Share: Ideas on choosing PCB design software

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In the past 30 years, Altium, a company originated in Australia, has been a god-like existence in China. Almost all PCB engineers who are just starting out started with the company's products, from the earliest Tango, DOS version of Protel, classic Protel 99SE to the current AD (Altium Designer). It can be said that almost all students in Chinese universities use AD software to learn PCB design, probably because of the following logic: Piracy is rampant - you can use a powerful tool without spending money. It is said that the encryption method of the software is destined to make each new version be cracked immediately, and the cracked serial number will appear on the Internet immediately. Although the company provides new users with a one-month free full-featured experience, users still use pirated versions for long-term use. After more than 30 years of transmission, I am surrounded by people who use this - textbooks, materials, and folk consultants are everywhere, and beginners will feel that the threshold for learning this is relatively low.

A small episode, business relationship I am friends with several general managers of Altium China. Five years ago, their biggest worry was that they could not collect money from such a large number of hardcore technical fans, which was a headache. I also discussed with them that they should simply make the software completely free in China, just like "King of Glory" to sell equipment (libraries, designs) to make money, become an IP mall for engineers on the Internet, and completely tie up all engineers, which must be more valuable. It is said that the senior management of the company headquarters also had such discussions (this is why they made a Vault thing and put the main library files in the cloud), but in the end it could not be realized. The main worry was that it would impact their European and American markets. Altium's market value once fell below 10 million US dollars. Its Australian headquarters was forced to close, and all executives moved to Shanghai. It survived the most difficult years in a low-key manner. Now it has turned around, with its market value soaring 200 times. All executives have moved to California, a beautiful place with spring all year round. Why? One of the reasons is that the Chinese region can start to make money by cutting leeks. With the cooperation of more than 30 agents (only one younger brother followed in the worst time), the business is booming. Their main job in China is to find companies using pirated Altium Designer and send lawyers' letters to make them spend money to buy genuine software. A buddy of mine has a hardware design team of only 4 or 5 people. He also received a lawyer's letter and asked me if there were any other solutions. My suggestion is that there are only two solutions: Pay the fee obediently - you still have to respect other people's IP, nothing good in the world is free If you feel unbalanced, you can try another tool - he said his engineers only know how to use AD, and this road is blocked This is a good thing. China's biggest problem is that it does not respect intellectual property rights, which has led to too many long-term and deep-seated problems. Look, Altium's situation is really bad. Engineers only know this thing, and the company is forced to surrender, just like ARM back then.

The financial data in the chart has changed again, and the market value has increased by x2 again

So the question is, for individual beginners in PCB design, who have the physical strength and interest but no money, must they use pirated AD? Five years ago, I would say "yes, just do it", but now my opinion has changed. Let me first explain the reasons: In the future, the probability of enterprises, even small companies, using pirated software will be lower and lower. The market share of AD in enterprises is much smaller than that of the private pirated market, and what tools to use at work is decided by law-abiding enterprises. It is highly likely that when you go to a new company, you need to use new CAD software instead of AD. More and more people use Apple laptops, especially the "proud sons of the emperor" in colleges and universities. We found that many students have to install dual systems in order to install and use AD, because AD cannot run under Mac OS. Why not find a tool that can support Mac OS? Tools are tools. All similar tools are actually similar. Learning by analogy is a necessary quality for excellent engineers. It is also a very important skill to welcome new technologies and grow in solving location problems. Learning and mastering a niche tool by yourself is a very good way to exercise your ability.

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Please see the picture below:

The above picture shows some mainstream CAD design tools. Each of them has its own advantages. In the world of CAD, there are still many choices. In my 10 years of hardware design work, I have used 6 different CAD tools - from Protel to BoardStation. Using CAD tools is like driving a car. If you use a Volkswagen car when you learn to drive in the driving school, you can't drive a Toyota car on the road? What you learn is the skills of driving, not the placement of the buttons in the car. If you really master the PCB design process and key points, you should be able to get on the road in one day at most by switching to a CAD tool. If you can't do it, it means that you haven't mastered what you should master.

If you choose a CAD software, what factors should you consider? For enterprises and individuals, I provide several principles. In addition to the AD tools mentioned above, there are many other tools that are very popular among Chinese engineers and are also used by many Chinese companies:

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The more classic Allegro, like OrCad, is owned by Cadence.

This is also a tool that is very pirated, so it has a good popularity rate in China and is often considered to be a little higher than AD.

In fact, this is a very good tool, I strongly recommend it. It originated in Germany and was originally called CadSoft. After many twists and turns, it is now included in the pocket of AutoDesk, a well-known company in the global CAD field, and is highly integrated with its mechanical design tools. In today's mechatronics, it is also a very good attempt. Two other highlights that attracted me: Support for Mac OS and Linux is good news for Windows haters. Products from world-renowned open source community organizers such as Sparkfun, Arduino, and Adafruit all have source files based on Eagle, which can be downloaded directly for reference and use. The resources are very rich. Introduction to Eagle on Wikipedia

Eagle has several charging modes. Unlike other software, this thing is charged on a monthly/annual basis. I wonder if you are used to it? In fact, I have already adapted to it. Many products in life are charged by time period.

There are also some online tools. You can play with these tools temporarily. The business model is not mature yet. It is possible that they will fail one day. Recall that many cloud services launched by Google were later shut down. How many users uploaded their own things disappeared. There is nothing to do except mourning and sighing. Another point is that China's network connection is too random, which is very unpleasant to use and will affect your experience.

Finally, I will give you two lists, you can make in-depth comparisons and studies.

JLCS

Thank you for sharing! ! ~~ Jiali Chuang proofing contact QQ800058652