This post seeks your advice about using circuit shematic software.

In the few weeks I have been an an AAC member browsing the forums, I've seen circuit diagrams originating from a variety of sources from paper based sketches to different software.

What is a good electronics schematics drafting program that I could learn easily and use? I would like to drag and drop, save and share the files on AAC forums as manipulatable files. Is there an agreed community standard that AAC like to use?

 

Hello,

There are many ways to draw schematics.
I have a folder with all kinds of parts, wich I can copy into the drawing a I am making, using KolourPaint, the standard paint program of KDE in linux.
Our other member Wendy made some sheets with all kinds of parts that can be used this way.
In this thread you can find a zipfile with the mentioned sheets:
https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/paintcad.10854/

You also can find a lot of symbols on the internet:
electronic symbols

There are also many members that do simulate circuits that are drawn in LTSpice:
http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/
It does have quite a learning curve.

Bertus

 

Hello,

There are many ways to draw schematics.
I have a folder with all kinds of parts, wich I can copy into the drawing a I am making, using KolourPaint, the standard paint program of KDE in linux.
Our other member Wendy made some sheets with all kinds of parts that can be used this way.
In this thread you can find a zipfile with the mentioned sheets:
https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/paintcad.10854/

You also can find a lot of symbols on the internet:
electronic symbols

There are also many members that do simulate circuits that are drawn in LTSpice:
http://www.linear.com/designtools/software/
It does have quite a learning curve.

Bertus

Many thanks bertus. Good leads for me to start
Mellisa

 

I use and recommend LTspice (free download from Linear Tecnology). Granted, the learning curve for the simulation part is steep, but you don't have to bother with that. The schematic capture part is easy to use and the resulting .asc file can be manipulated/simulated by other members.

 

I use and recommend LTspice (free download from Linear Tecnology). Granted, the learning curve for the simulation part is steep, but you don't have to bother with that. The schematic capture part is easy to use and the resulting .asc file can be manipulated/simulated by other members.

Thankyou Alec

 

Agree with Alec. You probably will outgrow it as a schematic editor, but eventually you will want to use something for emulation, and LTS is *the* thing.

ak

 

Agree with Alec. You probably will outgrow it as a schematic editor, but eventually you will want to use something for emulation, and LTS is *the* thing.

ak

Thanks analogue kid

 

Let me present an opposing point of view. I don't use LTSpice to draw my schematics. I use ExpressSCH, another free tool. I find it easier to use and it produces cleaner schematics.

I do lose the ability to simulate, but in practice, the tedium of redrawing the schematic serves as a design check. And I use ExpressPCB to produce many of my boards.

I've also used DesignSpark to produce the Gerber files necessary for OshPark.

 

Let me present an opposing point of view. I don't use LTSpice to draw my schematics. I use ExpressSCH, another free tool. I find it easier to use and it produces cleaner schematics.

I do lose the ability to simulate, but in practice, the tedium of redrawing the schematic serves as a design check. And I use ExpressPCB to produce many of my boards.

I've also used DesignSpark to produce the Gerber files necessary for OshPark.

Thanks dj

 

Similar to Wendy and Burtus I draw with a paint program because doing so lends itself to drawing more understandable schematics, and besides I grew up knowing that all the components should be the same color

Circuit simulation is done with LTSpice. The right tool for the right job.

A very nice schematic and block diagram drawing tool that I have been tempted to use is Scheme-it which is available on Digikey's website. It produces beautiful schematics. The only drawback that keeps me from using it regularly is that it is online only and for me that is a problem.

 

Similar to Wendy and Burtus I draw with a paint program because doing so lends itself to drawing more understandable schematics, and besides I grew up knowing that all the components should be the same color

Circuit simulation is done with LTSpice. The right tool for the right job.

A very nice schematic and block diagram drawing tool that I have been tempted to use is Scheme-it which is available on Digikey's website. It produces beautiful schematics. The only drawback that keeps me from using it regularly is that it is online only and for me that is a problem.

Many thanks Dick
Yes I don't want to simulate or test necessarily. I only want to draft for now.
Cheers
Mellisa

 

Any method based on a paint program yields what I call "dead" data. Sure, a person can read the output but a computer cannot. You do not get a list of materials, you do not get a list of connections (netlist), and you do not get any automated error checking.

Learning *any* schematic capture program will aid you in learning the next program, as they all have to perform similar steps. I would recommend KiCad as a free unencumbered and quite useful package. It will do all of the above with minimal hassle. You can also use the netlist output in spice (simulation) programs (I am not sure about LT Spice). It also has a PCB layout editor which is also full featured and unencumbered ad works quite well.

That said, I will occasionally also use ExpressSCH for a quick throw down to illustrate some point as you can break a lot of rules and still make a presentable picture schematic.

 

Another option for schematic drawing is Digi-Key's Scheme-it.
I like the bold lines drawn and have used this for text-book style publication.

 

I also use free Kicad, it is a total package, but can be used for simple schematic capture and there a scores of tutorials out there.
Also if down the road you decide to have a board made up at one of the cheap suppliers in Hong Kong etc, you already are half way there.
To post it, just use a simple screen capture tool such as Greenshot, which allows cutting and pasting.
Kicad is divided up into separate apps depending on which one you wish to use.
Max.

 

I quite like 'diptrace' and you can save a good 'print' in preview tab.

 

As you've seen, there are lots of options and it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. I like the quality of Scheme-it and it has a pretty low learning curve and is pretty quick to throw simple stuff together. It certainly has its warts, though (any package does).

I often use Paint to throw something simple together for a post, and even more so for doing annotation and markup.

LTSpice is definitely a favorite around here. But don't just post the .ASC files since that requires that the reader not only have LTSpice installed (and not everyone does) but that they be willing to trust you enough to download files (though this is pretty safe, I think). So if you do post the .ASC file (or any other file that requires a specific software app to open even just to view) also post an image capture (PNG is a very good format for these kinds of images) and post that, as well.

 

Iput updated copies of PaintCAD here...

Introduction and PaintCAD (blog)

Wendy's Index

 

As you've seen, there are lots of options and it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. I like the quality of Scheme-it and it has a pretty low learning curve and is pretty quick to throw simple stuff together. It certainly has its warts, though (any package does).

I often use Paint to throw something simple together for a post, and even more so for doing annotation and markup.

Every package has its quirks. I often have to go into Corel Photo House and tweak the drawing.
This is ok for simple tutorials. For more complex drawings a schematic capture with PCB layout would be more appropriate as others have recommended.

 

I use both LTspice and a vector drawing program (Intaglio, which is Mac only, but there are similar drawing programs for Windows, even free ones).

LTspice is good for the things you mentioned, such as quickly sharing a schematic with other people in a way they can likely read and write. You get the ability to simulate your circuit as a bonus.

A drawing program is nice for laying out a PCB and for getting close to a photo-realistic look at your PCB before building it. At least that's how I use it. I don't draw genuine schematics with it anymore, now that I've adopted LTspice. LT spice is quirky and uglier, but it has some nice task-specific features and again, you get a simulation for your troubles. My drawing files are interchangeable with other drawing programs but I'm not aware of anyone here sharing drawing files with the intent of others reading and writing to them.

I can't imagine using a paint program for this chore. Drawing programs offer so much more capability, including device-independent resolution.

 

During my working years we used Cadence Orcad Capture which they also offer in a free version. Download OrCAD Lite for Free and what I liked once you learn how to use it, is the large libraries of parts. While the Lite version or Free version limits the number of parts in a drawing the software is nice stuff and also interfaces well with their other products like Pspice and a few others.

Years ago really good drawing software was hard to find, especially in lite or free versions. Today there are dozens to choose from. Just find one you are comfortable with. I also use LtSpice and like it as there is no shortage of models out there for parts. That also includes good user groups. Matter of fact Scott Wang (moderator here) recently was compiling links for part download for LtSpice.

Ron