 | |
| Developer(s) | WestDev Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2001 |
| Stable release | 13.0 |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Type | Electronic design automation |
| Licence | Proprietary |
| Website | www |
Pulsonix is an electronic design automation (EDA) software suite for schematic capture and PCB[ clarification needed ] design. It is produced by WestDev, which is headquartered in Gloucestershire, England, with additional sales and distribution offices overseas. It was first released in 2001, and runs on Windows.
The British software house WestDev created electronic design automation (EDA) software Pulsonix in 2001. Some development team members had formerly worked at Racal–Redac on computer-aided design tools. A key aim of the developers was that the software be easy to use, without the need for extensive training that they believed existing EDA products at that time required. [1] [2]
The software formed part of the €14 million euros EU-funded project "HERMES". The three-year project (2008–11) sought to embed components within a circuit board's inner layers, to minimize use of design space. [3] [4]
Traditionally, wire leads of components were inserted through holes in a circuit board then soldered in place; more recently, components and chips are surface-mounted flush with the board and heat-set. Although the concept of embedding components directly within layers of a circuit board itself had existed for some time, technical difficulties meant it was experimental, unsuited for use in mass production.
An increased demand for miniaturization, for products such as smartphones or medical devices that have to be swallowed to explore inside the body, led the EU to create the three-year project to develop embedding for "industrialization" (mass production use). [4] No EDA software was suitable for embedding. The taskforce working on HERMES approached the "most important EDA tool suppliers and convinced them to support [the project]". Pulsonix was one of those contacted, the others being Cadence, Mentor Graphics, and Zuken. [3] [5]
Pulsonix is a Windows application for schematic capture and PCB layout design. It is produced in three variants, from 1000 pins up to an unlimited component pins version suited to larger designs. [6] All three have autorouter capability. [7] Within a dual monitor setup, schematic and layout design processes can each be assigned to a single screen, with changes synchronized as needed. [8]
Schematic capture layout functionality, including:
Chris Anderson, then Wired editor-in-chief, gave it a generally positive review, at DIY Drones – an online portal for unmanned aerial vehicle ("drones") enthusiasts, in which he praised its user interface plus range of features such as 3D views, and, while noting it is an expensive product, deemed it "the best competitor to the aging Cadsoft Eagle" software. [12]
Neil Gruending, columnist at long-running electronics magazine Elektor , on board design among the maker subculture, reviewed around seven EDA products on his blog in late 2012. Gruending found Pulsonix's user interface straightforward, singling out how "copper pours work properly" for praise. He considered for range of features and cost, its closest relation was Altium. Contrasting the two products Gruending wrote Pulsonix had comparatively low market share in North America, though he found support from vendors significantly better for Pulsonix there.
Schematic capture or schematic entry is a step in the design cycle of electronic design automation (EDA) at which the electronic diagram, or electronic schematic of the designed electronic circuit, is created by a designer. This is done interactively with the help of a schematic capture tool also known as schematic editor.
EAGLE is a scriptable electronic design automation (EDA) application with schematic capture, printed circuit board (PCB) layout, auto-router and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) features. EAGLE stands for Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor and is developed by CadSoft Computer GmbH. The company was acquired by Autodesk Inc. in 2016 who announced to support the product up to 2026 only.
CADSTAR is a Windows-based electronic design automation (EDA) software tool for designing and creating schematic diagrams and printed circuit boards (PCBs). It provides engineers with a tool for designing simple or complex, multilayer PCBs. CADSTAR spans schematic capture, variant management, placement, automatic and high-speed routing, signal integrity, power integrity, EMC analysis, design rule checks and production of manufacturing data.
TARGET 3001! is a CAD computer program for EDA and PCB design, developed by Ing.-Büro Friedrich in Germany. This software application has been available since 1992 and operates on Microsoft Windows. It supports the design of electronic schematics, PCBs, and device front panels. The software is available in English, German and French.
OrCAD Systems Corporation was a software company that made OrCAD, a proprietary software tool suite used primarily for electronic design automation (EDA). The software is used mainly by electronic design engineers and electronic technicians to create electronic schematics, and perform mixed-signal simulation and electronic prints for manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs). OrCAD was taken over by Cadence Design Systems in 1999 and was integrated with Cadence Allegro in 2005.
The term gEDA refers to two things:
KiCad is a free software suite for electronic design automation (EDA). It facilitates the design and simulation of electronic hardware for PCB manufacturing. It features an integrated environment for schematic capture, PCB layout, manufacturing file viewing, ngspice-provided SPICE simulation, and engineering calculation. Tools exist within the package to create bill of materials, artwork, Gerber files, and 3D models of the PCB and its components.
Altium Limited is an Australian multinational software company that provides electronic design automation software to engineers who design printed circuit boards. Founded as Protel Systems Pty Ltd in Australia in 1985, the company has regional headquarters in the United States, Australia, China, Europe, and Japan. Its products are designed for use in a Microsoft Windows environment and used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, defence and telecommunications. Its flagship product, Altium Designer, is a software for unified electronics design. Since August 2024, Altium is a subsidiary of Renesas Electronics.
CR-5000 is Zuken's EDA design suite for electronic systems and printed circuit boards aimed at the enterprise market. It was developed to address complex design needs that involve managing the complete development and manufacturing preparation process on an enterprise-wide scale. CR-5000 is made to facilitate the design of complex and high-speed boards, with features aimed at addressing challenges such as signal integrity and electromagnetic compatibility.
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This page is a comparison of electronic design automation (EDA) software which is used today to design the near totality of electronic devices. Modern electronic devices are too complex to be designed without the help of a computer. Electronic devices may consist of integrated circuits (ICs), printed circuit boards (PCBs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or a combination of them. Integrated circuits may consist of a combination of digital and analog circuits. These circuits can contain a combination of transistors, resistors, capacitors or specialized components such as analog neural networks, antennas or fuses.
Altium Designer (AD) is a PCB and electronic design automation software package for printed circuit boards. It is developed by Australian software company Altium Limited. Altium Designer was previously named under the "Protel" brand.
PCB is a free and open-source software suite for electronic design automation (EDA) - for printed circuit boards (PCB) layout. It uses GTK+ for its GUI widgets.
DesignSpark PCB is a free electronic design automation software package for printed circuit boards. Although there is no charge for the software, the user must register with DesignSpark.com to unlock the program and it displays advertisements which must be acknowledged before the user can begin working.
P-CAD was the brand name of Personal CAD Systems, Inc., a California-based manufacturer of electronic design automation software. It manufactured a CAD software available for personal computers. The company was divested into ACCEL Technologies, which was purchased by Altium in 2000. The last release of the software was in 2006, before it was retired in favor of the Altium Designer product.
DipTrace is a proprietary software suite for electronic design automation (EDA) used for electronic schematic capture and printed circuit board layouts. DipTrace has four applications: schematic capture editor, PCB layout editor with built-in shape-based autorouter and 3D preview, component editor, and pattern editor.
CircuitMaker is electronic design automation software for printed circuit board designs targeted at the hobby, hacker, and maker community. CircuitMaker is available as freeware, and the hardware designed with it may be used for commercial and non-commercial purposes without limitations. It is currently available publicly as version 2.0 by Altium Limited, with the first non-beta release on January 17, 2016.
EasyEDA is a web-based EDA tool suite that enables hardware engineers to design, simulate, share - publicly and privately - and discuss schematics, simulations and printed circuit boards. Other features include the creation of a bill of materials, Gerber files and pick and place files and documentary outputs in PDF, PNG and SVG formats.
The Proteus Design Suite is a proprietary software tool suite used primarily for electronic design automation. The software is used mainly by electronic design engineers and technicians to create schematics and electronic prints for manufacturing printed circuit boards.
Autodesk Fusion is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and printed circuit board (PCB) design software application, developed by Autodesk. It is available for Windows, macOS and web browser, with simplified applications available for Android and iOS. Fusion is licensed as a paid subscription, with a free limited home-based, non-commercial personal edition available.