layout programs?

[nieh]

is there a website or program I can use to make layoust for pedals and wiring diagrams and whatnot? like what they have for beavis audio?

http://beavisaudio.com/projects/ABSwitches/

[the Life Aquatic]

diylayout creator, i dont have the link but google it and im sure youll find it easily, thats the one i used, its simple and easy

[culturejam]

Beavis uses Visio for his layouts. I emailed him to see if he would share his custom parts library, but I never got an answer.

[bubstance]

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[Scruffie]

Schematics and Home Done PCBs are easily made in Express PCB/SCH... but some people don't like it for production PCBs due to costs.

[eatyourguitar]

I use diy layout creator 2 for perf layouts. diy layout creator 3 is beta so its not complete. I found eagle to be cumbersome for only doing schematic and not PCB. tried smart draw and didn't like it. tiny cad and omnigraffe are next on my list

[culturejam]

tiny cad and omnigraffe are next on my list

Omnigraffle is a great program, but it's basically a Mac version of Visio. I've drawn a few schematics with it, and it works, but it's not as nice as a program designed for schematics.

Check out Dip Trace.

[eatyourguitar]

the free version of dip trace looks perfect. I wont ever need more than 300 pins

[McSpunckle]

I use DIY layout creator for perf layouts, and Eagle for Schematics. I'd imagine once you set up the libraries right (basically dump all the crap you don't need) it'd be pretty simple. For PCBs, I'd probably just use DIY layout creator if I was gonna etch it, or try expressPCB. I used Pad2Pad for my last order mostly because of cost/lack of time to learn Eagle. Next I'm definitely just using Eagle.

My issue with the free version of Eagle is that I can't seem to tell where the "off limits" zone is, and it makes doing the layout a pain...

Really, if you just had a set of files for the symbols, I'd bet photoshop would be pretty simple for schematics.

[eatyourguitar]

I'm a long time photoshop user and I have to disagree. you just dont have a lot of options with the grid and going to open a file everytime you need a part is lame. and you dont have the tools you have in cad programs. I took a college course on the real autodesk autocad. some of the more advanced tools and command lines are almost like programming. illustrator would be better although I'm not an expert on illustrator. I am an expert on photoshop however.

[culturejam]

My issue with the free version of Eagle is that I can't seem to tell where the "off limits" zone is, and it makes doing the layout a pain...

It seems that it won't let you place most parts outside of the edges of the what you've defined as the PCB. But some elements can be placed outside (like text). This is only an issue when first moving the components onto the board. After that, you don't run into problems.

[nieh]

diylayout creator, i dont have the link but google it and im sure youll find it easily, thats the one i used, its simple and easy

[McSpunckle]

I'm a long time photoshop user and I have to disagree. you just dont have a lot of options with the grid and going to open a file everytime you need a part is lame. and you dont have the tools you have in cad programs. I took a college course on the real autodesk autocad. some of the more advanced tools and command lines are almost like programming. illustrator would be better although I'm not an expert on illustrator. I am an expert on photoshop however.

You could make one file with the main symbols as layers, then just copy/paste the layers and add text. You don't really need a grid for simple schematics...

It seems that it won't let you place most parts outside of the edges of the what you've defined as the PCB. But some elements can be placed outside (like text). This is only an issue when first moving the components onto the board. After that, you don't run into problems.

Imma give it another go. I'm sure it's just me not knowing what the hell I'm doing.

[eatyourguitar]

I'm a long time photoshop user and I have to disagree. you just dont have a lot of options with the grid and going to open a file everytime you need a part is lame. and you dont have the tools you have in cad programs. I took a college course on the real autodesk autocad. some of the more advanced tools and command lines are almost like programming. illustrator would be better although I'm not an expert on illustrator. I am an expert on photoshop however.

You could make one file with the main symbols as layers, then just copy/paste the layers and add text.

thats a good idea that I didn't even consider but I think 60 or 100 layers might be a pain to flip through. then each symbol you want you have to ctrl+A ctrl+C ctrl+tab ctrl+v and position by hand.

cad has all kinds of grid options and alignment tools as well as tools to break lines and anchor lines. its also vector format by default which is nice for big drawing when you zoom in or out. makes it easy to color code things or change line thickness.

I find eagle parts library to be a major pain in the ass. even after I got a special stompbox library. hard to find what you want and then you have to click it then click add in the description. constantly going back and forth to switch between caps and resistors is just anoying. you could type it on the command line but you must know the exact spelling of the part you want. maybe there is a better way in eagle and I'm doing it wrong.

[bubstance]

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