This is all a matter of taste.? I don't have the money to throw at autodesk.
If they are seriously considering killing EAGLE (not that I personally care), then that really messes up a lot of people unless they migrate to whatever Autodesk is selling this time.
Nope, free edition is not good enough, I do 100 MM square boards.? I had paid for 7.7, use 7.7, then Autodesk said "ok, it's obsolete, start paying us money."? I didn't like that.? YMMV (and did).
Oh, and Autodesk doesn't care about the cost to the individual... I asked.? They pretty much said so.
I just don't use $500 dollars a year worth of design services, and that $500/year would pay for my PC board bill....
As for the rest of it, I'm beginning to find the idea of Linux (and open source) to be rather attractive.
And yes, my 7.7 license is the "hobby/educational" version, which, quite frankly, I find somewhat limiting, depending on the project.
The 4x4 board is more determined by the price point of Chinese factories than EAGLE.
Just to loop this back to pcbgcode, I did a lot of boards with toner transfer, and doing double sided boards without plated through holes can be a bit miserable.? Toner transfer gave me finer resolution (TFQ-100 and TFQ-144) then milling.? Just that my designs are digital, high speed, and REALLY need plated through holes.? As such, they got beyond my ability to make, especially when I did designs that required 4 layers.
Oh, and did the wire stitching on Vias.? Worked, but no vias under surface mount parts.
Didn't last for long.
Wonder if Kicad and pcbgcode might be a possible future.
Harvey
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 8/17/2023 6:48 PM, joeaverage wrote:
Hi,
at first I very much disliked the Autodesk Subscription and the Cloud based model, but have come to realise that its not as bad as I had feared.
Firstly, Fusion is a very good package, good CAD, good CAM, good Electronics module, good FEA, good Simulation etc for approx. $500USD/year.
If you were to try to get the same functionality you'd have several different vendors all charging and it would work out a lot more than Fusion Basic.
The CAD/CAM part of Fusion is functionally equivalent to an entry PRO level version of Mecsoft, RhinoCAD, BobCad, ....etc. All those PRO entry level packages cost around $2000-$2500
perpetual plus annual maintenance if you want it. Solidworks and Mastercam are at another level again, many thousands, if not tens of thousands.
Fusion (Basic) represents good value, even if you don't like paying, its still good,? cheap software.
I also have a Fusion Machining Extensions package that cost about $2000NZD/year ($1200USD) over and above the Fusion Basic subscription. This gives me simultaneous
four and five axis, toolpath editing , collision avoidance. If I wanted the same from the competition that functionality costs $10,000USD or more, plus maintenance and more, _much more_
again for Solidworks and Mastercam. Fusion Machining Extensions are good value.
It is the _value_ that has slowly swayed my opinion from being very against a Subscription to favourable.
The second issue is the Cloud. I did not like it, and am still not that impressed. The problem is your internet speed and reliability. If you are fortunate enough to have reliable
internet then the Cloud model is fine. I live rurally and with patchy internet from home?Fusion is just frustrating under those circumstances. At work, in the city its fine.
I've heard complaints about data security....but? all my business records and accounts are on the Cloud, and entirely probably my tax records, medical records
and so on. Whether we like it or not data is going to the Cloud, much important data is already there, and the wheels have not fallen off. I have no complaints about the Cloud
other than on those few occasions where the internet slows or stops.
Craig
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of joeaverage <joe.average@...>
*Sent:* Friday, 18 August 2023 10:16 am
*To:* [email protected] <[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [pcbgcode] It¡¯s been twenty years¡ #pcbgcode
Hi,
I have a Fusion 360 subscription that I got particularly because of EAGLE. As it turns out I use so many other features of Fusion that I could not
run my business without it. Especially using Fusion CAD to make PCB sketches is VASTLY SUPERIOR to EAGLE. You can sketch a PCB as intricate as you like
with all the CAD tools that Fusion has but EAGLE does not. Thereafter with Fusion you can generate a PCB from the sketch and import it into the Fusion Electronics package.
I use it extensively....if you haven't tried it you haven't lived!
There are just a few little quirks where I find the Fusion version of EAGLE lags the real thing, but otherwise I have been using Fusion for PCBs for three years plus.
The only thing that I really dislike, and have raised repeatedly with Autodesk, is that when Autodesk ported EAGLE they changed something about EAGLEs Pour function
which in turn means that PCB-Gcode does not work....to my great annoyance.
To counter this I export my Fusion Electronics PCB design back into EAGLE so I can use PCB-Gcode. Its a hassle I would rather avoid but it works fine and after several years
its become second nature.
Autodesk have promised to fix Fusion Electronics such that PCB-Gcode works.....butb it has not happened and that after several years pestering them about it.
Craig
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Art Eckstein <art.eckstein@...>
*Sent:* Friday, 18 August 2023 3:10 am
*To:* [email protected] <[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [pcbgcode] It¡¯s been twenty years¡ #pcbgcode
Like you, still sticking with what works. I run eagle on win10, but know that if windows pulls it stunt of not allowing some versions of software to run cause its "to old", that I can pull up my virtual machine in whatever flavor OS I want! Just something to consider when your XP machine finally expires.
Country
On 8/17/2023 10:37 AM, sang kang via groups.io wrote:
As the old saying goes, it it isn't broke don't fix it. I still run Windows XP with old version of Eagle and PCB Gcode.
It does for me what my hobby is concerned. I do see lot of new hardware/software emerging in the market but why reinvent the wheel when it works, just go with it.
My only grief is buying parts for the old CNC/Computer is becoming harder but I've bought parts stocked up now to out last my interest in this fascinating hobby.
