Anyone Using Diptrace?

A reminder that, not only do I have the design knowledge to figure out what your circuit does, and how it needs to be laid out, but I know all the relevant IPC standards, and practices for board fab and assembly. ;-)

Tim

Thanks, Tim. I knew that, but a reminder is always welcome.

I've used Diptrace for a few months, and find the learning curve was much faster than any other CAD I've tried. As with any software, it has idiosyncrasies, but none are show stoppers, IMHO. There are utilities for both Diptrace and Eagle to import/export schematics between them. I'm not a power user by any stretch, but when I get an Eagle project, it's pretty easy to get it into Diptrace. I've never had cause to go the other way, but it should be pretty easy.

Cheers, Dave M

I'm still at the playing-with-it stage, but it looks like I can set Diptrace hot keys to almost exactly match what I'm used to with PSpice Original-Flavor Schematics. ...Jim Thompson

If they just want a final schematic in diptrace format you might consider just using MicroSim Schematics as per your normal routine, then converting from Schematics to Orcad capture once the design is complete. Diptrace allegedly can import an Orcad design.

I sometimes bring a MicroSim schematics into Altium this way.

Wow! Thanks, I'll have to try that.

PSpice Original-Flavor Schematics _is_ MicroSim Schematics... a far better schematic capture than anything else I've ever used. In fact, I _never_ bother drawing a schematic in LTspice, I just RUN the .CIR file from MicroSim Schematics to verify that my behavioral models are compatible with LTspice (I also do the same with TopSpice... another client-requested tool that they want their models to run on). ...Jim Thompson

When you do make sure to look into every nook and cranny of the result files. Before you work on the real McCoy and then have only a day or so left to get the files right. I haven't tried anything with Diptrace yet but found that converter routines in general almost always leave something to be desired. Often something hardcore which then requires tedious and risky hand-edits.

Even with mundane netlists that is the case. For example, I had a routine that generated a PADS netlist with relatively few quirks. It quit working when I bought the latest license of Eagle. So I am using another now but it only works from the layout window (which doesn't make much sense) and the result often violates numerous PADS requirements where you have to either hand-edit or be very careful in the schematic to circumvent those situations (my preferred solution).

With a superb programmer in the family (Aaron) I may just get around the whole problem by underwriting the development of a tool to take a PSpice netlist and convert it to various PCB formats ;-) ...Jim Thompson

Dip trace does have a number of import options including some for that bird named program. If you have some need in particular give a yell and I will look, see, try