EAGLE workshop

On 10 December 2012 we joined with CadSoft to run our first workshop on their highly successful EAGLE PCB layout package. The meeting was hosted in Augsburg by our old friends and customers embedded projects GmbH. Despite the sudden onset of winter 14 participants braved the snow and ice to attend.

Benedikt Sauter, Managing Director of embedded projects GmbH, opened the seminar with a presentation of his company. Then Uwe Doerr, Project Manager at Eurocircuits GmbH, introduced Eurocircuits. He highlighted our plans to provide a support infrastructure for designers to help them bring their projects to completion on time and on budget. For PCB designers these added-value services include special links with EAGLE CAD: free upload of EAGLE DRU files, sale of EAGLE licences, and direct links between the EAGLE V6 user interface and Eurocircuits’ Price calculator menu.

Richard Hammerl then took over. He has worked for CadSoft GmbH for more than 18 years and is known to many designers across Europe as the lynch-pin of the EAGLE support services. He started with a presentation on CadSoft from its foundation in the late 80s to the present day. He moved on to explain the principal new features in EAGLE V. 6 xx compared to V.5. This was followed by a lively question and answer session which allowed the participants to put forward their wish-list for new features and to raise a broad range of technical issues. In reply, Richard explained the basics of the software and clarified many issues including component libraries, multilayer layouts and schematics.

After a light lunch kindly provided by our hosts, embedded projects, Uwe Doerr presented Eurocircuits’ new PCB Visualizer and PCB Checker. Using examples of actual PCB designs he explained the benefits of online visualisation and the direct comparison of the analysed data with the customer’s order and the specifications of the chosen Eurocircuits’ service. He went on to show how PCB Checker displays the DRC results directly on the layout. The designer can locate any errors immediately. He can save time in two areas: design review is faster, and by uploading clean data he can eliminate potential production delays.

Finally Uwe gave an illustrated presentation on the manufacture of a 4-layer multilayer in our factories in Eger and Baesweiler.

It was a long day but we covered the whole progress of a design from layout, through ordering and online data checking, and finally to manufacture.

Eurocircuits would like to thank everyone involved. The hospitality of embedded projects GmbH and the support of CadSoft GmbH gave all participants an informative and exciting day.