Hello. I'm an analog equipment designer and writer of technical articles.
I have been observing the evolution of Diptrace in recent years. And, there is real progress in its development. Congratulations to the programmers.
There are, however, problems that prevent me from recommending it to hobbyists and professionals. Diptrace does not allow you to create patterns or simple PADS with different pads for each side of the board. Even "old school" software like PCAD allows you to easily create and configure different pad diameters for each side of the PCB. I don't understand why this basic and indispensable feature is not present in Diptrace. The lack of this important feature is one reason many designers don't use Diptrace.
Another important issue is that Diptrace programmers must understand that single-sided PCBs are used profusely and Diptrace tends to unnecessarily force double-sided designs.
(text originally in Portuguese - using Google Translate)
Different pad diameters for each side of the PCB.
Re: Different pad diameters for each side of the PCB.
Thank you for the feature request.
Notice, you can right click on a through hole pad and select "Hide Pad Ring in Layer" option in submenu. This will reduce ring size to the hole size.
If you define a layer type in layer setup to plane, you can specify custom ring for all TH pads simultaneously.
We don't force to use double-sided designs as minimum. You can design single-layer boards, just ignore either top or bottom layer.
Notice, you can right click on a through hole pad and select "Hide Pad Ring in Layer" option in submenu. This will reduce ring size to the hole size.
If you define a layer type in layer setup to plane, you can specify custom ring for all TH pads simultaneously.
We don't force to use double-sided designs as minimum. You can design single-layer boards, just ignore either top or bottom layer.
Re: Different pad diameters for each side of the PCB.
Thank you for the suggestions. However, they are not valid alternatives in commercial software.
Including the features I mentioned in my message will be important for the future of Diptrace.
Including the features I mentioned in my message will be important for the future of Diptrace.
Re: Different pad diameters for each side of the PCB.
Pad Stacks.
Big thing back in the day (1980ites), now, not so much. PCAD was consumed in 2006, almost 18 years ago.
Push and Shove is coming real soon now...
Big thing back in the day (1980ites), now, not so much. PCAD was consumed in 2006, almost 18 years ago.
Push and Shove is coming real soon now...
Re: Different pad diameters for each side of the PCB.
I have a long history with PCB software (I have worked as an engineer for over 40 years). Decades ago I worked with Tango DOS, TraxMaker, Winboard, etc...
We used P-CAD from perhaps the mid-1990s until approximately 2010, and we migrated to Orcad because it was the best Spice (Pspice) that was available at the time. Later we started working with Altium as it is better accepted in the PCB industry and is more intuitive than Orcad PCB, but we only use Altium for PCBs.
I use "push and shove" on Altium, but this has no relation to the feature of PADs of different diameters and shapes for each face of the PCB.
Diptrace is one of the few software that is surviving in this difficult market and I would like to be able to recommend it to my readers and partner companies. But, the lack of some basic features prevents me from doing so.
Please note that my criticisms and requests are constructive, to improve Diptrace, as in such a competitive market it is necessary to offer the tools that engineers (and hobbyists) need. I just wanted to help you. I must remain silent now. Happy 2024 everyone.
We used P-CAD from perhaps the mid-1990s until approximately 2010, and we migrated to Orcad because it was the best Spice (Pspice) that was available at the time. Later we started working with Altium as it is better accepted in the PCB industry and is more intuitive than Orcad PCB, but we only use Altium for PCBs.
I use "push and shove" on Altium, but this has no relation to the feature of PADs of different diameters and shapes for each face of the PCB.
Diptrace is one of the few software that is surviving in this difficult market and I would like to be able to recommend it to my readers and partner companies. But, the lack of some basic features prevents me from doing so.
Please note that my criticisms and requests are constructive, to improve Diptrace, as in such a competitive market it is necessary to offer the tools that engineers (and hobbyists) need. I just wanted to help you. I must remain silent now. Happy 2024 everyone.
Re: Different pad diameters for each side of the PCB.
I was a field engineer for Calma, servicing DEC and Date General Mini's to digitize taped layouts to disk then editing and producing new PCB's with the mini computers.The first 4 bit chip had just been released, bought a kit with LED's and 10 key and started programing it. It took a few years but the first PCB design S100 buss based product was a failure due to the memory sockets plating corroding.
As long as DipTrace doesn't 'threaten' the whales DT should survive, as it stands the small companies may survive longer that the whales having more flexibility to move cost around. I think I still have my Tango disks...
As long as DipTrace doesn't 'threaten' the whales DT should survive, as it stands the small companies may survive longer that the whales having more flexibility to move cost around. I think I still have my Tango disks...