According to a research conducted a couple of years ago, the total market for PCBs is more than $60 billion a year. That number is expected to grow significantly in the next couple of years for a simple of years – the need for printed circuit boards is going to get bigger! It’s because circuit boards are an essential part of almost every bit of modern technology. The PCBs are used in automotive, industry, space program, defense industry, and even for developing household appliances. To learn more about circuit card software in Altium – click here.
Different technology requires a different type of circuit boards, which is why the job of PCB designers is extremely important. Engineers need to design exactly the right kind of PCB for a given purpose, but that is not possible without proper software. The good news is that there is a number of amazing PCB design programs that can make the job much easier for the engineers. The bad news is that sometimes they are very expensive. For example, programs like OrCAD® PCB Designer cost a few thousand dollars!
A solution might lie in using PCD design tools that are free of charge. But, can they be a match to the expensive ones? This is a question that is probably asked by every PCB designer on the planet. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question. It all depends on the type of project you are working on.
Free Software for Learning PCB Design
If you need a tool to get a hold of designing printed circuit boards, the right way to go is to use free software. In this case, you need a program that is completely free of charge, but also easy to use. Luckily, there are some simple tools for PCB that can be used online, without a need for downloading any additional software. One of those is CircuitMaker by Altium, while there are also others like ExpressPCB, PCBWeb, or EasyEDA.
If you don’t mind downloading software, you can get some pretty advanced PCB design tools for free. TinyCAD is one of those. This program comes with every feature you may need to create simple circuit diagrams. The same goes for ZenitPCB, which features even a bigger number of useful tools. Both of these are available for Windows computers, but if you’re a Mac user, you can go with Osmond PCB.
Using PCB Design Freeware for Work
If you are a newbie, you may find free PCB design tools useful. In fact, you probably won’t have problems doing small projects with such programs. However, if your ambitions are big, you need a program with more advanced features. If you get a better PCB design program, like Eagle Professional or Diptrace Full, for example, you will be able to tackle more complicated tasks in a shorter amount of time. In fact, the rule is – the better software you have, the better job you will do.
So, if you plan to make a fortune out of PCB designing, forget about free software. Instead, you should get the best program on the market. One that is considered such is Altium Designer.