Hi fellow penguins;
Can someone recommend a linux suite for electronics design to include schematic editing, PCB layout, and autorouting capable of up to 4 layer boards up to 120 mm x 120 mm (4.7 x 4.7 inches)?

Preferably with extensive parts libraries and user forums.

Thanks, Tom

Hi there,

haven't made much experience of my own, but I heard several people say that KiCad is recommendable.

[X] Doc CPU

There are several available. As has been observed, KiCAD (http://kicad.sourceforge.net/wiki/Main_Page) is one. There's also gEDA and associated programs (http://www.gpleda.org/)

These are probably the best (where "best" is a subjective term meaning "the ones I know best")

Good luck

No, I can't. I can list them, I can tell you something about the applicability, but I can't recommend one, without reservations or knowing more about the application and user(s).

Geda can certainly cover the technical requirements, but whether for the target user set, the learning curve is rather steep, I cannot say. Kicad is almost certainly easier to get started with.

No auto-routing, including the $100k per seat type, can be used for everything. Some is better than others, of course, but the real deal is how easy it is to go in and fix (pre- or post-) the stuff that you know better how to do.

Equally, supplied parts libraries aren't useful for every purpose; they can't be. You probably want some middle-of-the-road, not too bad for any purpose, pad stacks, and maybe that's what you'll get. You won't get comprehensive coverage of all parts that you could use; there are just too many parts. So, again, you'll need the possibility of adding your own parts, but obviously it is desirable to have as good coverage as possible 'out of the box'.

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