Those nifty layout drawings

[DonMoose]

Sorry if this question has been answered too many times, but it wasn't in the FAQ, and searches on Drawing, CAD, Schematic and Layout returned either nothing or too much not-what-I'm-looking-for-to-plow-through (24 pages, c'mon!)

What CAD tool makes those nifty layouts I see posted here, at Ceriatone and Weber? OpenOffice Draw _could_ do it, but something ready-made is appealing.

The project I'm gearing up for is looking a lot like a D-lite ... I think.

Thanks!

[NitroLiq]

Norm's layouts (d'lite) I believe are done in Visio. I do mine in Illustrator (the 36w layout in 18watt.com's downloads area is an example). Different things are used for CAD files. Schematics...you could use visio, illustrator (or any other vector program), photoshop, ms-paint, a schematic specific program...whatever...you just need to build a library of symbols in the chosen program and connect things together.

[drhulsey]

... What CAD tool makes those nifty layouts..

If you're a Mac user (and you should be ), Concept Draw is the equivalent to pc's Visio. Concept Draw comes with several libraries, some for electronics. Any component you draw can be saved in a library, You can also search the web and find some symbol libraries. As NitroLiq said, having existing libraries is a time saver.
Concept draw was used to draw the layouts for the Liverpool and Rocket that Ron Worley just put in the Trainwreck files. The Express layout was a modification from a Ceriatone layout.
The next 2 things you need are time and patience and an understanding wife

[NitroLiq]

The next 2 things you need are time and patience and an understanding wife

Ain't that the truth.

[jaysg]

...an understanding wife

I've heard of those. They're kind of like grunion. Every grunion run I've been to, has been a total bust. I believe that they're just an elaborate practical joke. The films must be faked...sort of like the spaghetti harvest.

[drhulsey]

I've heard of those. They're kind of like grunion..

Yeah, we hunt snipe or go to the submarine races
Understanding wives are on the endangered species list, I think

[DonMoose]

... What CAD tool makes those nifty layouts..

If you're a Mac user (and you should be ), Concept Draw is the equivalent to pc's Visio. Concept Draw comes with several libraries, some for electronics. Any component you draw can be saved in a library, You can also search the web and find some symbol libraries. As NitroLiq said, having existing libraries is a time saver.
Concept draw was used to draw the layouts for the Liverpool and Rocket that Ron Worley just put in the Trainwreck files. The Express layout was a modification from a Ceriatone layout.
The next 2 things you need are time and patience and an understanding wife

I've been using OpenOfficeDraw (http://www.openoffice.org), but was hoping for something either more eCAD or mCAD oriented.

I just learned Eagle has an OS-X version and someone added 3-D modeling, so I'm about to try those.

[NitroLiq]

I don't really get why you'd need a CAD or 3D app for a simple 2D layout. Layouts are just guidelines as to how things get connected. they don't need to be precise as far as scale goes. CAD would be more useful if you were designing a chassis to be cut/drilled and needed precise measurements. Eagle or any of those would be good for designing PCB boards (and/or schematics...I'm guessing here as far as schematics go).

[brownnote]

Norm and I both use MS Visio.
You can export Visio files as DXF and DWG if you need CAD files.

[NitroLiq]

If using visio, a quick search will turn up some libraries to get you started on layouts or schematics. Here's one I found right off the bat:

http://amps.zugster.net/tools/visio-parts

[Cygnus X1]

I use Autocad 2000i.
I'm very familiar with it, and it's courtesy from work.

Wink, wink...