PCB Design Thoughts

I have been talking with N0FP directly on other folks via email about my time spent trying out some different EE cad tools. A couple of common questions seem to continue to come up....



  1. How do you move between LTSpice and a CAD program like TinyCad, Eagle, or KiCad?

    Being able to import/export with LTSpice is a big deal if you want to easily model
    your projects.





  2. Auto numbering of parts - This is a great feature if you can use and still go back
    and tweak the component numbers by region on the board or completely renumber if you
    add a part to the board, etc.





  3. Making a new part - I need to test how easy/complex it is to make a new raw part/component
    for the schematic & layout tool.





  4. Good auto router integration - So far TinyCad+FreePCB has had the output from the
    auto router. I still need to get this working with Eagle prior to buying Eagle...
    if I buy Eagle.