Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 19:47:10 -0600 From: Donald Wilde <dwilde1@thuntek.net> To: Michael Kenneth Henry <mhenry@black.ug.cs.usyd.edu.au> Cc: freebsd-advocacy@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: An article from Microsoft Message-ID: <37FD4D1E.62F585E8@thuntek.net> References: <19991008003859.BFB6014BB7@hub.freebsd.org>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Michael Kenneth Henry wrote: > > The only app I can think of is XFig, but I suppose it is a little > bit short on functionality for your purposes. > > To quote the manual: > > "XFig can serve as a printed circuit board layout tool for simple > PC board designs, when most of the circuit is discrete components. > It is not really up to a complex design or one where a large number I'll give you a clue... that's an understatement. :-) I need something which will work for multiple generations of a board, ending up with a surface-mount design. I need design-rule checking on the fly, because often the schematic changes on an hourly basis. I also need stuff thast makes drill 'tapes' for production boards as well. The reality is that FreeBSD (and that L OS) are far short of engineeering tools with the notable exception of Mathematica. I have some neat blue film that works directly from the laser printer to allow me to make simple circuit boards at home on demand. Between the CAD software and that, plus my chip emulators and programmers, I've literally got a control computer factory at home. However, these are just crude proto's. One evenmtually needs to send the client pro-quality boards, and neither of the Open Source EDA packages can fill the bill. Electric is the closest, but it's geared toward MOSIS chip masks, not digital circuits, although it has some notable capabilities. > of ICs are involved, but for analog circuits or preliminary layout > of a design, it's quite useful". > If I was just a home user cribbing boards for myself, I could have gotten away with any of the above, and I'd probably have the time to help develop one of the packages... if I was a hobbyist. Unfortunately, money runs away if time grows long, and I ran out of time trying to succeed with O-S software. -- Donald Wilde "Linking Minds and Micros" ================= S i l v e r L y n x =================== PMB 117, 1380 Rio Rancho Blvd SE v: 505-771-0709 f: 771-1356 Rio Rancho, New Mexico 87124 web: http://www.Wilde-Media.com To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-advocacy" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?37FD4D1E.62F585E8>