Which PCB Program Is BEST?

[Thomas Ligotti]

I'm searching for a Comparison List of PCB Programs.
I have used Board Station for years now and looking for something else, something better. There are many choices like Protel, Cadence, Pads, Expedition, etc. There are HUGE differences in pricing though. Protel offers a suite that seems GREAT. What are the downfalls? Cadence offers Allegro and OrCAD. Big difference in price. Mentor the same Expedition or PADS. Assuming I do state of the art boards would Protel DXP be a good solution. Someone please HELP. I need someone who has used these tools, not just heard one was better than the other.

[jjustice]

My 2c. I have used many programs over the years. Boardstation, Protel, DXP, Orcad, Boardstation, PADS etc. Frankly I loved them all, for very different reasons. DXP is full of bugs, but I hear Altium (it's latest release) is far better. PADS (which I currently use) is excellent value for money, for what you get. Boardstation is not being offered by Mentor any longer for new customers, Expedition is. Expedition is mega bucks, but is cool (I just did a comparison between PADS and Expedition, PADS came out on top due to cost, EXP had more features).

You can design practically any PCB in any of the PCB systems (well not the $500 types!) out there. It's all down to personal preference, your company's technology path, and how fast you want the design done.

Good luck choosing!

[Skip Yutkus]

When was the last time you priced Pads???? No longer an "excellent value" costs a ton - 1 seat about $25,000 that's without the autorouter.

Skip

[cadpro2k]

What you REALLY need to do is limit the scope of your 'intended' design requirements. There's a HUGE difference in one designers needs compared to another, especially when evaluating tools.
You need to break down your design requirements: (How much of each variation of designs do you do?)
High speed - What percentage
Diff Pairs - %
Critical nets - %
RF/analog - %
Power boards - %
Autorouting - %
Density - what is your normal density?
Specific requirements per your company?

All these things add up to what tool makes the best choice. I know, we're doing it now, and 'folks' look at the WHOLE ORGANIZATION to make the choice. We'll end up with the costliest tool, since we need to accomidate EVERYONE'S needs. And those TWO designers that need 'special' requirements (and only account for 5% of the requirements) MUST HAVE a tool to do it. Is that right? That's your decision. For me, give me a good tool for 95% of the users, and the 5% can use Mentor's MEGABUCKS tool! :)

No, one tool, is best for most companies! The trick is getting one that's customizable, and fits 90-95% of the users needs.

Good day.
Mitch

[tenktos]

My advise guys : avoid Altium product like fire and invest elsewhere.

I spent tens of hours on various projects creating schematics and designing a few PCBs using their yr. 2004 and 2007 products - they are full of fancy features that are not really needed and full of fundamental bugs that are also not needed. I had to use those products because my company bought their Protel 2004 pack a few years ago, while I was not here yet.

Protel PCB file get corrupted and Altium says that they .... DO NOT HAVE any repair tool ! Analog simulation (part of schematics) is useless and 100% unreliable.

And the company has "mummy knows better" attitude - they do not listen to numerous serious bug errors.

I have a fiend who is many years in PCB business and sometimes has to use Altium stuff and he hates the product.

Mentor's PADS is simply 3 classes above Altium, and basic pack cost ~ $ 5000 or so.

[fortuitous9178144]

Please see new message thread for details...

[mrmatthew]

I have only been designing for a while, but i have used protell99SE, Alltium, boardstation RE, and Expedition.
I would have to say that as sheer power goes i would have to go with mentor. Altium looks great and is ok, but not very powerful. And like another poster said a lot of the features aren't up to par yet, or at least a bit bugy when i used it. Expedition is great because it has most of the power of RE and Layout all in one program. There is no more switching to different programs to place, route, post process, etc. The router is very strong and forgiving and the cross probing with DXdesigner is solid.
I work on very large complex boards though. (right now working on 30 layer board) The few months that I used Altium I was working on smaller stuff and would consider it if you aren't needing to do real complex stuff.
I have never used Pads, but I here from the guy I work for that Mentor bought it and will eventually kill it. I can't verify that, but I would definitely investigate further.
Like I said I haven't been doing this too long, but I enjoy it very much and I am looking for more ways to get into the PCB design community. Let me know if I can help answer more specifics.
-matt

[LaurenJadeTaylor]

Printed Circuit Board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board (PWB) or etched wiring board. A PCB populated with electronic components is a printed circuit assembly (PCA), also known as a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA).

PCBs are inexpensive, and can be highly reliable. They require much more layout effort and higher initial cost than either wire-wrapped or point-to-point constructed circuits, but are much cheaper and faster for high-volume production. Much of the electronics industry's PCB design, assembly, and quality control needs are set by standards that are published by the IPC organization.

[AllyAshantiBrown]

Yes I realise it was an open question but I wanted to hear a few people's>opinions. I wasn't aware that there had recently been discussion on the subject.
Thanks.

[ElaineAbigayle]

The best PCB Layout tool is PowerPCB is very good

[ElaineAbigayle]

I am using Altium designer 6 and I am not satisfied because after I minimize him, and restore, it performs very slow and jumpy.

So the best would be.. to have features like auto-routing, have a big component library, to be very stable... and most important to be your prefered choice when you just want to design your standard PCB.

[ImaniAbigail]

Thanx for the valuable suggestions