smiller29
Resolved by Jeremie!
How To Design Custom PCB'S
In my Inmoov project I need to develop some break-out PC boards for the signal lines and power to different parts of the robot. I have seen others that have done this and would like to ask what they may of used to do the designing with? I myself like working with Mac software but can also use Windows based products. I am looking for the easiest to use program that is free to makers like us. I have searched Google and found a lot of packages but not sure which one would be best for what I want to do.
If anyone has already done this and would be willing to share their work, it would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
FYI: After I post this question I found this post "Pcb's In Larger Robot Builds". https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/Pcb-s-In-Larger-Robot-Builds-4310
This has good information in it but it is a bit out dated and I am sure more options maybe available.
I used to use free software for PCB - but then we got into the $5k Altium software for the company. But there are several online tools, such as this: https://circuitmaker.com/
And the best PCB company is PCB way for sure: https://www.pcbway.com
PCB Way is like $30 for 5 pcbs
Funny enough, I've been using CircuitMaker myself. I'm not sure I would recommend it though. I'm already in the Altium ecosystem so it works well for me. Altium is like the Adobe of the circuit design world. They are the most professional and standard across the electronics industry. I would say if you're not looking to do printed circuit board design professionally I would look elsewhere. While CircuitMaker schematics are a standard file type (.SchDoc) that can be used between programs, the PCB files are bound to the CircuitMaker ecosystem as they use a .CMPcbDoc file type. It isn't used anywhere else. Once you commit to CircuitMaker you are kind of locked in, the .CMPcbDoc files aren't even supported in Altium Designer so you can't even scale up.
Other popular programs are Eagle (owned by Autodesk now) and KiCAD.
Eagle was standard in the maker world for the past decade, and Sparkfun uses it as their standard program. It's growing less popular after the Autodesk acquisition.
KiCAD is open source and seems to be the popular go-to for makers these days. There's definitely a learning curve to it and it does lack features but you can't argue with free.
I agree with DJ, PCBway and JLCPCB are the best value these days for PCB manufacturing.
Oh i found the one that I used to use: https://www.freepcb.com/
It's okay for something quick - but it sure isn't the best lol!
Thanks I downloaded KiCAD and that looks like something I can figure out I hope.
I have never used the software but have heard nothing but good things about it.
https://easyeda.com/
You talked about break-out boards with signal and power. Would these do for you? They are servo power boards with a extra pin for the signal. If so, let me know, I have several I'm not using. My email is in my profile.
That’s a board to power servos from a barrel jack - and that’s all. The 4th pin is just wired to the signal pin so you can connect it to a microcontroller.
Herr Ball, Thanks for hooking me up with these boards they should work perfect for me in my build.