Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!decwrl!decvax!tektronix!percival!parsely!agora!billsey
From: billsey@agora.UUCP (Bill Seymour)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: CAD, PCB layout programs
Message-ID: <1370@agora.UUCP>
Date: 12 Feb 89 06:01:12 GMT
References: <7055@killer.DALLAS.TX.US:
Distribution: na
Organization: Advanced Solutions, Hillsboro, OR
Lines: 57

From article <7055@killer.DALLAS.TX.US:, by elg@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Eric Green):
: My brother is currently laying out PC boards using Schema. He'd like
: to buy an Amiga 2000, because it's a much nicer machine than an AT
: clone, but if there's no equivalent for the Amiga he's sort of at a
: crossroads -- will he buy a 80386-based machine, or an Amiga 2000 with
: an AT bridgeboard? 
: 
: So: I need to know what CAD & PCB layout programs are available. He
: preferrably would like to draw schematics, then lay out PC boards
: based upon those schematics, in an integrated way similiar to Schema
: (which apparently generates "netlists" from the schematics).  He'd
: preferrably like to be able to import and export to Schema format
: (Schema seems to be the most popular program for this sort of stuff in
: the MSDOS world).  Does such a program exist? 

	I'm using Pro-Board and Pro-Net for our PCB layout. There were a
couple of fairly good articles about these two programs in Sentry magazine
recently. (Pro-Net about July, Pro-Board in the latest issue...) They are
easily the best of this type of program for the Amiga, but may be too
limited for his uses. I've never seen a Schema netlist, so I don't know if
these are compatible. You are limited a bit in Pro-Net as to what you use
as primitives when building devices, and there is no provision for placing
'generic gates' that have the packages and pin numbers assigned to them
during routing. But other than that, the program does pretty much all that
I've asked it to.
	Pro-Board allows boards in size of up to 30" by 30", but I tend to
work on the Zorro II size or smaller (13x5). You are limited to four layers,
but I've had some success with doing six layers by routing on two different
boards with the same pad master. You are limited to 12 mil traces though, and
I haven't found any way around that. (BTW, Dave, if you are listening, you
*can* create a 84 pin PLCC socket. Use the repeat function for all horizontal
rows and start with a fresh data library...)
	There is a demo version of both Pro-Board and Pro-Net available from
Prolific (I'm afraid I don't have their number here, but they advertise...)
and he might take a look at that. 

: He's not particularly interested in simple PC board layout programs
: with pins on .100 centers and primitive or non-existent autorouters...
: he just finished scrapping such a program on the AT (crumpling the
: disk up & throwing it in the trash, actually), because it does not
: meet his needs at ALL (huge PC boards 2ft x 18inches, sometimes, weird
: spacing at other times).

	You can get down to .001 accuracy in Pro-Board, but sacrifice
quite a bit of system memory... I'd say the autorouter is OK, but not 
as good as it could be. You still have to manually point to starting and
ending points on the line.

: --
: |    // Eric Lee Green              P.O. Box 92191, Lafayette, LA 70509     |
: |   //  ..!{ames,decwrl,mit-eddie,osu-cis}!killer!elg     (318)989-9849     |
: | \X/              :: In Hell you need 4Mb to Multitask <<                  |
-- 
     -Bill Seymour             ...tektronix!reed!percival!agora!billsey
                               ...tektronix!sequent!blowpig!billsey
     Creative Microsystems   Northwest Amiga Group    At Home Sometimes
     (503) 684-9300          (503) 656-7393 BBS       (503) 640-0842