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Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

giulicard30-Aug-22 23:30

giulicard

30-Aug-22 23:30

honey the codewitch wrote:
I've been wrestling with EAGLE trying to build a schematic, and whoever designed it broke every possible rule of good UI design

Give it a try to KiCAD. After 25 years far from electrical diagrams and their related PCBs, it was enough for me to use it for a few days to create a complete project, starting from the electric diagram to Gerber and drilling files. As far as I know, people at CERN are heavily involved in the development and maintenance of this EDA tool. Which is free. A native auto router is missing, but AFAIK you can export the netlist to other free tools to re-import the auto-routing design to KiCad.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

Paul612431-Aug-22 1:05

Paul6124

31-Aug-22 1:05

Have you ever tried using Solidworks? It’s appalling from a UI point of view. I think a different team implemented each function without any holistic view of how it will all go together. The number of inconsistencies would probably get me banned for spamming if I listed them all!

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

JohnDG5231-Aug-22 2:08

JohnDG52

31-Aug-22 2:08

I'll put in another plug for KiCAD. I used Cadence stuff professionally before retiring, but now I only do occasional contracts and homers, it's not worth buying stuff. KiCAD is pretty good - pity I can't import my libraries from work, tho'!

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

ElectroLund31-Aug-22 3:37

ElectroLund

31-Aug-22 3:37

One other note about Kicad, it will import Eagle designs! I've tried it and it's not too bad of an import.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

milo-xml31-Aug-22 2:18

milo-xml

31-Aug-22 2:18

I haven't used it too much, but you could give TinkerCad a try. Might be too basic for you tho.
TinkerCad[^]

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

godfetish31-Aug-22 3:07

godfetish

31-Aug-22 3:07

CADdyi by Microsoft

A free CAD software with premium features for the maker!

*If someone uses this name, you owe me money.

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

rnbergren31-Aug-22 3:46

rnbergren

31-Aug-22 3:46

This this right here. This is the reason I kept an old version of Visio from before they went all webby etc...

To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

MSBassSinger31-Aug-22 4:47

MSBassSinger

31-Aug-22 4:47

MS was good at creating visual designers. That was back in the days of Alan Cooper and his peers at Microsoft. Today, not so much. After several years of Xamarin, they still can't figure out how to make a XAML designer that supports Xamarin XAML. Now with MAUI and Blazor (HTML/CSS), no visual designer.

MS has lost their edge in understanding the value-add of rapid application design (RAD). They settle for syntactic sugar updates of little value to C#. Honestly, I am not sure there is anyone in MS' developer tools division that knows what value engineering is, and how it relates to making tools that advance RAD.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

honey the codewitch31-Aug-22 4:54

honey the codewitch

31-Aug-22 4:54

Fair. I've been so immersed in C++ and IoT things, and before that, console based code generators that I haven't paid much attention to the goings on at MS as of late.

To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

Shmoken9931-Aug-22 5:28

Shmoken99

31-Aug-22 5:28

Agreed. As long as MS continue to support it after I've clawed my way up the learning curve.

I use Fusion 360 with a hobbyist license. It's getting much better with each release, but they keep moving features out of the free license into the paid license. Also, some of the folks that pay are complaining that you now have to pay for some of the analysis features as a service. Most of the analysis tools used to run locally.

I used Blender in the past but switched to Fusion360 for the drawing and drafting features, but Blender now has more engineering features. I may switch back if Fusion360 continues to paywall more features.

Sad, though, since the learning curve for Fusion360 is so steep.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

sasadler31-Aug-22 8:23

sasadler

31-Aug-22 8:23

Actually, Microsoft bought Visio back in 2000 (I think) and then merged it into their system. I'd used pre-Microsoft versions of Visio but never bothered with the Microsoft version since my usage was rather infrequent.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

honey the codewitch31-Aug-22 8:33

honey the codewitch

31-Aug-22 8:33

They also bought VBA from Summit

But they improved on those things.

To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

Test Tickle31-Aug-22 11:47

Test Tickle

31-Aug-22 11:47

EAGLE 7 was the last best version, after Autodesk took it on they butchered the licensing and made the software almost impossible to use offline. I would recommend KICAD, bit of a learning curve but worth it, another popular one is EASYEDA.

Re: I wish Microsoft would write a CAD program.

JP Johnston MSME CSWP13-Nov-22 5:54

JP Johnston MSME CSWP

13-Nov-22 5:54

My first post. And LMMFAO, Microsoft creating CAD software???!!!???!!! Oh hell no!

Microsoft would end up with a product that would be bloated beyond the worst bloated ROMs for Android devices ending with the BSOD.

We are in desperate need of high-end engineering/analysis software for Linux. I don't care about the flavor of said Linux distro, just a rewrite of SolidWorks. Is this asking too much???!!!???!!!???!!!

Before anyone types/posts, I'm very much aware of the amount of work that goes into developing software especially high-end parametric modelers and optimization/analysis stuff...

~jp

It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

honey the codewitch30-Aug-22 4:59

honey the codewitch

30-Aug-22 4:59

Woohoo, my desk is arriving today. I can finally retire my current wobbly furniture from its current post and make it an electronics bench.

This excites me. Even the thought of assembling it. How goofy is that? Poke tongue | ;-P

When I was younger I was harder please.

To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

Re: It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

Daniel Pfeffer30-Aug-22 5:21

Daniel Pfeffer

30-Aug-22 5:21

Oh, so you'll be replacing a wobbly factory-bought desk with a wobbly self-assembled desk... $Shucks | :-\$

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.

Re: It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

honey the codewitch30-Aug-22 5:34

honey the codewitch

30-Aug-22 5:34

Ha. This one wasn't assembled by the factory either. I actually inherited it from a friend - a convenience at the time, and the desk has since survived a move, but barely. I just never got around to replacing it.

The new one is 90% steel so it should be fairly secure and easy to assemble. Not a fan of particle board.

To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

Re: It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

OriginalGriff30-Aug-22 5:56

OriginalGriff

30-Aug-22 5:56

I inherited mine from a friend as well - steel base and veneered chipboard top. Interestingly, the veneer is "rough" on the bottom and "fine" on top to make it appear more like one solid piece of wood!

I modified it recently, by cutting away about a third in a fairly "swoopy" shape to fit my new^* chair in between it and the door with enough space for Herself to get between them. Since the top is wood, that was really easy: make a template in plywood, follow that with a router, and finish with hot glue veneer edging. Looks like it was designed like that! Laugh | :laugh:

"New" to me: it was made in the 1880 ~ 1890s ... I just had it reupholstered and made a frame with casters to lift it to desk height. Solid leather, springs, and horsehair - none of that foam which squashes down when the warranty expires. I'd had enough of paying through the nose for Chinese rubbish which leaves you sitting on the wooden base after a few months.

"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

Re: It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

MarkTJohnson30-Aug-22 5:52

MarkTJohnson

30-Aug-22 5:52

You're a maker. You like making things.

I enjoyed putting together my grandson's Power Wheels last week. The stickers were a pain but other than that.

I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.

Re: It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

TNCaver30-Aug-22 6:24

TNCaver

30-Aug-22 6:24

A wobbly electronics workbench might present a challenge while trying to solder...

If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP.

Re: It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

honey the codewitch30-Aug-22 6:52

honey the codewitch

30-Aug-22 6:52

I don't solder at my bench. I just prototype there. I solder on the kitchen table where it's more solid and I have more room.

To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.

Re: It's the little things, like a new desk that get me excited these days

Roger Wright30-Aug-22 6:37

Roger Wright

30-Aug-22 6:37

Congratulations! Big Grin | :-D

You've just reminded me that the desk I'm using was the first piece of furniture I ever bought - in 1982. If I hadn't just spent $750 on a new water heater being delivered today, I'd go desk shopping!

Will Rogers never met me.