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I've been using Eagle for the past 10 years, but I recently started wondering about open sourced CAD tools, figuring if I'm mainly designing Open Source Hardware, might as well do it with an open source tools.

I have a mac, and a windows machine, so a solution that's compatible with either will be fine.

I guess one of my top concerns is popularity. When evaluating open source tool, I usually will gravitate with one of the most populars, with a rich community.

I've looked quickly at Fritzing, but that's falls far too short for what I want to do.

What are your thoughts?

Brian Carlton
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DanyO
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    I'm sorry, but your comment is also non constructive. How can I ask the question to be constructive? – DanyO Apr 27 '12 at 17:23
  • Try reading the faq. – Leon Heller Apr 27 '12 at 17:26
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    Not necessarily a duplicate, but you should do a little more research first. Check out this question: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/21172/looking-for-a-good-freeware-open-source-pcb-design-software-equivalent-to-altium – Kris Bahnsen Apr 27 '12 at 17:27
  • @DanyO - The question is not constructive because it is highly subjective in nature. This site is a platform designed for objective questions with one correct answer, as described in the [good subjective, bad subjective](http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/09/good-subjective-bad-subjective/) blog post. This isn't one of those questions. You could ask "Does KiCAD or gEDA have a more active community?" and we could respond with mailing list information and download counts, but it seems like you want a subjective judgement as to which is 'better', for some definition of better. That doesn't fit. – Kevin Vermeer Apr 27 '12 at 20:42
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    @LeonHeller - You're often correct in your judgements, but your comments pointing out problems are quite short. Link to or quote the relevant FAQ section *(To prevent your question from being flagged and possibly removed, avoid asking subjective questions...)* I know that "Not Constructive" is a common close reason, and it applies to this question, but that phrase doesn't mean anything to Dany. Please explain yourself more thoroughly in the future! Thanks. – Kevin Vermeer Apr 27 '12 at 20:46
  • http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/1222/what-are-low-cost-circuit-and-pcb-design-software – starblue Apr 28 '12 at 12:33

1 Answers1

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I tried Eagle a while ago, but didn't like it because of the fact that I have to choose physical packages when drawing a circuit diagram. I'm not very good informed about current physical packages that you usually get when you go to the shop for components.

Couple of days ago I tried Kicad, just the schematic drawing part, and for the same reason I find it a lot easier to work with.

jippie
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    This doesn't make sense. If you just want to draw a schematic then chose any package you want since it doesn't matter. If you're going to make a board, then you're going to have to learn about packages and pick one since something specific will have to be placed on the board. Aside from that, picking the right package and knowing about the choices is part of electrical engineering, so complaining about it instead of embracing it is the wrong attitude. – Olin Lathrop Apr 27 '12 at 20:37
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    Picking the package is part of the PCB design, and Eagle made me pick the package during the schematic design. I often draw a schematic diagram that doesn't need a PCB, so I don't want to worry about packages. Eg. what does it matter for the schematic if I want SMD or pin-through-hole components? So I *personally* like KiCad better than Eagle. – jippie Apr 27 '12 at 20:50
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    So like I said, if you're only drawing the schematic pick any of the packages. What's the problem? – Olin Lathrop Apr 27 '12 at 21:50