What Software is Used for Board Design?

[cpsmusic]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to the world of stripboard.

Just wondering what software people use when designing their layouts?

Cheers,

Chris

[Neil mcNasty]

Welcome to the club!

The answer to your question is short and simple:
DIYLC (Do It Yourself Layout Creator)
Here's a introduction video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C914Ig8oOOI

I guess you have allready seen the layouts on this site.
They are all done with DIYLC.
Here's a site with Perfboard and PCB layouts, made with DIYLC.

If you are a (cr)Apple user:
Here's the new Stripboard iPad app from SabroTone:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stripboardcad/id988696623?ls=1&mt=8

These should cover your needs and be pretty easy to learn.

If you are up for a big challange, making multilayered PCB's: EagleCAD

[Silver Blues]

Big challenge is right. Eagle is one of the most confusing goddamn programs I've had the misfortune of using. It's a great tool, don't get me wrong, and makes really nice PCB layouts, but there's nothing intuitive about that thing at ALL. The manual doesn't help much either; I got halfway through the incredibly long tutorial and quit when I realized I still didn't know what I was doing.  Just prepare to invest some time if you want to really get to know it.

[Chris60601]

LOL - too funny SB!!!

I happen to love Eagle. After learning it, I found Dip Trace to be confusing (although another fantastic app).

I guess it comes down to "what you grew up with". Meaning, what ever version you gave time to, you end up loving and using.  I was like that with Photoshop. I opted to use Illustrator. Perhaps not the same in comparison, I just found the later easier for doing my B and BB templates and artwork.

[Silver Blues]

Hahaha yeah, I'm not trying to put off anyone from trying it, just sharing my struggle

[Neil mcNasty]

I have to admit that both Eagle and DipTrace left me clueless at first glance.
And since I am able to do what I need to do with DIYLC, I did not spend much time figuring it out either...

Now here is a weird thing with my DIYLC experience:
I use DIYLC on a OS X system, and it's very nice, except for the occational crash (remeber to save all the time).
So I decided to try the Windows version, since I was expecting it to be more stable, being the original platform it was created on/for...
I fired it up... And was clueless. Even thoug it looked pretty much the same, I found it to be a very different regarding the user-interface.
I could not even find out how to select components, let alone placing them on the layout.
I seemed like nothing worked like I was used to, and not much resembled the OS X version I've been using.
I suspect that it was my brain that did not work properly, or that I had a "Windows block" that day...

Anyway...
It is nice to see that the DIYLC updates are coming on a regular basis, and that it keeps getting better each time.
It is indeed a wonderfull tool for us mere mortals, who want things to be as simple as possible!

Remember to donate and support the guys who write the code!