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Favorite free engineering CAD tools

M

Mr. J D

Jan 1, 1970
0
Also AnaSoft SPICE Sim. Its a full featured SPICE SIM, its real odd
looking but has so many features. The company allows you to download
the full version free, no limits of any kind.
 
I really like FilterFree from NuHertz
http://www.filter-solutions.com/

It does both analog & digital filter designs. Their free edition lasts
forever and has plenty of capabilities for my usage. In fact, it's
taught me about several topologies that I didn't know existed. Of
course, the pro edition goes far beyond my needs!

Cheers,
Todd
 
J

Joel Kolstad

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mr. J D said:
Also AnaSoft SPICE Sim. Its a full featured SPICE SIM, its real odd
looking but has so many features. The company allows you to download
the full version free, no limits of any kind.

Um, no, they don't. As Kevin (he *is* "the company) will surely let you know,
only the "30 netlist lines, etc." version is free.

I do agree with your assessment that it's a little weird looking but rather
powerful. Plus Kevin has some good tutorials on analog circuit design
available, which are actually rather humorous if you can relate to his sort of
existentialistic view of life. :)

---Joel
 
J

Joel Kolstad

Jan 1, 1970
0
I really like FilterFree from NuHertz
http://www.filter-solutions.com/

Great software, and quite reasonably priced for the "pro" versions. Like
Anasoft, NuHertz is largely a one-man band -- Jeff Kahler, although this seems
to be changing now that AWR is integrating Filter Solutions into Microwave
Office. The one thing I'd like to see in his software is various filter
transforms... I'm sure Jeff is quite familiar with, e.g., Norton transforms,
and it's surprising that he doesn't have them when other software (such as
AADE Filter Designer) does. (Since AWR has integrated Filter Solutions, I
imagine they might bankroll the addition of such transforms, as some of AWR's
direct competition -- Eagleware Genesys, aka Randy Rhea's retirement plan, now
owned by Agilent -- has a very comphrensive set of transforms built-in.)

NuHertz is also a little like Anasoft in that the GUI's "kinda different" -- I
often have the impression that Jeff must still be working with a 640x480
monitor or something. :)

---Joel
 
J

John Woodgate

Jan 1, 1970
0
dated Wed said:
I do agree with your assessment that it's a little weird looking but
rather powerful.

Just like the author. (;-)
 
R

RST Engineering \(jw\)

Jan 1, 1970
0
You all have given us a wealth of information on filter analysis, pcb and
schematic capture, simulation and all that.

I have looked at several "free" and "shareware" bonehead simple mechanical
drawing packages and as yet haven't found one that approaches the obsolete
Ashlar DrawingBoard and/or obsolete Autocad Autosketch (aka etch-a-sketch).
Anybody got any pointers to a plain-jane 2d simple drafting package?

Jim
 
N

Nico Coesel

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg said:
Hello Nico,


Yes, the program written by Prof.Mildenberger's group at the
Fachhochschule Wiesbaden in the late 80's. Unfortunately now that he's
retired they dumped his web site. Since the web archive butchered the
file one of the fellows in the German NG repaired the zip file:


I have the older licensed version but later it became free.

Thanks!
 
J

JeffM

Jan 1, 1970
0
You all have given us a wealth of information on
filter analysis, pcb and schematic capture, simulation and all that.

I have looked at several "free" and "shareware"
bonehead simple mechanical drawing packages
and as yet haven't found one that approaches
the obsolete Ashlar DrawingBoard and/or
obsolete Autocad Autosketch (aka etch-a-sketch).
Anybody got any pointers to a plain-jane 2d simple drafting package?
Jim -- RST Engineering (jw)

Can you be bothered to mention
the ones you have already eliminated?
http://groups.google.com/group/sci....D+Turbo-CAD+ProCAD+QuickCad+DesignCad-express
http://groups.google.com/group/sci....duction-to-CAD+most-intuitive+BONEHEAD-SIMPLE
 
F

Frank Miles

Jan 1, 1970
0
You all have given us a wealth of information on filter analysis, pcb and
schematic capture, simulation and all that.

I have looked at several "free" and "shareware" bonehead simple mechanical
drawing packages and as yet haven't found one that approaches the obsolete
Ashlar DrawingBoard and/or obsolete Autocad Autosketch (aka etch-a-sketch).
Anybody got any pointers to a plain-jane 2d simple drafting package?

QCad is fairly decent. It's free on Linux; not sure about Windows. Try:
http://www.ribbonsoft.com/qcad.html

-frank

--
 
R

RST Engineering \(jw\)

Jan 1, 1970
0
You are correct. I should have taken notes and indicated my experience with
DraftChoice, DeltaCad, QCad, CadStd, TinyCad, and a few more. In each
instance I spent four hours, no more, no less, with each one. If I wasn't
productive to the point where I would expect a student to be productive
after a four hour class session with me leading the way, I "failed" the
program. I will say that I plan on another couple of hours with CadStd
because I was just on the knife edge of getting it to work the way I wanted
it.

I'd LOVE to be able to use Ashlar's obsolete DrawingBoard, but they won't
even return my calls to ask if I can teach using their old program. Anybody
got a friendly contact at Ashlar?

My apologies to anybody who thought I hadn't heeded their advice.

Jim
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Todd,

I really like FilterFree from NuHertz
http://www.filter-solutions.com/

It does both analog & digital filter designs. Their free edition lasts
forever and has plenty of capabilities for my usage. In fact, it's
taught me about several topologies that I didn't know existed. Of
course, the pro edition goes far beyond my needs!

Nice! Now if it only had wave digital filters in there, for the guys who
have to cram it all into a cheap micro sans HW multiplier. Heck,
companies like TI should sponsor that since it can lead to some serious
MSP430 design-ins for them.
 
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