When PCBS had not yet been discovered, engineers used external wires to connect all the components on the circuit, as is done today on breadboards. But as circuits grew larger and more complex, it became very difficult to establish reliable connections using external wires. To solve this problem, PCBS were introduced as early as 1936. Today, there are many online and offline PCB design tools and software that can help you design and manufacture PCBS easily. We covered the basics of PCBS in our last article, and in this article, we’ll discuss and compare some popular PCB design software because of their price, availability, and other features. Here we will discuss some of the most commonly used EDA software such as EAGLE, Multisim, EasyEDA, Altium design, OrCAD, and KiCAD. These software are widely used in PCB design and simulation of electronic circuits.

EAGLE:
The most popular and common CAD software used for PCB design is EAGLE. EAGLE stands for Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor. The software was developed by CADSoft Computer in 2016, and today EAGLE is sourced and maintained by AUTODESK.

EAGLE has a very simple, effective, and convenient interface, and provides a library containing a large number of electrical and electronic components. This is the main reason EAGLE has become the most popular PCB design software among educators, hobbyists and professionals. EAGLE can be installed on Windows, Linux, and MAC platforms. In addition, a free version of the software is available on the AUTODESK website.

Eagle has two editors; Schematic editor and PCB layout editor. The schematic editor is used to add all components and connect them according to circuit requirements. This schematic file has the unique functions of modular design block, multi-page schematic, electronic rule checking and real-time design synchronization. The schematic is then converted directly into a PCB layout editor, where we can set up components based on low complexity. This PCB layout editor also has some nice features such as alignment tools, obstacle avoidance, and wiring engines. These features are available in the free version.

For professional use, EAGLE offers a paid version for $1,000 a year. In this paid version, AUTODESK provides technical support, including phone, mail and live chat support, as well as access to the latest software versions. But for education and self-use, the free version of the software will do more than that.