Developer(s) EasyEDA Platform Linux, macOS, Windows | Development status Active Available in 10 languages | |
Initial release August 2013; 3 years ago (2013-08) Stable release 4.1.3 / January 14, 2017; 54 days ago (2017-01-14) | ||
EasyEDA is a web-based EDA tool suite that enables hardware engineers to design, simulate, share - publicly and privately - and discuss schematics, simulations and printed circuit boards. Other features include the creation of a Bill of Materials, Gerber and pick and place files and documentary outputs in PDF, PNG and SVG formats.
Contents
EasyEDA allows the creation and editing of schematic diagrams, SPICE simulation of mixed analogue and digital circuits and the creation and editing of printed circuit board layouts and, optionally, the manufacture of printed circuit boards.
Subscription-free membership is offered for public plus a limited number of private projects. The number of private projects can be increased by contributing high quality public projects, schematic symbols, and PCB footprints and/or by paying a monthly subscription.
Registered users can download Gerber files from the tool free of charge but for a fee, EasyEDA offers a PCB fabrication service. This service is also able to accept Gerber file inputs from third party tools.
History
In June 2010, Dillon He and Eric Cui started a survey of EDA tools for a hardware project of their own. The search for an EDA tool capable of schematic capture, circuit simulation and Printed Circuit Board layout saw limited success, and He concluded that designing their own EDA tool would be beneficial.
Their key goals were that the tools be platform independent, free, easy to learn and to use.
The first version of the toolsuite appeared online in August 2013 and since officially launching in March 2014 the tool has developed rapidly with several major revisions and enhancements
EasyEDA first received external investment in January and attracted more in November 2015.
Features
EasyEDA is an integrated tool for schematic capture, SPICE circuit simulation, based on Ngspice, and PCB layout.
Being web-based and running in a browser, there is essentially nothing to be routinely downloaded or installed to the local machine. The online nature of the tool also means that updating is automatic. Bug fixes and new features, such as the addition of a PCB Autorouter in September 2015 are therefore completely transparent, requiring no input from the user.
Since the tool runs in a browser window, it is essentially platform and OS independent. However, the user interface features several functions that require key combinations to enact keyboard shortcuts (referred to as ‘Hotkeys’) that are not currently translated into gestural forms and hence certain operations cannot be performed via touchscreens. This currently restricts the full usage of the EasyEDA suite to platforms that support a physical or a multi-touch sensing keyboard, i.e. only limited functionality of the tool is possible via the touchscreens of smartphones and tablets.
Import from Altium Designer, CircuitMaker, Eagle, Kicad and LTspice file formats as well as generic SPICE netlists is supported. SPICE netlists can be exported to third party simulation tools and export of PCB netlists in Altium, PADS and FreePCB formats is also supported.
The ability to import LTspice schematics and symbols provides a useful way to port schematics to PCB layout without having to redraw them from scratch.
Once Gerber files of a completed PCB design have been downloaded and checked - using a third party Gerber Viewer - the user is free to choose a PCB manufacturer or, for a fee, they can submit the Gerbers directly to EasyEDA for manufacture. Alternatively, printable PCB layer image output is also supported in PDF, PNG and SVG formats for home PCB etching.
The tool also includes sharing and collaboration features and a comprehensive parts and an expanding SPICE model library.