Which PCB Software do you use?

I have run shops that used OrCad, PCAD, Altium, PADS, Mentor and Eagle.

There is a long history of acquisitions where Mentor acquired PADS, Cadence acquired OrCad, Altium grew from Protel and Tango and acquired Accutrax and P-Cad, Autosesk acquired Eagle.....etc.

I have not tried Cad Star or Zuken or KiCad although I have looked into them.

I have several times evaluated the industry to figure out which cad software to use in my shop.

What I have found is:

Mentor is expensive and complex but it can handle a whole group of designers all working on the same design at the same time. It really requires a team that includes specialists in managing/administering the Mentor system and libraries etc. Their PADS offering is hampered by Mentor requirements - it can't go off in another direction and compete with Mentor.

Cadence/OrCad is the next step down, still very expensive and still complex. It can be run without big administration overhead, but then you sort of have the high cost without the benefits that should come from high cost.

Altium comes next with medium cost and performance. It generally has higher productivity than the big 2 and is popular in smaller shops.

All of the big cad companies seem to dabble in entry level CAD software to hook new users, but their low end products all have deficiencies that the parent company is not addressing well because they don't want their low end products to compete with their high end products and they want users to have an incentive to transition to their high end product. (Altium and Circuit Studio, or Mentor and PADS, etc) And of course they spend most of their resources on developing their high end product.

I personally use Eagle, because I have far higher productivity with it than the others, but I don't use it at work, because we have to all use the same CAD tools there. Eagle is on the low end of cost, but not hampered by being the company's low end offering. I'm sure Autodesk bought it because of its huge number of users. (far more seats than the big names) Their licensing system will change the uptake rate, probably shifting towards KiCad.

I am keeping an eye on KiiCad, but so far I know I would not be very productive with it.

Most designers prefer the cad software they first got good at and they have a hard time switching to other cad software and being productive with it. When I say Altium is more productive than Mentor, it is not a universal statement, a good Mentor designer will most likely not be more productive when forced to use Altium.

When I join a new company, it is imperative to keep using the CAD software they already use. For many reasons, including productivity and supporting legacy products.

When choosing which cad software to learn, choose carefully - it may dictate which companies you can work for. If you want to work at a particular company, find out what they use and get good at it. It may pay off to choose a popular cad system because it will provide more choices during your career.

When hiring someone who uses a different cad system from your shop, be aware they may have a hard time with it and may continue looking for a more comfortable job.

I have seen a couple of designers transition to Altium and like it, but that is rare. I have also seen a whole shop that transitioned to Mentor from Cadence and a few years later transition back. This was primarily because of designer comfort with the tool they grew up with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_EDA_software

I have run shops that used OrCad, PCAD, Altium, PADS, Mentor and Eagle.

There is a long history of acquisitions where Mentor acquired PADS, Cadence acquired OrCad, Altium grew from Protel and Tango and acquired Accutrax and P-Cad, Autosesk acquired Eagle.....etc.

I have not tried Cad Star or Zuken or KiCad although I have looked into them.

I have several times evaluated the industry to figure out which cad software to use in my shop.

What I have found is:

Mentor is expensive and complex but it can handle a whole group of designers all working on the same design at the same time. It really requires a team that includes specialists in managing/administering the Mentor system and libraries etc. Their PADS offering is hampered by Mentor requirements - it can't go off in another direction and compete with Mentor.

Cadence/OrCad is the next step down, still very expensive and still complex. It can be run without big administration overhead, but then you sort of have the high cost without the benefits that should come from high cost.

Altium comes next with medium cost and performance. It generally has higher productivity than the big 2 and is popular in smaller shops.

All of the big cad companies seem to dabble in entry level CAD software to hook new users, but their low end products all have deficiencies that the parent company is not addressing well because they don't want their low end products to compete with their high end products and they want users to have an incentive to transition to their high end product. (Altium and Circuit Studio, or Mentor and PADS, etc) And of course they spend most of their resources on developing their high end product.

I personally use Eagle, because I have far higher productivity with it than the others, but I don't use it at work, because we have to all use the same CAD tools there. Eagle is on the low end of cost, but not hampered by being the company's low end offering. I'm sure Autodesk bought it because of its huge number of users. (far more seats than the big names) Their licensing system will change the uptake rate, probably shifting towards KiCad.

I am keeping an eye on KiiCad, but so far I know I would not be very productive with it.

Most designers prefer the cad software they first got good at and they have a hard time switching to other cad software and being productive with it. When I say Altium is more productive than Mentor, it is not a universal statement, a good Mentor designer will most likely not be more productive when forced to use Altium.

When I join a new company, it is imperative to keep using the CAD software they already use. For many reasons, including productivity and supporting legacy products.

When choosing which cad software to learn, choose carefully - it may dictate which companies you can work for. If you want to work at a particular company, find out what they use and get good at it. It may pay off to choose a popular cad system because it will provide more choices during your career.

When hiring someone who uses a different cad system from your shop, be aware they may have a hard time with it and may continue looking for a more comfortable job.

I have seen a couple of designers transition to Altium and like it, but that is rare. I have also seen a whole shop that transitioned to Mentor from Cadence and a few years later transition back. This was primarily because of designer comfort with the tool they grew up with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_EDA_software

I've been using Altium in all companies I worked. Now, I consider giving KiCad a try ( to run some fun projects)  and the first thing that poped up on my mind was: "Oh, no, I will have to 'relearn' everything again'." But, at the end I will try it to know how is the feeling of switching ( though I already feel the resistance ).

Joao,

I quite agree with the reluctance to learn new packages. I know Proteus but no longer have access to it so I am girding my loins to learn either Eagle or KiCAD. This does not fill me with any joy so like a good retiree I just keep putting it off and sitting in the sun and drinking tea. Which is what I'm going to do now!

Dubbie