A good graphical circuit board thing?

[Deleted User]

A few years ago, my teacher uses this one application, that makes circuit board.

It's very noob-friendly. My teacher just put in batteries (which looks somewhat real) and a light bulb (Which looks like a light bulb), then he connects them both. Then he clicked on play or something, and the light bulb lights up.


It's a fuzzy memory (sorry), but is there an application like that? Went back to ask my teacher, he never gave a straight answer, or even gives one as a matter of fact >__>.

Basically, what I want is a circuit board maker with these features:
1)Simple and easy
2)Can be turned on (What I mean is like, so you will see the end result if it's plugged in)
3)Very noob-friendly (Yes, I'm a noob lol)

Thanks!

 

[Lee79]

Might of been one of these but they are very expensive to buy.
http://etcai.pair.com/index_Page427.htm

 

[BiscuitBee]

Perhaps you used a program that I used in college called MultiSIM by Electronics Workbench. Then since been bought out and the product is still continued:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NI_Multisim

 

[UltraMagnus]

well, I don't know of any that satisfy number 2.

but for the rest you could try kicad

 

[BiscuitBee]

well, I don't know of any that satisfy number 2.

but for the rest you could try kicad

MultiSIM was interactive... but I really like to LOOK of kicad! .... I'mma play around with that tonight, thanks

 

[Psyfira]

Crocodile Clips!

We used it at school, it sounds exactly like what you described; you built circuits with LED's, lightbulbs, switches and so on, flip the switches and they lit up when the circuit was complete.

Of course it's been a while since I was in school, it's been through two name changes since then and is currently called Yenka Electronics:
http://www.yenka.com/en/Yenka_Electronics/

which looks like the basic version is free, but if not you might be able to find older versions under the Crocodile name floating around somewhere.

 

[FAST6191]

Electrical cad huh.

Comes in two main flavours I find (naturally there are things to bridge the two).
1) Logic/circuit building
My first suggestion would be crocodile clips as well but I did use another app called circuitmaker a few years back that was pretty good (sort of complexity I was dealing with: http://pix.gbatemp.net/32303/circuitposs.JPG ), alas they got swallowed up by Altium Limited and I do not appear to have a copy
edit: maybe should have tried "circuitmaker download" in a search engine sooner:
http://my.ece.ucsb.edu/bobsclass/2C/Simula...rcuit_maker.htm

You also have some basic stuff from GNU:
http://www.gnu.org/software/electric/
I have yet to play with this yet but others stand by it.

2) Design for PCB. These make things like GERBER files and various other formats you give to a company or a CNC machine do make your PCB. I suggest working backwards from a format in this case.

And just for giggles there is actually one for the GBA of all things:
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=74615&hl=

edit2: I forgot to mention, many of these companies like to get an email out of you. Remember to use http://www.mailinator.com/

 

[kai445]

ExpressPCB is free PCB layout software, pretty easy to use, and you can get instant quotes on assembled boards from the expresspcb people.

http://www.expresspcb.com/ExpressPCBHtm/HowWorks.htm

 

[UltraMagnus]

ExpressPCB is free PCB layout software, pretty easy to use, and you can get instant quotes on assembled boards from the expresspcb people.

http://www.expresspcb.com/ExpressPCBHtm/HowWorks.htm

don't touch this, its only remotely "no cost" because you are forced to use their overpriced manufacturing services for anything you design. and it has no industry standard gerber output

 

[Deleted User]

Thanks guys, found that Yenka (Previously known as Crocodile) is the one my teacher used! SInce I remembered about it having a little crocodile icon on the taskbar.

Thanks again