Electrical Engineering & Electronics Design

I think dedicated ecad and mcad tools are a good thing. Let companies specialize in their core competencies. As long as you can export accurate models from ecad everything is fine. Any time I've handed over a model of a board the ME always doctors it anyway by removing most of the components.

Hi Jason,

Nice to hear from you again,

I agree we still can import our step models so that is a good thing.

Such a shame though. People had such high hopes for real MCAD integration.

This was inevitable, if new users find the software difficult and

frustrating to use, they will simply go to something that they can use.

I design all my boards with Altium and use Multisim for circuit simulation. All models I design in solid works and import them to Altium in step format.

People had such trouble with Soldworks PCB install and server setup as shown in the electronics comment section. It is sad news.

About the trouble with SW PCB install issues, I can say I've been bumping against that since SW PCB came out, and to this day, I still can't make it work. They never managed to properly fix their installer so it will do the whole job properly, so it always installs a non working PCB system, or not at all.

What a pain!

Now what else will be coming out instead? More of the cloud based shit?

To illustrate, here is a quite common thread about that issue with SW PCB not working when installed:

https://forum.solidworks.com/thread/234361

Always the same thing, and that goes back to when PCB was first included, and to this day, I still see this same issue, with a fresh windows install from scratch (in a virtual machine), then installing SW and whatever else, including PCB, which always results in a non function install.

To test this more precisely, I very recently tried again, this time not installing SW at all, so not even installing SW PCB either, only the PCB services server as stand alone, and on a virtual machine with a fresh w10 install from scratch, having turned off all the firewall, anti-virus and whatever else I could turn off that could get in the way, and even tried running the installer as administrator.

This does install without any errors, and the pcb server interface does come up with its login screen in a browser, which proves at least that IIS is functioning properly, and then I accessed the back end firebird manually with its isql cmd line tool, and firebird is there, responds and I can create a new database. So firebird also is installed and works, but when trying to do a login on the PCB services via the browser, no luck, always that same error, which everybody out there has experienced, and so far, among the "solutions" that fixed it for some people, nothing worked for me.

If someone knows of something to try, I'm open.

This is exactly what SW are doing.

Replacing Solidworks PCB with some cloud based s**t they call an experience. It is certainly an experience alright. People spent thousands

investing in this software and years of their lives learning to master Solidworks PCB for them to just end of line the product.

Why would people ever trust this company again after that experiance.

I really feel sorry for them.

Now they have the audacity put their hand out asking for more money to back their so-called new vision and new direction.

What about if everyone had this kind of vision. Charge people thousands then disappear. There is a word for that right ???

That is actually shocking this is still legal how many times this has happened now.

I'm thinking: "bait and switch".

You're right, this is pure B.S

I hope they will pay for this. Unacceptable.

I'll never get into that cloud based scheme, especially when we know damn well what happens when they "change their minds". We're always left out in the cold. Putting all efforts in some cloud based platform and then end up losing it all later. That's low.

All i can say to all of this discussion is that i am glad that just paid $625 for the Ultra OrCAD suite of tools ! I was *thinking* heavily of moving to Protel = now called Altium and really liked the real-time interface with SolidWorks, but knowing that this is no longer an advantage AND knowing that AWR (RF design PCB software) was acquired by Cadence makes my decision process much easier.

I know that there is huge Altium base out there and that Altium pretty much copied the look and feel of OrCAD schematic as well as 100% import capability. However, i still like other more powerful tools like Allegro for PCB payout on the high-end designs and its most recent pricing is closer to Altium.

The bigger advantage now goes to Cadence as it has no competitor in the RF space.

Similarly Ansys HFSS really only has CST Microwave Studio (owned by Dassault) which also makes my decision for RF microstrip/EM/power magnetics and antenna design easier too.

I have found that with the current electrification push that there is a definite need for more ElectroMagnetic (EM) design and i am preparing for future eventuality.

Remember that CircuitWorks which comes free from SolidWorks is the do-it-yourself batch mode but still works just as good. - - Not automated, but then again good designers shouldn't need *that much* iterations.

Altium only values their core customers. They have a poor track record on any offerings outwith their flagship, subscription reliant tools.

Don't get me wrong, in a commercial setting Altium is a good product but they have demonstrated neglect for everyone not on the full product.

It is "product" and for most of us learning its a serious investment in resources to get to 80% on the curve.

People buying Solidworks never bought it for Circuitworks, or if they did, they should be spanked.

As as Electrical Engineer i value CircuitWorks and i appreciated the SolidWorks PCB product, but didn't find it acceptable to locked into Altium in doing so.

So i guess i am to be spanked for liking a free, open-software, add-in that enables me to get the same function with little to no cost. Albeit, it is not real-time, but batch-mode driven.