Hi guys,

I am interested in simulating circuits and their behaviour before i build them. It seems there are so many options out there, and im not sure what software does what I want. I want to be able to put any component that may not be in the software's library, and maybe define its specs and then use it for simulation. I.e I would like to add an arduino Uno board as a component in the schematic and then see how it interacts with external circuitry. also, I would like to add the external circuitry using the exact manufacturer parts i will be purchasing

Is there any software that can do that? I already have orcad, is that sort of the ultimate software for this?

Thanks guys

 

PADS and it's companion software by Mentor Graphics has a lot of tools related to this.

I think it's one of those things that if you ask 10 people, you'll get 15 different answers tho.

 

LTSpice is very common on this forum for exchanging schematic and showing results.

I use both LT Spice and Multisim, I'd suggest trying both the student version of Multisim and LT Spice as well as OrCAD and other suggestions that will show up here, decide which one you can work with best, and stay with it.

 

LTSpice is very common on this forum for exchanging schematic and showing results.

I use both LT Spice and Multisim, I'd suggest trying both the student version of Multisim and LT Spice as well as OrCAD and other suggestions that will show up here, decide which one you can work with best, and stay with it.

May I ask why the student version? thank you

 

The pro version costs over $2,000 is about the only reason I suggested the limited version.

 

Student version is $40, Educational Ver $500, Enterprise edition $2000. Reminds me of those old Brothel signs
Shave - $0.05
Deluxe Shave - $4

 

Yenka http://schematic-diagrams.com/2011/...re-to-simulate-circuits-design-pcbs-and-more/

 

i just switched to LTspice from orcad.

It took me a week to get used to the way you draw circuits in ltspice, but it was well worth the switch.

probing/graphing results is the major difference for me. generating multiple plots of anything is such a breeze.

the way i do a bode plot in orcad is by first adding a trace, selecting a function, then selecting the point...that's usually for one point. if i add more the scaling makes the plot useless for viewing. in ltspice, you just click a couple nodes

 

This is funny - the software costs often $2000 or more (not counting the crippled student or evaluation versions) and yet it cannot guarantee convergence of all circuits and so often I'm forced to play with the .IC settings for the DC to converge. And in LTSpice it happens probably more often than in other programs (or I am unlucky).

Why is this? Is it really that hard to implement any globally convergent DC algorithm?

 

Here is a good pdf to explain Spice convergence problems
http://w2.cadence.com/appnotes/SPICEModelingConvergenceExplored.pdf

As far as OP's question though, I used LTSpice for a very long time and always found it to be satisfactory. However, recently I was able to convince my employer to pay for OrCAD 16.3 and I'm extremely happy with it. It does a much better job with modeling and of course comes with loads of models already defined. But I suppose that's what you get for paying for it.

Edit: to add. I would consider any SPICE program that allows you to add your own models a good program, as this essentially gives you limitless potential. The only thing to worry about after that is how well the program handles the math.

 

Right now i am using PSpice and earlier i was using Multisim.