I want to start learning Hardware design, and I want to start parcticing with PADS, is there any student version for this SW, if yes please tell me where I can find it. thanks in advance.
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1You should contact Mentor Graphics or your local distributor about this. Last time I asked, they didn't have anything to offer though. – Armandas Sep 20 '12 at 20:17
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thanks for ur answer. I've just contacted them and they said that they don't have it, they only have a demo version. do you a good SW to learn PCB designing ? – Engine Sep 20 '12 at 20:29
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I have had some success in getting free licenses for different clubs. Xilinx said yes but Cadence said no. – Bill Sep 20 '12 at 22:48
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It seems that ECAD (as opposed to MCAD) vendors are not very interested in getting students to learn their tools. As an example, Altium charge £100 a year for a student version while Mentor don't even offer one.
In these cases, I often advise just getting a "free unlimited trial" version from the internet. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as you use the software for educational purposes only.
As for which package to get, you can learn with pretty much any package - KiCad, gEDA, even EAGLE (*shrug*). However, if you choose a package that is commonly used in the industry, such as Altium Designer, PADS, OrCad etc., you get the benefit of being able to add additional line to your CV.
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4"'free unlimited trial' version from the internet."
That's a nice euphemism! xD
– Shamtam Sep 20 '12 at 23:38 -
There's no reason not to put Eagle on your resume -- it's being adopted by a lot of companies. – tcrosley Sep 21 '12 at 00:44