Inexpensive Easy-PC EDA software is on the rise

Easy-PC may not be one of the 'big names' among EDA tools, but it is constantly improving its performance. The latest version 26 of the software, which is popular with many users in the low-cost sector, is characterized by numerous improvements. The greater consideration of IPC standards is coming to the fore.

Fig. 2: Screenshot of circuit development with Easy-PCTherange of CAD software for designing electronic circuits and PCBs is broad. It ranges from free programs to low-price variants in the range of a few hundred euros and more convenient variants in the medium-price range of a few thousand euros to very complex and therefore quite expensive design tools. The latter are high-end tools and can cost tens of thousands of euros or even more.

The range of free PCB design software includes well-known programs such as Eagle (simple version), Ki-CAD and DesignSpark PCB, but also CircuitMaker from Altium. CircuitMaker is an open-source community-driven PCB design tool from Altium.

Thirty of the best-known tools are presented at [1]. Almost all of them are advertised by their providers as 'free' at first glance, but in some cases this is not quite the case:

• Some of them offer paid functional extensions. These must be purchased if you want to increase the performance of the EDA tools in certain directions
• Altium made CircuitMaker available to use as a 'gateway' to the world of professional PCB design based on the Altium Designer workflow and as a counterpart to Eagle, for example
• The free usability of the EDA tools is linked to further conditions, as in the case of Eagle (linking AutoDesk Eagle), so that new costs are added (Eagle: Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor)
• Other design tools such as DesignSpark PCB are free at the basic level because they are backed by large component distribution companies that use the free basic tools as a sales promotion tool. The users of these design tools are supposed to order the components required for the realization of the designed circuits directly from these distributors via a direct link.

However, the main aim of the providers, including free PCB design software, is usually to offer interested parties a minimum of options for automating the design of electronic circuits and printed circuit boards. The developers of these tools usually assume that the program is not only easy to use and navigate, especially for design beginners, but also quick to learn. This means that the software primarily has features that you would actually use, i.e. it is not overloaded with work options.

Easy-PC EDA tool

Easy-PC does not belong to the group of free PCB design software, but to the low-budget or low-price solutions and is free from the dependencies described above. It is a 32/64-bit Windows application for Windows 10 and 11. The EDA software was developed by the British company Number One Systems (West Dev Ltd.) for a wide range of applications - from individuals to engineering teams. It is designed to be a cost-effective and scalable design tool, ranging from schematic creation to PCB layout and manufacturing preparation. It can be continuously expanded by the user in various directions as needs or requirements grow according to the X-Y principle shown in Table 1 and is thus comparable to a modular system(Fig. 1, 2). The table has been simplified from [2].

* The conversion pound/euro/US $ is updated daily in [2], here as at 31.8.2022

The developers of the tool claim that their product is comparable to tools from other providers that cost 10 to 20 times as much in terms of performance and regularity of updates. A team of software professionals with many man-years of experience has been working on the further development of the EDA tool for around 30 years. Version 26 was completed in the summer of 2022, which testifies to a high degree of updating and perseverance. Easy-PC also has a very agile user forum [3].

According to Table 1, the 'Easy-PC construction kit' is divided into four groups:

1. Easy-PC basic version (integrated schematic capture and PCB layout) with three different pin levels
2. Add-on Libraries (4 different libraries)
3. Add-on Tools (Intelligent Gerber Import, GenCAD Export, IDF Export)
4. Optional Pro-Router (five pin or layer variants).

In principle, five different library solutions are offered:

• the installed standard library supplied with the basic product as a template for getting started with Easy-PC
• four add-on libraries for additional purchase.

Fig. 3: Examples of SMD housing types in the add-on IPC-Surface-Mount-LibraryTheIPC has developed a series of standards for the development and production of electronic assemblies. One of these is the IPC-SM library 'Surface Mount Design and Land Pattern Standard', which can be purchased as one of the four option libraries (add-on). This specification has evolved from the old IPC-SM-782 standard and defines the physical housing dimensions and footprints for around 950 SMD components in different housing types to date(Fig. 3).

A free component search engine with over 15 million parts is also already part of the basic product. As an add-on tool for improving productivity, the GenCAM IPC-2510 data format is included as the standard for exchanging design information for the production of printed circuit boards.

Entry-level price under 500 euros

The entry-level price for the basic version 'Integrated schematic capture and PCB layout' was around €387 (£277) on 31.8.22 for a 1000-pin license. The prices are operationally adjusted to the respective daily exchange rate. VAT is not yet included here. Even in the Unlimited Pins version, the price on this day was only 427 British pounds, i.e. around €587. That's less than you'd pay for Altium's CircuitStudio, which is a design solution for those who occasionally create PCBs and need a professional tool to do so.

If you put together a more sophisticated version with the 'Unlimited Pins License - Pro Library V8 - Intelligent Gerber Import - Unlimited Pins and Layer Router' modules, for example, it would have cost around £1618 or €2432 on 31.8.22.

Feature-rich toolset

The general features of Easy-PC include, for example:

• Library Creation Wizards
• Library Management Tools
• Automatic project versioning
• 3D preview
• Immediate cross-probing of designs
• Dual monitor operation.

Fig. 4: Data export based on IPC-2581 The tool for circuit design allows electrical rule check, realization of intelligent bus systems and hierarchical structures, forwards/backwards annotation, spice netlist export.

The tool for board design, for example, is characterized by design reuse, online design rule check, integrity and connectivity check, contour-based conductor design to control thermal stress and conductor spacing, fully integrated autorouter, parts list generation (BOMS). All standard formats for production are available: Gerber, Excellon, IDF/DXF, PDF, Windows, ODB++, IPC-2581, GenCAD, furthermore pick & place reports, assembly drawings, bitmap and metafile (WMF) and more.

It would go beyond the scope of this article to describe the highly variable EDA tool in more detail here. Interested parties can obtain all necessary further information via [4].

Easy-PC Version 26

Fig. 5: New extended DRC/DFM checkWiththe recently released version 26, the developers are continuing their efforts to keep pace with the international state of the art in the EDA industry in their price segment, in line with their promise to customers. With this year's version, Easy-PC is once again significantly expanding its range, for example with the introduction of the industry standard IPC-2581 as well as many new Design Rule Checks (DRC) and Design for Manufacturing (DFM) checks. Although the upgrade price of 69 pounds is low, it should be noted that version 19.0 was still free to download in 2010. However, a lot has happened in recent years with the further development of the tool.

It is clear that the IPC standards are increasingly being taken into account. In general, the focus in V26 is on the introduction of new functions that enable more in-depth checks and verify board designs so that they are ready for production in the final process. 26 additional functions have been added, all of which were requested by users. Examples:

• Output of manufacturing data according to IPC-2581(Fig. 4)
• New DRC and DFM checks(Fig. 5)
• IDF export - new output options
• Improvements to design rules
• Reuse layout pattern via circuit diagram
• Improved dialog box for switching layers
• Improved Goto bar to now allow text to be found
• Invert selection
• Active hyperlinks in the 'Add component' dialog box
• Library Manager report - highlight missing symbols
• Library editor - synchronize library names
• BOM - precision points for cost variables.

With the introduction of the IPC-2581 export in version 26, Easy-PC is once again pushing its technology forward. This export is a new modern format that is rapidly being adopted in the manufacturing industry as a replacement and alternative for Gerber and ODB++. As it is a stand-alone format, there are virtually no usage fees or additional 'knowledge' files to send along. The dialog allows a very focused export of the design data with switches to restrict the released design IP, such as neutral net names and BOM data. The IPC-2581 export is also available in the panel editor with an additional switch to output a single pattern of a PCB design to minimize the exported file size(Fig. 4).

Although some of the improvements and changes in version 26 may be regarded as relatively minor, the overall sum of the improvements and changes shows a clear forward development of Easy-PC, as is also the case with new releases from other EDA tool providers. A complete overview of the new features in the current version, including sample images, can be found in [5].

References

[1] www.pcbelec.com/support/pcb-design-software-free-download
[2] www.numberone.com/prices#price
[3] www.numberone.com/forum
[4] www.numberone.com/downloads/datasheets/Easy-PC Brochure.pdf
[5] www.numberone.com/latest-version