Program for PCB/Circuit Design

On 24 Oct 2006 14:16:28 -0700, "JeffM" <jeffm_@email.com> wrote:
[snip]
>That is inexcusable.
>If the app can determine that a component is from a cracked version,
>there is no reason that the same mechanism could not be used
>to flag a bogus component at the time it is being added.

Not exactly, cause only the NEXT version will know. That's obivious.
Say if they release 4.0 and someone cracks it, there is no way that
4.0 could know about a cracked version. They therefore include the
cracked serial number (from what I heard from their support that's how
it works) into the next version which then flags those components. But
between 4.0 and 4.1 one (like me) could be trapped by this many times.

>This ex post facto bullshit is way over the line.

Oh yes, I obviousely fully agree.

Markus

[snip]
>You can export schematics and components from Eagle as text files using
>scripts provided by Cadsoft.  You can then import them into the new
>version to remove the problems if the files become damaged.
>
>kevin

Do you have pointers to such scripts? CadSoft did not mentioned them.

Markus

Markus Zingg wrote:
> [snip]
> >You can export schematics and components from Eagle as text files using
> >scripts provided by Cadsoft.  You can then import them into the new
> >version to remove the problems if the files become damaged.
> >
> >kevin
>
> Do you have pointers to such scripts? CadSoft did not mentioned them.
>
> Markus

There are ULPs such as "export-board.ulp" and 'export-schematic.ulp" on
Cadsoft's web site in the download section.

http://www.cadsoft.de/cgi-bin/download.pl?page=/home/cadsoft/html_public/download.htm.en&dir=eagle/userfiles/ulp

They create a text file that can then be used as a script to regenerate
the project.  They are useful if you want to do mass changes to the
libraries or cleaning up boards.

kevin

rickman wrote:
> 
> He is joking.  But PADS is a very popular layout package.  Why do you
> care which one is most popular?  What are you looking for?

A lot of people are afraid to stand out from the crowd by doing anything 
different.

If he knew what he wanted then he could web search for products, read 
the material found, and make a selection. But apparently what he wants 
is to do what "everyone else" is doing.

To a couple replies above I would not have said "pads" but "Gerber 
photoplot and Excellon drill." What ever one uses to lay out a PCB, 
generate those two sets of files and the fabricator will be able to 
build your board.

"JeffM" <jeffm_@email.com> schreef in bericht > I thought that's where you
were going.
> That's a fool's errand.  There are no guarantees
> that the one you learn will be used at any given company.[1]
> Learn CONCEPTS instead; they translate between apps.
>
> When you see the prices for some of these packages,
> you may just wander over to KiCAD's site
> and get their open source offering (gratis and libre).
> .
> .
> [1] This reminds me of schools that, instead of using free software,
> piss away kilobucks on M$ software because
> "it's what they will encounter in industry".
> Hogwash.  LEARN CONCEPTS--especially with pliant young minds.
>

Hear, hear!

And FreePCB is free too (duh!)

Antoon

"rickman" <gnuarm@gmail.com> schreef in bericht
news:1161742633.072918.108060@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Has anyone here tried FreePCB?  It is available at
> http://www.freepcb.com/ and has a Yahoo group for support.
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/FreePCB/
>
> I believe freepcb.com also has a forum.
>


I started using it a few weeks ago since it is the right price for a
hobbyist like me.
It comes with a number of footprint libraries but you will still have  to
invest some
time to add your own parts. The footprint editor that comes with the package
is
not the most user-friendly (it can't move lines you've already drawn for
example:
if it's in the wrong place you need to remove it and try again). It does
however
interface very well with TinyCAD (also free).
The program itself is a tad quirky but is very stable. Unlike one of the
demo
version I tried of a commercial program (written in Delphi!) which would
crash randomly. No autorouting though.

Antoon

>There are ULPs such as "export-board.ulp" and 'export-schematic.ulp" on
>Cadsoft's web site in the download section.
>
>http://www.cadsoft.de/cgi-bin/download.pl?page=/home/cadsoft/html_public/download.htm.en&dir=eagle/userfiles/ulp
>
>They create a text file that can then be used as a script to regenerate
>the project.  They are useful if you want to do mass changes to the
>libraries or cleaning up boards.
>
>kevin

Nice idea, alas thanks for the pointer, but the scrips error out with
a parse error in line 57. The ulp code looks fine to me so I have no
idea why it does not work.

Markus

"Markus Zingg" <m.zingg@nct.ch> wrote in message
news:qsr3k2dc2phj5qm01he5mpddi6v1mofav0@4ax.com
>> There are ULPs such as "export-board.ulp" and 'export-schematic.ulp"
>> on Cadsoft's web site in the download section.
>>
>>
http://www.cadsoft.de/cgi-bin/download.pl?page=/home/cadsoft/html_public/download.htm.en&dir=eagle/userfiles/ulp
>>
>> They create a text file that can then be used as a script to
>> regenerate the project.  They are useful if you want to do mass
>> changes to the libraries or cleaning up boards.
>>
>> kevin
>
> Nice idea, alas thanks for the pointer, but the scrips error out with
> a parse error in line 57. The ulp code looks fine to me so I have no
> idea why it does not work.
>
 Markus,

I assume you got this error when you tried to run the ULPs you
downloaded on your 4.0 version that will read the "cracked" files.  This
is probably caused by a difference betwen 4.0 and 4.1 in the ULP
language.  Go check the release notes and you should see something in
there about the changes to the ULP language.  Also pay attention to any
changes between 4.0 and 4.1 for the scripting so you can modify the ULP
so it will produce a script that can be processed by 4.1.

The net effect is that you may have to modify the ULPs so they work with
4.0 but to me that would be worth the effort since it would allow you to
avoid starting from scratch if you have a lot invested in your existing
designs.

-- 
James T. White

Antoon wrote:
> "rickman" <gnuarm@gmail.com> schreef in bericht
> news:1161742633.072918.108060@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> > Has anyone here tried FreePCB?  It is available at
> > http://www.freepcb.com/ and has a Yahoo group for support.
> > http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/FreePCB/
> >
> > I believe freepcb.com also has a forum.
> >
>
>
> I started using it a few weeks ago since it is the right price for a
> hobbyist like me.
> It comes with a number of footprint libraries but you will still have  to
> invest some
> time to add your own parts. The footprint editor that comes with the package
> is
> not the most user-friendly (it can't move lines you've already drawn for
> example:
> if it's in the wrong place you need to remove it and try again). It does
> however
> interface very well with TinyCAD (also free).
> The program itself is a tad quirky but is very stable. Unlike one of the
> demo
> version I tried of a commercial program (written in Delphi!) which would
> crash randomly. No autorouting though.

I am an engineer and everywhere I have worked, they create tons of
footprints regardless of whether footprints are available or not.  It
seems that in the PCB and fabrication world, there is very little
standardization.  Every company tailors their process and tailors the
footprints to match the process.  So having a footprint library is
nice, but the pros don't use them much.

About the limitations of editing parts, have you checked the user group
at Yahoo?  I have used the program a bit, but not extensively.  I just
know that when I have asked about a "missing" feature I typically find
that it can be done, I am just not getting it.  There is also a forum
at the freepcb.com web site that will likely get a quicker answer from
the author.

>I assume you got this error when you tried to run the ULPs you
>downloaded on your 4.0 version that will read the "cracked" files.  This
>is probably caused by a difference betwen 4.0 and 4.1 in the ULP
>language.  Go check the release notes and you should see something in
>there about the changes to the ULP language.  Also pay attention to any
>changes between 4.0 and 4.1 for the scripting so you can modify the ULP
>so it will produce a script that can be processed by 4.1.
>
>The net effect is that you may have to modify the ULPs so they work with
>4.0 but to me that would be worth the effort since it would allow you to
>avoid starting from scratch if you have a lot invested in your existing
>designs.

Thats true, and thank you for the pointer. I will ocasionally dig into
this. But then, since I already decided to dropp Eagle I have to
redraw those projects I intend to keep longer anyways. Again, it's not
only necesairly the technical aspect of this that tells me that
CadSoft is no professional partner. It's the attitude they have shown
in this case. I mean I even CC'ed their CEO and they did not change
their point of view, so I have no other choice than asuming that it's
really their coporate phylosophy to deal this way with their paying
customers. Sad for the lost investment but there are other CAD
companies out there which are happy to have me as their customer as
unimportant I may seem to be with a single user license.

Markus