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Ben's software of choice

Former Member

I've noticed that Ben has slowly made the switch from 123D to Fusion 360 on the show.

 

In the past Ben has done tutorials on using EagleCAD for PCB design, I'm wondering are you still using it?

 

It's also well known that Ben's favourite 2d tool is Illustrator.

 

I'd love to see an episode covering all the different software tools Ben and Felix and even Karen use for their day to day work.

 

My own software suite includes:

Windows 10

Fusion 360/123D and OpenSCAD

Simplify3d and Cura

Octoprint running on a Pi

 

Obviously you guys use other software too.

 

My main reason for posting this is I want to get into PCB design, and am struggling to decide on Eagle or KiCad, and thought an update on Ben's previous tutorials would be handy, since I'm sure Ben (and Felix) have learned a lot since the last one.

 

As a side note, it took me ages to work out how to post this. There doesn't seem to be a direct link to the forums on the main element14 ben heck show page. Might I suggest you put a plain text link directly above or next to the "Recent Build Suggestions and Comments" header?

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  • Hi Rainer,

     

    We may have something similar to what you are looking for in the works already. image

    I can tell you right now the software I use. I tend to do mostly 2D design. I currently use Illustrator, but I'm a devoted fan of Corel Draw. (I use a Macbook and Corel Draw is PC only these days and I don't want to split my HD to add a VM to run Windows just for Corel Draw.) They both have their advantages, but for designing for cutting plotters like laser, blade, or vinyl cutters, I prefer Corel Draw. In my experience, Corel Draw is much more intuitive and user friendly. The tools you need are well labeled and easy to find. There are a lot of functions in Illustrator that rival Corel Draw, but they are much clunkier to achieve. The tool is either buried in a menu or is called something strange. I've found that in Illustrator, it can take many steps to achieve an action that takes one click or button press in Corel Draw. Now if you need to do any sort of graphic design, or anything more than just vector lines, then Illustrator can be much more powerful. I wouldn't try to do much color design in Corel Draw. Inkscape is nice to get you started with vectors if you don't have the cash to throw at either of the higher powered design tools. It's a bit basic, but it's free, so it's hard to complain.

     

    I haven't gotten much into 3D design yet, but I'd like to in the near future. We'll have to wait to have Ben weigh in on his preferred software.

     

    As for PCB design, all the EEs I know use and prefer Eagle. Then again, I don't know much about KiCad, and I don't know if any of my EE friends have heard of it either. So I don't know if they choose Eagle, or just haven't found a better option.

     

    Stay tuned for a potential design software based episode.

     

    ~Karen

     

    PS. I've forwarded your note about posting to our web guys and hopefully we can make that function easier for everyone.

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  • Hi Rainer,

     

    We may have something similar to what you are looking for in the works already. image

    I can tell you right now the software I use. I tend to do mostly 2D design. I currently use Illustrator, but I'm a devoted fan of Corel Draw. (I use a Macbook and Corel Draw is PC only these days and I don't want to split my HD to add a VM to run Windows just for Corel Draw.) They both have their advantages, but for designing for cutting plotters like laser, blade, or vinyl cutters, I prefer Corel Draw. In my experience, Corel Draw is much more intuitive and user friendly. The tools you need are well labeled and easy to find. There are a lot of functions in Illustrator that rival Corel Draw, but they are much clunkier to achieve. The tool is either buried in a menu or is called something strange. I've found that in Illustrator, it can take many steps to achieve an action that takes one click or button press in Corel Draw. Now if you need to do any sort of graphic design, or anything more than just vector lines, then Illustrator can be much more powerful. I wouldn't try to do much color design in Corel Draw. Inkscape is nice to get you started with vectors if you don't have the cash to throw at either of the higher powered design tools. It's a bit basic, but it's free, so it's hard to complain.

     

    I haven't gotten much into 3D design yet, but I'd like to in the near future. We'll have to wait to have Ben weigh in on his preferred software.

     

    As for PCB design, all the EEs I know use and prefer Eagle. Then again, I don't know much about KiCad, and I don't know if any of my EE friends have heard of it either. So I don't know if they choose Eagle, or just haven't found a better option.

     

    Stay tuned for a potential design software based episode.

     

    ~Karen

     

    PS. I've forwarded your note about posting to our web guys and hopefully we can make that function easier for everyone.

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