OK, I'm of the opinion that almost everything Autodesk has done is either drastically limited or paid.
I've got the standard version of Eagle, 7.7.? That was purchased on a hobby license, so I cannot easily share designs because of the prohibition on "selling" the design.
You can write a C++ program that reads the .brd file, and creates a board from a library of parts (that you'd need to provide) modeled in OpenSCAD.? There's also a program in OpenSCAD that has a library of parts, but it turns out to be easier (for me) to model everything from scratch and use my own models.
Not related so much to pcbgcode, but I find it a useful addition.
Harvey
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On 1/12/2025 2:45 PM, joeaverage via groups.io wrote:
Hi,
Autodesk -? in their wisdom - seem set to kill off the current
versions of Eagle, including the free version used by many
hobbyists - myself included. The version running under Fusion is
apparently not ccompatible with PCB-Gcode as well as forcing use
of ghastly Fusion 360.? Gone is the user friendliness of Eagle to
be replaced, IMHO, by a user hostile revamp focussed more on
mechanical engineering than on the electrical/electronic aspects
of the task!!
Autodesk do seem to be prepared to drop EACLE, but Fusion does have EAGLE built-in. I've Used EAGLE for years, and then transitioned to Fusion, and unlike you I find the Fusion is very
good. It does all the things that EAGLE did. The one thing that has changed is that the PCB-Gcode ULP is indeed broken, and while I've pestered Autodesk to repair it they have
declined. Thus I do all my design work in Fusion, then export the PCB file to EAGLE to use PCB-Gcode, an extra step to be sure but not that bad either.
The real advantage of Fusion is the CAD functionality, for which EAGLE is abysmal. You can design your device in Fusion with all the modern CAD tools you'd expect. Then extract
the outline including any holes or other placement critical features and use that to design your board. Vastly better than EAGLE alone.
In addition to CAD tools Fusion has a good CAM functionality, an FEA module, thermal modelling, generative design, a SPICE modeler.? I personally use CAD, CAM, Fusion Electronics
(essentially a re-skinned version of EAGLE) and FEA. I also buy Fusion Machining Extensions that gives me genuine simultaneous four and five axis tool paths.
My ONLY complaint about Fusion is that the 'pour' function has been altered, and that is what has broken PCB-Gcode.
Craig
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:*[email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of peterg1000 via groups.io <petergharrison@...>
*Sent:*?Monday, 13 January 2025 1:25 am
*To:*[email protected] <[email protected]>
*Subject:*?[pcbgcode] Eagle 9.6.2 #eagle #etch #gcode #2-layer
Autodesk -? in their wisdom - seem set to kill off the current versions of Eagle, including the free version used by many hobbyists - myself included. The version running under Fusion is apparently not ccompatible with PCB-Gcode as well as forcing use of ghastly Fusion 360.? Gone is the user friendliness of Eagle to be replaced, IMHO, by a user hostile revamp focussed more on mechanical engineering than on the electrical/electronic aspects of the task!!
It is possible to legally download Eagle 7.7.0, and this already has most of the bells and whistles of Eagle 9.6.2 with the exception of the autorouter and its associated tools.? The V7 track manipulation facilities are very basic compared to V9, which makes fine tuning of the layout very tedious.
As a hobbyist community, it would surely be advantageous to lobby Autodesk to leave the free version as is, but without the requirement to log in every 2 weeks.? No possible financial loss or gain for Autodesk but a huge gain for hobbyists.
My personal PCB toolchain is Eagle 9.6.2 - PCB-Gcode - UCCNC(UC100) - Stepcraft420/2.?? No file manipulation needed between Eagle layout and the finished circuit board.
Any thoughts on this????
