The commercial licenses range from one schematic sheet, two signal layers, and a 100x80mm routing area to the Ultimate license with 16 signals and a four meter square routing area. For a single user license, there were almost fifty different options, all with different prices. Each version had limitations on the number of schematic sheets, signal layers, and routing area.

Last week, Eagle had five versions available, with different combinations of add ons like the Schematic, Layout, and Autorouter. The freeware version is not going away.Īside from a freeware version, buying the correct license for Eagle was not easy. A freeware version of Eagle means electronics hobbyists can design their own PCBs at home, using the same tools used by professionals. 20 years ago, in the days of Protel and other expensive EDA and electronic design packages, Eagle always had a limited freeware version. Arguably, this is the reason for Eagle’s popularity a free educational version means schools can use it, and those students will enter the workforce with a desire to use what they already know. is now the master of Eagle, and ultimately will decide what will change, what stays the same, and the development path for Eagle.Įagle is famous for the free version of its software. He is the person ultimately responsible for all of Autodesk’s electronic design products, from Tinkercad, 123D, Ecad.io, and project Wire, the engine behind Voxel8, Autodesk’s 3D printer that also prints electronics. I had the chance to talk with, former Hackaday overlord who is currently serving as the Director of Autodesk Circuits. Eagle, for better or worse, is a standard, and Open Source companies from Sparkfun to Adafruit use it religiously and have created high-quality libraries of parts and multiple tutorials The only comparable Open Source alternative is KiCad, which doesn’t have nearly as many dedicated followers as Eagle. The reason for this is simple: it’s good enough for most simple designs, and there is a free version of Eagle. Last week, Autodesk announced their purchase of CadSoft Eagle, one of the most popular software packages for electronic design automation and PCB layout.Įagle has been around for nearly thirty years, and has evolved to become the standard PCB design package for electronic hobbyists, students, and engineering firms lead by someone who learned PCB design with Eagle.

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