CadSoft will enhance Premier Farnell and element14

To just give you a view from an open source hardware developer perspective:

CadSoft Eagle is very populer for open source hardware - due to its free version. From my point of view some things can be imrpoved:

Prio A (quick & easy wins):

• Make Eagle open source (probably won't happen)
• Free &Light Edition should have 4 Layers availlaible (since most modern designs are much easier with 4 layers).
  
• Designing with more than one schematics page would be nice (Free & Light Edition)
  
• A larger PCB design area would be nice. The licensing is a bit steep in the 'small' versions. You have to shell out a significant amount of money to do an euro card in 4 layers.

Prio B (more work, but still important)

• The UI is not very user friendly - it needs some work. Mouse interaction are like from the 80s
• The library management is a hassle - but your Design Connection is perhaps a nice solution. Enable users to share their libraries. Enable Users to give feedback for their libraries (some of mine are sloppy and not usable, some of my parts are well usable by anybody - Users should rate them - I want to include only good libraries/parts by others).
• BOM management would be nice (and you can make them directly orderable via Farnell).
• Make it easy to share designs and sub-designs (building blocks) via elemnent14 - that wuold be really nice. Obe licesning schemes (all my stuff is published as Creative Commons - user using my designs should obey that).

What are your plans?

Interactive - Matter,

Love the idea of making it easier to share designs/sub designs or even smaller parts of circuit design (personally it would help with the learning process as a young engineer). As modular design becomes more and more popular to speed up the design cycle this method of sharing sub-designs may well gather pace in the near future...what are your thoughts?

Dear All,

certainly it will be benefiical to all Electronics Designs Engineers. Perhaps you can try out the free version. Up to 2 PCB layers.

http://www.cadsoftusa.com/

Cheers

Edmund

Isn't that what Open Source Hardware is all about?

We (I just count me in as Open Source Hardware developer - even If I am an humble one) develop funny or even innovative designs that can be used by other.

We are happy to share - but most of us want a share if money is involved (I personally - and pobably many others us an CC Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike License – it is ok, to use my designs as long as you don't make money and state that it was taken from me). I am happy to learn from others and take their designs. (BTW: Why aren't reference Designs & application note designs not publishe under CC as well?)

I think regarding OSH – there is a vivid discussion in the professional scene. & thats good!

I agree with this last poster than short of open-sourcing the application, open sourcing the file formats would be a great plus already. There are tools that works with Eagle (checked Freerouting.net already ? do !) that would benefit a lot and enhance Eagle at the same time.. It might also allow interaction with "qucs" or ltspice circuit simulators.

As for the aquisition as such, my worry is that Eagle is/would be impossible to have /anyone/ take it over. It's a 1980's codebase, I've seen a few of these projects over the years, it's usualy enough to go and jump out of the nearest window. I've have 25 years experience as a pro software dev, and just having a look at the look&feel of the application I'd probably want to run far & wide to NOT see the code :-)

So for me the original developers must continue on, otherwise the product will probably die.

If improvements are to be made, I'd really like the already mentioned BOM tools, and possibly a way to have a way to import/export (farnell, but please not just farnell :-)) orders part numbers, link to datasheet, and of course the library item if available...

Also a way to have "blocks" would be invaluable. Right now you can copy a bit of schematic, but not the related routing that is sometime quite a pain to re-do.

And with element14 you possibly have just the right frontal for it all!

I too would love to see some additional flexibility in the pricing structure. Eagle is a great tool for a small (read: VERY small) manufacturer and the pricing is generally good but the board size limit is the problem.

I want to design boards with a few large components or connectors for ease of integration into extisting equipment but I cant make the board big enough in Eagle for what i can afford to pay!

An increase in the board size but maintain the limit on layers to say 4 and schematic sheets to 9 or 10 would be a good compromise?

Its got my stuffed how you can design a 99 sheet schematic and jam it on a 160x100mm board anyway! I've done a couple of tests with the "free" version as an eval and could fit a quite advanced deisgn into the 1 schamtic sheet and tiny board!