Autodesk buys Eaglecad?

[electrosonic]

There was a posting on the EEVblog about Autodesk buying Eagle

http://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/5367432/Premier-Farnell-sells-Cadsoft-business.html

This could have implications for the Eagle users here...

Andrew

[madbean]

Oh god...no please. Not Autodesk. Anything but that!

[GermanCdn]

Yup.  That sucks.  Autodesk - giving you features you don't need or want for a 3X price increase since 199something.

[sturgeo]

I've got to say my initial reaction was that its a good thing, Autodesk make one of the best products for machinists. Fusion 360 is brilliant CAD/CAM all in one package & free for hobbyists and businesses turning over less than 100K. Hopefully they can do something like that with Eagle and remove the 100 x 80 size limit and if needs be put a pin limit in like Diptrace. I'm having to learn a 2nd package purely to make some programmable Looper boards and even now they're finished i don't feel 100% with them as its a completely different process.

[rullywowr]

Maybe it's a good thing.  Perhaps they will implement groundbreaking new features such as "CTRL + C" for copy and "CTRL + V" for paste.   

[culturejam]

I actually like AutoDesk's TinkerCAD, which is an online 3D CAD program for the CAD challenged like me. I use it to make rudimentary models for 3D printing.

[gordo]

I use ACAD regularly and love it.  That said I think the freebie days of Eagle may be numbered....  This may be the time for me to lean back in on DEX or DipTrace.

[EBRAddict]

That sucks but explains their 50% off sale a month or so ago.

Without the free version I think adoption will dry up. Without the community support and libraries it's not as if Eagle does anything remarkably well. Well, maybe the autorouter. Snort.

[madbean]

I've got to say my initial reaction was that its a good thing, Autodesk make one of the best products for machinists. Fusion 360 is brilliant CAD/CAM all in one package & free for hobbyists and businesses turning over less than 100K. Hopefully they can do something like that with Eagle and remove the 100 x 80 size limit and if needs be put a pin limit in like Diptrace. I'm having to learn a 2nd package purely to make some programmable Looper boards and even now they're finished i don't feel 100% with them as its a completely different process.

They also have a history of killing off great products, too (Softimage). Plus, if Eagle goes the yearly licensing or maintenance route that is pretty much the end of it for DIY guys.

[culturejam]

I assume Eagle isn't the only application that checks consistency between the schematic and board, right? That's the main reason I started using it.

[HamSandwich]

I assume Eagle isn't the only application that checks consistency between the schematic and board, right? That's the main reason I started using it.

I don't recall express PCB doing it. I hope this ends up going well, but I could easily see it going south quickly.

[alanp]

Hopefully they can do something like that with Eagle and remove the 100 x 80 size limit and if needs be put a pin limit in like Diptrace. I'm having to learn a 2nd package purely to make some programmable Looper boards and even now they're finished i don't feel 100% with them as its a completely different process.

I'd honestly rather that they keep the board size, and unlimited pins. If you're in it as a hobbyist, not for commercial, the $169 licence is VERY worthwhile, and the 160x100 board size opens a LOT of options.

[sturgeo]

Well the Autodesk version is now live, offering free & 2 subscription models, interestingly the board size limitation is now on cm² so I'm hoping I can create a board wide enough for my looper in eagle as I don't feel entirely confident with my Diptrace skills.
I've signed up for a month so we'll see soon!

Edit: Yup can now create boards outside of the old 100x80 limitation. I imagine the free version which limits boards to 80cm² is the same.

[madbean]

Autorouter is now included in the standard edition it seems. And importing circuit blocks is a great feature. But, there doesn't seem to be any information on current Eagle 7 license holders. Sure would be nice to have my current license carry over for a year subscription. Anyway, $100 / year is totally reasonable, IMO. Can't see doing $500 for the premium version, though.

[jkokura]

I'm still running 6.5... Think it's worth it for me to update?

Jacob