by donquichotte on 4/21/22, 12:43 PM with 81 comments
by q-big on 4/22/22, 9:38 PM
TopoR, an EDA program developed and maintained by the Russian company Eremex:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TopoR
"The most recognizable feature of TopoR is the absence of preferred routing directions, which results in unusual looking PCBs."
by zxcvgm on 4/21/22, 5:31 PM
It reminds me of Boldport, who made project kits that were also works of art [0]. The funky PCB traces and shapes were all hand-drawn, I believe, rather than drawn up in a regular EDA program.
by eternityforest on 4/22/22, 9:29 PM
Libre is already good enough in all ways except the fact you have to make a lot of parts yourself(Which is pretty fast, but still), for anything simple.
Anything it can't do, is probably a high budget kind of thing and you can afford the really good tools(But Libre might get there too, if it keeps going for another 5 years)
by a9h74j on 4/22/22, 10:45 PM
In terms of the pictured old pcbs with rounded traces, I wonder if when applying tape "on film" or "on mylar" it was rather easy, when applying narrow fixed-width tape for a track, to bend and follow curves while doing so. Thus, I presume, one could both avoid cutting the tape at bends, and follow smooth curves already drafted by hand.
Here's what came up for me with a search for datak tape:
by Taniwha on 4/21/22, 8:49 PM
by jaytaylor on 4/22/22, 10:10 PM
Design Rule Checking (DRC) is a process used to identify errors and mismatches such as spacing & trace widths in a PCB design/layout.
by jtfinlay on 4/22/22, 10:33 PM
Are most manufacturers equipped to print boards with these curves - would it impact the cost of printing?
I've been working on a web-based drc & renderer and the math to support these looks like a fun challenge.
by mNovak on 4/22/22, 10:51 PM
I do wish there was some kind of central directory of plugins though.
by etaioinshrdlu on 4/22/22, 9:27 PM
by amelius on 4/22/22, 9:54 PM
by madengr on 4/22/22, 9:32 PM