Computer Aided Design - CAD Software

There are several low cost and in one case free Computer Aided Design (CAD) software programs or suites available for home and hobbiest users as well as small business. There are also a stable of CAD tools for more serious business use that aren’t too terribly more expensive if your a business, but for a home user can be the equivalent of a used car or remodeled kitchen.

Computer Aided Design – CAD Software
KiCAD at www.kicad-pcb.org True Open Source – Free Built in Tool Collections for engineering calculations Does not appear to have a built in Autorouter. Linking out to third party routers is shown here as an example.	KiCAD CAD Software
Proteus ISIS/ARES at www.labcenter.com Herdware.com Proteus Page Low entry price for near full-fledged version, $248USD No limit to PCB size, limited to 500 pins Live update between Schematic Capture and PCB Layout Powerful autorouter. Properly set up the autorouter can obtain 100% routed board of moderate complexity without tedious hand routing. ISIS – Proteus Schematic Capture	Proteus ISIS PCB Design Example
CADSOFT Eagle CAD at CADSoftUSA.com Extremely Popular with DIY and Hobbiests Large collection of user contributed symbols and libraries Special non-commercial only price of $169USD Autorouter not that useful, most users hand route Many PCB manufacturers take Eagle files directly. GUI can be clunky, sometimes CLI needed, have to drag a route off-screen to access menu Eagle Cad PCB Design