4
\$\begingroup\$

I've read this excellent post by Some Hardware Guy, and I'm aiming toward something similar to what OP was doing which is a Beagleboard derivative.

I've done some more research and it seems that experienced board designers advise the use of professional tools for Beagleboard-type high speed designs, like Altium or Allegro. Are there any very specific reasons why one could not use a tool like KiCad for high speed designs? Are the free tools missing the required signal integrity simulators, or are they simply too much trouble given the complexity of the job?

I am also a software person. Though it sounds like I'm more experienced with hardware design, I haven't yet done a board this complex. So I'm trying to evaluate if these free tools are useful as long as you really know what you're doing, or if I should not even bother until I can afford a professional tool (and learn it).

\$\endgroup\$
2
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Anecdotally, I know of designs being done with digital signals up to 1 Gb/s without special support from the EDA tools. By guys who knew what they were doing. Above 4 Gb/s or so, you pretty much need tool support, no matter how much you know what you're doing. What kind of "high frequency" will your project be using? \$\endgroup\$
    – The Photon
    Commented Jul 2, 2013 at 20:22
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ A copper trace on a PCB can act as a resistor, capacitor, or inductor which will cause oscillations if not layed out properly for certain types of signals. That is just one place where the more expensive tools come in, they can simulate those kinds of issues. So it totally depends on how fast/sensitive the signals on the board will be. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kurt E. Clothier
    Commented Jul 3, 2013 at 5:02

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3
\$\begingroup\$

There is nothing wrong with a using a tool like kicad to do high speed design. In the end all that matters is that the design and gerbers are drawn correctly to give the correct impedance and lengths. This can be done by hand calculations estimation, PCB calculators, ect.

What does matter is the time that it will take to get the same result. When a tool offers mostly automatic versions of differential, impedance matching ect, it will save you time. If your time is worth money, then invest in a better tool.

This is also like asking, which is a better tool for making a mechanical piston with a 0.0001" tolerance, a CNC machine and lathe or sandpaper and a file? The same result can be achieved from both, but one will be much easier\costly and one will take much longer\cheaper.

Oh, and don't use allegro, not worth your time. Altium saves time.

\$\endgroup\$
4
  • \$\begingroup\$ Interesting note about allegro; I found that if the rules were properly set, it worked fine (but that was a long time ago). \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Smith
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 8:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ I just hated the way every time you had to do something you had to figure out a new tool that was not intuitive. Even a via, there were no defaults, you had to generate a pad stack for each one and a file. Which is great if you have teams of people working on one design, but not if you have one or two. \$\endgroup\$
    – Voltage Spike ♦
    Commented Jul 26, 2018 at 15:34
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ +1 For the anti allegro sentiment. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lior Bilia
    Commented Aug 26, 2018 at 3:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ Allegro and mentor graphics are the reason why eagle and Altium exist today. You'd think cadance would come up with a better tool, but they are too lazy \$\endgroup\$
    – Voltage Spike ♦
    Commented Aug 26, 2018 at 4:16

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.