Software for drawing up wiring schematics?

[~Maxx]

I'm curious if any of you use any sort of software for drawing up wiring diagrams and such. My general method is to sketch things out on paper with a pencil, and then go back over the whole thing with different color pens (black, red, green) so I can follow things more easily while soldering it up. If I'm going to share something online - I scan my drawing into the PC, and open it up in MS Paint where I can clean things up and make them more coherent. But there must be a better way! Any suggestions?

As always - thank you!

[cynical1]

For my exercises on organized confusion I use Adobe Illustrator, but any vector based graphics app will work for doing a wiring diagram.

A very good free one is Inkscape. You can download it here:

inkscape.org/download/

Schematics...I have no idea since I can't make much sense out of them myself...

HTC1

[JohnH]

I think a hand sketch can be fine. But for a better result, I just use the graphics features of Word for the diagrams I post here.

John

[asmith]

I might sketch it first but it's usually in my head before I put it to pixel. MSPaint is blocky, simple, and if done with thought I think it's the clearest method. Plus you take your time. Any errors you encounter or 'mis-thinks' don't involve scrapping the paper, just erase and rethink. And the computer at work comes with a free copy. Imagine that.

At home, either Paint or a linux Paint clone. I used to use Corel Photo-Paint. While it's more powerful, it got to the point where it was like using the Vetruvian man to point where the toilets are.

[cynical1]

Jan 13, 2012 4:52:56 GMT -5 asmith said:

And leave the money in a brown paper bag by the lockers at the train station... MSPaint falls into the "...and I will hammer that square peg into the round hole and I don't care how many times I've got to hit it..." category. It was cute in Windows 3.1 to keep the kids from adventuring elsewhere on your computer, but as a raster based graphics app it was mostly just a toy.

MSPaint is blocky, simple, and if done with thought I think it's the clearest method.

The prototype for MSPaint was an Etch-A-Sketch...



Except the Echa-A-Sketch had two knobs versus a mouse to really make it look like Katherine Hepburn had been doing your drawings...

And don't go gettin' all Vitruvian on me...



The Dude says go find a vector based graphics app. No more jagged lines...no more candidates for "Refrigerator Picture of the Month"... Just learn to use bezier curves and text and you can forget about the other bazillion features...

And if you're really stuck on raster based programs go out and get Gimp. It ports to most operating systems and has multiple uses aside from guitar wiring layouts. It's also free, just like Inkscape.

Soapbox returned to upright and locked position...

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[newey]

For diagrams I use MS Paint. For schematics I use Design Works Express, which was a free download version of the Pro version. But the freebie is no longer available.

[thetragichero]

diagrams ms paint because like previously stated, it's on the work pc (and we can't install anything else)
i do, however, use gimp for designing cd cover art.... seems to do all that photoshop can do (at least that i used ps5 for years ago), but simpler

[cynical1]

Gimp has come a long way since it started. It will work for probably 90% of all raster based graphics users. The plugins are bit limited, but if you never used them in Photoshop you'll never miss them in Gimp. They've also come along way with the interface in Gimp:



And the interface in Inkscape is pretty simple and straightforward.



Compared to this...



My apologies to the dead horse...

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[denitronik]

How about JSchem.

dhost.info/jschem/

[reTrEaD]

Jan 13, 2012 10:14:04 GMT -5 cynical1 said:

And leave the money in a brown paper bag by the lockers at the train station... MSPaint falls into the "...and I will hammer that square peg into the round hole and I don't care how many times I've got to hit it..." category. It was cute in Windows 3.1 to keep the kids from adventuring elsewhere on your computer, but as a raster based graphics app it was mostly just a toy.

I use Paint. Yes, it sux. And it sux hard. But it's there. *shrug*

Jan 13, 2012 4:38:12 GMT -5 JohnH said:

I think a hand sketch can be fine. But for a better result, I just use the graphics features of Word for the diagrams I post here.

John

I really should try that.
Your drawings (not the sketchy ones) look good.

[ashcatlt]

My family has followed the Corel upgrade path since Windows for Workgroups. CorelDraw is great for this kind of thing, and easier for me than pencil and paper nowadays.

For active circuit schemes I use 5spice, cause I can run analysis. Then printscreen and into PhotoPaint for cropping/resizing etc..

[~Maxx]

Thanks to all of you for the multitude of wonderful suggestions! I sort of lost my weekend working on another project. But I'll be sure to audition these at my earliest convenience.

[chase]

For those on a Mac, I use OmniGraffle, which is intended for exactly these kinds of things - it's not only vector-based but also will link objects together, do line hops, attach labels, etc. Looks like this (but nicer, this is a low quality GIF):

[flateric]

very surprised no-one has mentioned DIY layout creator - you can google it. Freeware for mac or pc and much loved by stompbox tinkerers around the globe. You can do wiring, scghematics, vero and stripboard as well as pcb designs and layouts with a menu full of ready made components.

[asmith]

Jan 17, 2012 10:02:15 GMT -5 flateric said:

very surprised no-one has mentioned DIY layout creator - you can google it. Freeware for mac or pc and much loved by stompbox tinkerers around the globe. You can do wiring, scghematics, vero and stripboard as well as pcb designs and layouts with a menu full of ready made components.

I second this. I've played with DIY Layout Creator recently and like it a lot.

[ashcatlt]

I don't use DIYLC because I got the idea that it doesn't do perfboard, which is all I use. It sounds cool, though. Now that I think about it, I suppose I could just use the Vero, and ignore the strips...

[chase]

There's a perf template in the version I just downloaded, as well as buttons for drawing a couple different types of perfboard. Not sure if that does what you're looking for.

[~Maxx]

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this thread! I considered the four main suggestions - Inkscape, Gimp, DIYLC, and JSchem - and have wound up using JSchem for the time being.

Years ago I had a Linux box set up in my office, and toyed about with Gimp for a while. Great program, and I didn't realize it had been ported for Windows. I'll probably download it for general use in the near future. But it was just a bit more than I was looking for when it came to putting schematics together. Inkscape also came highly recommended from a friend of mine in the art dept. at my job. It's a fantastic piece of software. But, again, a bit more than I was after. DIYLC would have been the front-runner, but it's missing several key components in its library that would be necessary for guitar schematics. And creating custom components looks to be a pain in the neck. JSchem allows me to group existing components together, add custom lines and connectors, and easily save them as library entries for later use. While it lacks the "pretty" factor that the other options did, it's lightweight, simple to use, and gets the job done without making me jump through hoops.

Here's a little something I drew up for my ongoing Partscaster project using JSchem. Thanks to denitronik for recommending this. And thanks again to everyone else for your suggestions!