YesDraw the schematic using one of the many free programs, make a prototype to verify the design, design the PCB, and send it to a board house (or make it yourself).
There are many available, some to buy and some for free.Sir which apps is good for circuit design
LTspice is popular with members. I only started using it in the last year or so, and only because members were posting .asc files. I still prefer to do my analog designs the old way.Sir which apps is good for circuit design
I'm using the 7.7 version of eagle and it allows 2 schematic pages. Is the autodesk version (8.x) more limited? I fear they are moving to clamp down on the free version and perhaps eliminate it eventually.There are many available, some to buy and some for free.
Commonly used free ones are Eagle and Kicad.
Eagle is the one I use and it is a bit quirky and takes a while to get used to but it is very capable. The free version limits you to a board 100mm x 80mm and one schematic sheet.
I've used LTSpice for years and think for general circuits its a good first step in the design process. There are lots of spice-based simulators out there, some more user friendly (maybe none less user friendly, lol). It certainly has a lot of user support behind it. I would never go straight to a PCB from spice, though. A good breadboard is an essential next step. Spice models are usually reasonable first order approximations but, especially for analog, they are no substitute for testing with actual components. And some spice models are just plain wrong.LTspice is popular with members. I only started using it in the last year or so, and only because members were posting .asc files. I still prefer to do my analog designs the old way.
There are several steps in the process and the tools you use depend on your own workflow. I'll share mine.Sir which apps is good for circuit design
AFAIK, nothing stops you from using an old version of Eagle freeware. I use Eagle 4.13r1 for most of my schematics and board layouts. I don't like the look and feel of the newer versions and don't care to re-do my library customizations. The only feature I like to see in my old version is the ability to have selective overbar in text.I'm using the 7.7 version of eagle and it allows 2 schematic pages. Is the autodesk version (8.x) more limited? I fear they are moving to clamp down on the free version and perhaps eliminate it eventually.
The problem with sticking with older versions is using schematics and libraries from the newer versions. While I never trust components from the internet, they are useful starting places. I wind up redrawing a lot of them - if nothing else, fixing drill hole size and adding keepouts. I do like to look at schematics that companies and people post and learn a lot from them. (sometimes learn what NOT to do, chuckle).AFAIK, nothing stops you from using an old version of Eagle freeware. I use Eagle 4.13r1 for most of my schematics and board layouts. I don't like the look and feel of the newer versions and don't care to re-do my library customizations. The only feature I like to see in my old version is the ability to have selective overbar in text.
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