Free DIPTRACE Upgrade!

M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
The folks at DIPTRACE are offering a free upgrade to PICAXE forum members. This is not offered on their website.

Previously, the full function, free, non-commercial version, that we've all been using, will do 2 layer boards of any size and up to 250 pins. The new upgrade will do 2 layers and 500 pins!

To get your copy, send a request to support@diptrace.com and say you heard about it from Myc on the PICAXE Forum. You will receive a registration key by email.

Note: this is a non-commercial version equivalent to the $145 DIPTRACE Lite. Non-commercial means that this is for personal use only--if you plan to make money for DIPTRACE created boards, then you must purchase the commercial license

Myc
 
Last edited:
M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
BB,

You saw it here first! The offer is to PICAXE forum members. The folks at DIPTRACE have seen the interest and activity of PICAXE forum members using DIPTRACE and want to thank them.

Myc
 
Last edited:
M

MartinM57

Moderator
Mycroft2152 said:
...and say you heard about it from Myc on the PICAXE Forum. You will receive a registration key by email.
Myc
Click to expand...
Great work - email about to be sent. Ta.

And when the search engines find this web page, the whole world will be asking for the upgrade since "they heard about it from Myc on the PICAXE Forum" :D

Incidental question - how do I (easily) get the standard pad for all the DIL IC patterns (and hence components) to be an oval about 0.1in x 0.03in rather than the rather poxy circle that you get by default (where there's not much to solder too)?
 
M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
MartinM57 said:
Great work - email about to be sent. Ta.

And when the search engines find this web page, the whole world will be asking for the upgrade since "they heard about it from Myc on the PICAXE Forum" :D

Incidental question - how do I (easily) get the standard pad for all the DIL IC patterns (and hence components) to be an oval about 0.1in x 0.03in rather than the rather poxy circle that you get by default (where there's not much to solder too)?
Click to expand...
M,

We'll see how big the PICAXE world really is... :)

I agree, the default patterns (pads) are sized for commercial board houses not for home brewed pcbs. Right click on the pad to bring up the Properties box Then PAD Properties,and adjust the height and width. For Toner Transfer, I generally use 0.136 an 0.076 if I am not running traces between pins.

It would be a time saver to create your own library of patterns and components. Or else you can just download the patterns library that I have posted previously on the forum.

Myc
 
A

Andrew Cowan

Senior Member
It might be worth editing/deleting this post once it has falleninto the depths of the PICAXE archieve, to stop DIPTRACE getting too many non-PICAXE requests.

A
 
A

Andres Rodriguez

New Member
I have used Express PCB for a couple of years and do not like the proprietary nature if the output files. I am playing a bit with Diptrace and like a lot of the features. Also, the schematic symbos are much better. Plus the library of Picaxe components is very convenient. I do all my PCBs with toner transfer from magazine papers. If you use toner transfer, would you please comment and share your experience?
 
B

benryves

Senior Member
Many thanks for the heads-up; I've been using Express PCB myself, but DipTrace looks a lot nicer to use and this offer provides more incentive to switch. :)
 
M

manie

Senior Member
Awww shucks ! And I bought Diptrace Lite late last year..... never the luck of the draw... but Lite is very comprehensive though !
 
M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
Marmitas said:
I have used Express PCB for a couple of years and do not like the proprietary nature if the output files. I am playing a bit with Diptrace and like a lot of the features. Also, the schematic symbos are much better. Plus the library of Picaxe components is very convenient. I do all my PCBs with toner transfer from magazine papers. If you use toner transfer, would you please comment and share your experience?
Click to expand...
M,

I've been using DIPTRACE for making pcbs by Toner Transfer for a while now.

One of the nice things about DIPTRACE is the Preview option which prints an accurate sized pcb layout suitable for TT.

I generally use over sized patterns (pads) for toner transfer. The default pads are for commercial board houses and are a bit small for home drilling.

I posted a couple of libraries of DIPTRACE compnents and patterns for toner transfer previously on the forum.

As fr as the toner transfer process, I use either glossy magazine paper or photo paper with a muriatic acid /hydrogen peroxide etchant.

One of the "tricks" i found to increase reliability is to re-fuse the toner on the copper with either a hot air gun or re=iron it with the release paper from labels. It gives a smoother more consistant resit.

Myc
 
N

nbw

Senior Member
I've just emailed for my key. Now with 500 pins, I can make twice the mess of my schematics twice as effortlessly!! Just kidding. I'm getting a little better each time I play around with it. Thanks to Myc for this good news, cheers
 
R

Ralpht

New Member
I've just mailed off my request to them as well.

Thanks for the heads up Myc. Much appreciated.
I've been using the free version for a while now and love it.
 
B

boriz

Senior Member
Never tried Diptrace. I don't suppose it has any stripboard design tools? Everything I do is on stripboard.
 
M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
boriz said:
Never tried Diptrace. I don't suppose it has any stripboard design tools? Everything I do is on stripboard.
Click to expand...
DIPTRACE doesn't have any strip board design tools -- directly.

I've been playing with DIPTRACE and stripboards lately. With a little creativity, You can set up a 0.1" grid and layout a stripboard, or you can export a netlist from the schematic editor and import it into a stripboard editor like Veecad.

It does work but takes a little extra effort to set up.

Myc
 
B

boriz

Senior Member
I don't mind a little effort, assuming it only needs setting up once, not every time.

I have been thinking of writing a sort of stripboard 'ratsnest' router that does not completely autoroute, but keeps the connections displayed as horizontal tracks and vertical links when the user drags the components around. Manual routing made easy. (This would be my third attempt at a stripboard routing program.)
 
S

SilentScreamer

Senior Member
boriz said:
I don't mind a little effort, assuming it only needs setting up once, not every time.

I have been thinking of writing a sort of stripboard 'ratsnest' router that does not completely autoroute, but keeps the connections displayed as horizontal tracks and vertical links when the user drags the components around. Manual routing made easy. (This would be my third attempt at a stripboard routing program.)
Click to expand...
Look into veecad. It looks very good. Then use DIPTRACE for the schematic.
 
M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
SilentScreamer said:
Look into veecad. It looks very good. Then use DIPTRACE for the schematic.
Click to expand...
Yup, that's the way to do it.

To import into Veecad the exported the netlist from DIPTRACE successfully, You need to create a DIPTRACE component library with exactly the same names as used in Veecad.

Read the naming conventions for Veecad very carefully. I had to change the pin ID's on a few components in DIPTRACE.

Let's move this to its own thread.

Myc
 
S

sbscott

Senior Member
Where can I get the free download of DIPTRACE? Is it the version 2.0 which can be downloaded and used for 30 days?

Disregard...I read further on their website!

Sorry
 
Last edited:
M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
Sbscott,

The non commercial DIPTRACE free version will handle 250 pins and 2 layer PCB. There is no time limit.

If you send an email to support@diptrace.com you can get a registration key for a special free version that will do 500 pins and 2 layers. Just mention that you saw the offer on the PICAXE Forum.

Myc
 
M

MartinM57

Moderator
Got my serial number. Cool :)

Mycroft2152 said:
Right click on the pad to bring up the Properties box Then PAD Properties,and adjust the height and width. For Toner Transfer, I generally use 0.136 an 0.076 if I am not running traces between pins.
Myc
Click to expand...
I found out that if you right click on the component and select Pad Properties you can do all pads for the component - the Apply To: dropdown field in the individual pad properties didn't seem to work...
 
J

Janne

Senior Member
Just received my license key in email.. going to try it later. Thanks for sharing the information :)
 
W

westaust55

Moderator
Diptrace V2.0

Likewise received my registration key.

It is necessary to have at least V2.0.06 of DIPTRACE for the hobbyist registration key to work.

I had V2.0.02 installed . . . . :rolleyes:

V2.0.06 was released on 7th April 2009
 
Last edited:
C

centrex

Senior Member
Question for MYC
First thanks for the info to get the update.

I downloaded your two files of components and changed the dotDSn to dotELI then went looking for them with the component editor but it does not seem to recognise the file or extension.
I looked in the tutorial, no joy.
I know it is not Picaxe directly but what is the correct procedure.
Thanks
C
 
W

westaust55

Moderator
DIPTRACE - Addin your own libraries

centrex said:
Question for MYC
First thanks for the info to get the update.

I downloaded your two files of components and changed the dotDSn to dotELI then went looking for them with the component editor but it does not seem to recognise the file or extension.
I looked in the tutorial, no joy.
I know it is not Picaxe directly but what is the correct procedure.
Thanks
C
Click to expand...
If you have the Mycroft's (or for that matter my add-ins) with the correct file extensions and placed in:
C:\Program Files\DipTrace\Lib

then you should see "Myc's Library" (and for mine "WestAust Add-ins")
on the library toolbar at the top of the page/screen. See the attached partial screen dump . . .
 

Attachments

M

Mycroft2152

Senior Member
centrex said:
Question for MYC
First thanks for the info to get the update.

I downloaded your two files of components and changed the dotDSn to dotELI then went looking for them with the component editor but it does not seem to recognise the file or extension.
I looked in the tutorial, no joy.
I know it is not Picaxe directly but what is the correct procedure.
Thanks
C
Click to expand...
C,

I am not sure exactly which TWO files you are talking about.

The component library should be dotELI and the pattern (pads) library should be dotLIB


Did you add them to the active libraries via the library setup?

Myc
 
M

MartinM57

Moderator
Next "how do I do this in Diptrace question" !...

On a DS board (PICAXE related - 28x2), if I switch the side of the board that a component is on from top to bottom, it goes to the bottom (including the silk) but the silk still reads as if you are looking at it through the board.

How do I "mirror" the silk so that it reads correctly when looking at the bottom of the board?

Ta
Martin
 
N

novarm44

New Member
Top layer is always reads properly and Bottom is mirrored.
Select "View/Mirror" from the main menu to change this.

Also for texts you can deselect "View/Flip Text Automatically" to make all text objects reads properly (in this case you can mirror it while exporting/printing).

Regards,
DipTrace Developer
 
R

RadioBob

New Member
Thanks for the info. Is there any consensus on the best parameters to use in Diptrace? (ie trace widths, separations etc.).

Bob VE3SUY
 
M

MartinM57

Moderator
Nothing specific to Diptrace of course, and rather than everyone typing loads of hints and tips, the following looks as though it covers more than you would probably ever want to know..

http://www.alternatezone.com/electronics/files/PCBDesignTutorialRevA.pdf

Actual values to choose depend on who's making the PCB - a professional fab company might allow 6 thou track spacing, but if you're making at home you might want to choose something more like 15 thou track spacing etc (cue all the DIY experts who reckon they can do 6 thou with 100% success via toner transfer and etching in the kitchen sink ;))

Come back with any questions....

(looks like wandering around http://www.smps.us/pcb-design.html would be useful too. Isn't Google wonderful :D)
 
Last edited:
J

John West

Senior Member
I'm a happy FreePCB user, as it is completely free, easy to understand, has many features, and is not "crippled" software (no restrictions.) And I can also make sense of the data files, as they are saved in an easy to read text-based format. That's an important feature, as I learned at great cost one time when a commercial package I'd purchased turned a large bd layout in garbage when the data file became corrupted.

However, many folks in this forum use Diptrace, so I'll get the 500 pin free version so I can work with the Diptrace files of others if I need to. Who knows? Perhaps it will even tear me away from FreePCB for my own layouts.

Thanks, Myc.
 
N

nbw

Senior Member
I agree - you can do quite a bit with 500 pins. DipTrace is very easy to use. I find the Schematic to PCB seems to mangle things a bit, but that's probably me more than the software. I tend to think of PCBs in reverse and design like that. And I'm left-handed ;-)
 
J

John West

Senior Member
DIPTRACE appears to be more sophisticated and full featured than FreePCB, so I'll likely use it for small and personal project work, yet keep using FreePCB for big (multilayer or many pin) projects, or "for profit" work. That looks like an effective combination of free software I can live with and work with happily.

With PICAXE chips and this freebie design software and my stash of components and raw bd material, I'll be able to do a lot of good electronics work at no expense other than my time. And I have a bit of that to spare.

Good stuff. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top