Autodesk Eagle Software - Anyone Using It?

[brittf]

Has anyone used Autodesk Eagle software? It is very similar to Autodesk Fusion 360 except it is specialized for printed circuit boards. I'm thinking of developing a simple printed circuit board to mount a 16 position rotary switch for a VFD project I'm working on to convert my Jet drill press. I think using a PCB will be simpler to convert the 16 position switch to the four wires needed to run to to drive (four bit binary). The software will auto route the traces. Once the PCB is designed in Eagle you can ship the Gerber file off to a board shop to have the PCB made. Or, I might be able to use the CNC mill to produce it. The switch is designed for use on a PCB. Just wondering out loud (or actually through my keyboard) if anyone has had any experience with the software and if there are any known pitfalls. The software is free like Fusion 360.

I'll be posting my VFD conversion project in the General Tool Forum/Show us your VFD conversions/installations thread. I should be starting after Father's Day.

Thank you.


Britt

 

[texasranger]

I used Eagle in college long before Autodesk bought them out. At the time it was fairly intuitive (more so than the pspice software of the same vintage) but did have a learning curve like any software. If your switch has a standard footprint already available in libraries then it's quick to add the part and route the traces. If not you'll have to design the part (measure the pads, define the pins, etc). I've used the libraries from sparkfun, they have a lot of stuff but I ended up redoing several parts because they weren't exact enough for my liking. The most tedious part of the process is getting your layout into the correct format so the board house can produce them. At my internship that was a common sticking point, but that was 10+ years ago so it may be easier.

For something as simple as a switch have you considered acid etching the board? I'm sure there are tons of YouTube videos on the subject.

 

[gte718p]

I didn't realize autodesk had acquired Eagle. Eagle has been the standard for PCB layout for 20+ or so years. Fairly easy program to learn, but hard to master. YouTube is definitely your friend.

Eagle files are easily converted to Gcode for CNC milling. I have forgotten the name program I use (random freeware from the internet), but it is easy. I've none it hundreds of times. Since Eagle is in the autodesk family it may even be built in now.

 

[brittf]

Thank you for the replies and feedback. I have the software on my computer but have not tried to use it. From the YouTube tutorial I watched the libraries are massive and not organized. I know the switch manufacturer and model number so I hope I can find it in the library. I'm going to give it a shot or I'll be soldering 17 wires to the little tiny terminals. This will be part of my build writeup.

 

[gte718p]

I forgot come back and post the software I use.

I use flatCAM to convert, Gerber files into Gcode. I've been using a really old version of it. Version 8 (still free) looks like it has a lot of cool features.

http://flatcam.org/