Kalamazoo, MI (PRWEB) September 14, 2005
New circuit board design software helps electronics engineers and technicians create PCB board designs easily and efficiently.
DipTrace is an advanced PCB design software application that comes with PCB Layout module, Schematic Capture and Component/Pattern editors to design your own component libraries. Besides being very simple to learn, which is quite an accomplishment for an engineering software application, the software has a very intuitive user interface and many innovative features that most marketed PCB Design packages lack.
For instance, a schematic can be converted to a PCB with one mouse click. The board designer can instantly renew the PCB from an updated version of schematic and keep existing placement, routed traces, board outline, mounting holes and other work. DipTrace has a high quality automatic router, superior to many routers included in other PCB layout packages. It can route a single layer (bottom side) and multilayer circuit boards, and there is an option to autoroute a single layer board with jumper wires, if required. Smart manual routing tools allow users to finalize the design and to get the results they want in a blink of an eye.
Accurate shape-based copper pour system with different possible fill types and thermals can be used to make plane layers and reduce manufacturing costs by minimizing the amount of etchant. Another important feature is Design Rule Check (DRC) – the function that checks the clearance between design objects, minimum size of traces and drills, which ensures board accuracy. Net connectivity check allows you check all electrical connections and find all broken nets and their isolated areas. A feature comparing a PCB to a schematic helps detect possible design mistakes and correct them before prototyping.
The program supports different output formats, like DXF, N/C drill files for the Numerically Controlled drilling machines and Gerber files that most board manufacturers use. Very important feature for hobbyists is automatic creation of isolation poly lines and exporting them to DXF, DXF files can be converted to G-code with free ACE Converter tool. DipTrace also contains an impressive number of standard libraries with 50,000+ components.
While the least expensive software to perform similar functions is likely to cost thousands of US Dollars, the unlimited version of DipTrace is available for 695 US Dollars, DipTrace Small Business (2000 pins), DipTrace Standard (1000 pins) and DipTrace Lite (500 pins) are available for 495 USD, 345 USD and 145 USD, accordingly. Non-profit license of Standard costs only $ 125. Also, there is completely free version available for students and hobbyists with 250 pins limit!
Full-featured 30-Day trial and free version with 250 pins limit are available at http://www.diptrace.com
