The Shop > Software Tools

PCB Software

(1/5) > >>

philf:
Following on from Raynerd's question about CAD.

What software can anyone recommend for laying out PCBs and preferably for giving an output in G Code for CNC milling?

I've just made one but had to manually draw the path of the cutter in Autocad before importing the DWG file into Vectric Cut 2d to produce the G Code. It took too long to get so far and then only a few minutes to machine. There must be a better way.

I used a home made carbide engraving bit with a 0.5mm dia tip. It was made from the shank of a broken end mill.

The preview from Cut2d:



and the actual PCB:



Phil.

RussellT:
I use Eagle for PCBs. http://www.cadsoftusa.com/ The free version has a limited size for PCBs.

There is a program called pcb-gcode http://www.pcbgcode.org/ which converts the output to g-code.  Since CNC is still on my to do list I can't say how well it works but Eagle works very well.

Russell

philf:
Thanks Russell,

The free version of Eagle has a 100 x 80mm limit. This is twice the are of my board which is (80 x 50mm) and would probably cope with anything I'm likely to do.

I'll download it and have a play.

Cheers.

Phil.

philf:

--- Quote from: RussellT on December 29, 2015, 12:48:35 PM ---I use Eagle for PCBs. http://www.cadsoftusa.com/ The free version has a limited size for PCBs.

There is a program called pcb-gcode http://www.pcbgcode.org/ which converts the output to g-code.  Since CNC is still on my to do list I can't say how well it works but Eagle works very well.

Russell

--- End quote ---

Hi again Russell,

Am I doing something stupid? I went to the CadSoft site and the Eagle Overview page. I clicked on Download Now under the Freeware option.

A couple of clicks later and I'm presented with a cost of 74.40 Euro!

I've tried several times and always get the same result.

 :scratch:

Phil.

Edit: I found I have to download the full version and then just select "Run as Freeware" once it's installed. This wasn't too obvious - honest!

AdeV:
I'd recommend DesignSpark from RS. It's completely free (even for commercial work) upto IIRC 5 licenses, there's no limitations to board size or number of layers, and it has an autorouter! I doubt it'll output G-code natively, but it'll produce DXFs (CamBam will convert those to G-code) or Gerber files (and others, I've not checked them out). You can even design the schematic & use that as a basis for laying out your board.

I've used it a few times to design boards (not that I've ever built one.... but I hadn't considered the idea of routing the board using a CNC machine....), and it seems pretty darn good to me. You also get to use the entire RS catalogue of components out of the box, so it should have suitable pad layouts for most of what you'll ever make.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page