, I better not disappoint. :-)

Kicad is another option if you want a full PCB free/open source design package. My understanding is it is on a par with the others in terms of complexity. Mac OS X Kicad nightly builds are available.

You might be interested in looking at LiquidPCB which is a young project but aims to provide a simpler interface to PCB design. Doesn't seem to have been compiled/tested on a Mac though.

--Phil.

[Reply #7 on:]

Thanks follower; I'd been interested in KiCad, but last time I looked getting it running on a Mac looked to be a difficult prospect.  Now that they're actually distributing Mac builds, I should try again!

[Reply #8 on:]

Another free option is gEDA/PCB. My footprint library (apx 1400 parts) is at luciani.org.

As a "getting started" example I released the EDA files for my gEDA remix of the drawdio circuit (draw + audio). See the REMIX section at www.wiblocks.com

Since the file formats are open and ASCII a variety of EDA automation tasks are
easy. Check out the drawdio BOM documentation which contains an embeded
datasheet for every component used in the design. This was all created with
a script.

(* jcl *)



component used in the design  

[Reply #9 on:]

Fabiopigi, if you want easy, have a look at Fritzing:
http://fritzing.org/

[Reply #10 on:]

cool, fritzing looks cool.
thanks a lot

[Reply #11 on:]

Cool suggestions.

I was happy to see a OSX version of Eagle, but I was disappointed that it only runs as an admin.  It won't install or run as a standard user.

[Reply #12 on:]

I run it as a user.  I have it installed in my home directory however not in /Applications

[Reply #13 on:]

How did you install it?  When I run the installer, I cannot select anything other than Applications.  (Which of course fails, unless I am an admin.)

[Reply #14 on:]

when I run it I can "choose folder"