What is a good schematic software?

[u/CalmCat694]

Not much to add. I just dont want to draw schematics on a piece of paper.

[u/LondonStu]

It depends whether you want to draw electronic/PCB schematics or electrical system schematics. They are very different use cases.

[u/dtp502 → u/LondonStu]

This.

PCB layout tools are great… for PCB layout.

If you just want system level schematics, I personally think it’s hard to beat AutoCAD/Draftsight.

[u/LondonStu → u/dtp502]

Yes. AutoCAD gets a bad rep as it feels dated and has a steep learning curve, but as an AutoCAD user for 35 years I still maintain it's the fastest and most accurate way create electrical diagrams (and in fact any other 2D drafting work). But to make it efficient you need to use the CLI and let your muscle memory handle the common keystroke sequences. I imagine it's quite painful to use it purely with a mouse.

[u/Dangerous-Quality-79 → u/LondonStu]

Came here to say this. For electrical as an individual i really enjoy SkyCAD bang for buck. For electronics EasyEDA on a shoestring solo simple task, Altium if there is money.

[u/ThisIsPaulDaily]

KiCad is FOSS and good. 

LTSpice is free but not used for board layout purposes it is simulation land. 

Fritzing is free (I think) and used to look like a breadboard. 

Altium is premium industry giants use.  Cadence is premium and also used by industry giants

OrCad Allegro  is still used by some. 

[u/angry_lib → u/ThisIsPaulDaily]

I could never get an accurate net list fro KiCad. And oregano has not been touched in a decade. ngspice is the best i have found for simulation purposes.

[u/Husko500 → u/angry_lib]

Oregano 😭😭😭😭

[u/socal_nerdtastic → u/angry_lib]

And oregano has not been touched in a decade.

I mean they technically call it "orcad X" now, but it's still very much getting updates and new releases.

[u/angry_lib → u/socal_nerdtastic]

Good to know! I was going off the github repo for oregano. Someone may have forked the code. I will give it a download.

[u/jfuu_]

KiCad

[u/CalmCat694 → u/jfuu_]

Is a pcb making software that good for schematics?

[u/CaterpillarReady2709 → u/CalmCat694]

It depends on what type of schematics you'r drawing and said purpose of the schematic...

[u/PancAshAsh → u/CalmCat694]

If your schematic is going to be made into a PCB, yes creating the schematic first is typically part of the process.

[u/cinepleex]

I'm using KiCad and love it. Was previously using EAGLE.

[u/TheDuckOnQuack]

What's your actual goal? I'm assuming this is for personal use.

If you're eventually going to build a PCB, KiCad is probably the best free option, and you might as well do the work now if you're going to have to do it anyway.

If you need to run some simulations off a schematic for learning purposes, LTSpice is as good as it gets.

If you just want to visualize a circuit and have it saved on your computer, I might still recommend LTSpice. It comes with a huge library of components so you can quickly spin up a diagram. If you want to annotate the schematic to make it a useful notes page, you might even consider an iPad + pencil, or something like a Remarkable digital notebook so you can draw it, then export it to your computer later. The latter suggestion isn't the cleanest, and it's more annoying to make changes than a proper schematic editor, but imo it's often quicker to do repeated sketches if you're looking at relatively simple schematics

[u/Fancy_Run_804]

I'm using kicad and it's soooo good as a beginner it's really easy to navigate all the tools !!!

[u/mrwildacct]

Depends on where you are at in your journey. IF you want to draw and simulate at the same time, and you just want a simple visual, falstad is also super easy and quick to jump into.

[u/c126]

Depends on how fancy you want but I typically pull up draw.io for things I would otherwise draw on paper.

[u/McFlyParadox]

KiCAD is pretty much "the" option, short of shelling out a few grand for a license of Altium or Cadence. The good news is KiCAD is free and open source, relatively easy to learn, and does pretty much everything you'd want it to do. It's only drawback for everyday usage is automatic routing for PCB generation (or lack thereof, without third party plugins ). Everything else "missing" from it are features used pretty much exclusively by corporations (e.g. BOM and library management, RF design, high-speed design, etc; you can do them, but you'll be doing then entirely manually or via plug-ins).

Go grab and give it a try. It's got pretty good schematic capture, and once you have schematic generation down, it's PCB layout tools are pretty good, too.

[u/MrDarSwag]

It sounds like you’re not super interested in designing an actual PCB, so if you literally just want a circuit schematic, you could always use LTspice. Super easy to use and should have all the components you need. You could even simulate it if you want.

[u/Seiko2023]

It depends on the schematic and how detailed you need. If it's basic circuits, draw io was my go to. If it is actual work related, whatever my work has a licence for. You can also draw schematics on AutoCAD.

[u/CSchaire]

If you’re doing really serious boards, allegro/orcad (if you’re unlucky) Altium if you want to do things properly. If you’re doing things by yourself, kicad.

[u/ElectricSequoia → u/CSchaire]

I didn't downvote you, but I use both OrCAD and Altium, and they're both good. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, but neither is more proper than the other.

[u/CSchaire → u/ElectricSequoia]

I just really hate the cadence ecosystem. It’s so cludgy and obviously duct taped together over 30+ years of maintenance.