Introduction:
FreePCB is a free, open-source PCB editor for Microsoft Windows, released under the GNU General Public License. It was designed to be easy to learn and easy to use, yet capable of professional-quality work. It does not have a built-in autorouter, but it can use the FreeRoute web-based autorouter at www.freerouting.net. Some of its features are:
The layout for a small PCB is shown in the screenshot below.
Latest News:
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Apr. 13, 2008 |
I've posted a new version 1.343. This is exactly the same as 1.342 except that it fixes a bug where the centroids of parts were not correctly reported in the report file. |
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Apr. 5, 2008 |
I've fixed the panelization bug, and posted a new version 1.342. This is exactly the same as 1.341 except for the bug-fix. |
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Apr. 4, 2008 |
A bug has been found in the panelization code. The board outline dimensions are rounded to the nearest mil in the Gerber file generator, but not in the drill file generator. Therefore, if you have specified the board dimensions in mm, an error can be introduced. This will be fixed in the next release. In the meantime, if you are using the panelization feature, you should enter the board outline coordinates in mils. |
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Dec. 18, 2007 |
I've posted a new version 1.341. This fixes at least 3 bugs in 1.340. I wasn't planning to release a new version this soon, and there is some unfinished code for adding new elements to footprints, so there are a few new menus and dialogs that don't actually do anything. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Dec. 1, 2007 |
I've posted version 1.211 of FpcROUTE on the Downloads page. This fixes a bug in version 1.210, so everyone should get the new version. I've also put the new version in the 1.340 Combined Update. |
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Nov. 30, 2007 |
Well, I didn't get much feedback on the debug2 version, but I'm going to assume that the right-click bug is fixed. So I'm releasing version 1.340 which is basically the same as 1.339_debug2. It's on the Downloads page. |
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Nov. 14, 2007 |
I've created another version to try and solve the right-click bug . It's called 1.339_debug2, and it's on the Downloads page. Please try it out. If you'd rather just get your work done, you should probably use version 1.338 until the bug is fixed. |
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Nov. 10, 2007 |
A bug has apparently appeared in 1.339 that can crash FreePCB on right-clicking. I can't reproduce this myself. The debug assertion indicates that the right-click menu is failing to load. I've created a special debug version of 1.339 that traps this error and should show a message without crashing. It's called 1.339_debug1, and it's on the Downloads page. |
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Oct. 31, 2007 |
Version 1.339 posted. This fixes some bugs, and adds a new function to
generate a report file which contains board statistics, etc. See the User
Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Sept. 20, 2007 |
I apologize for neglecting the User Forum for the past 10 days or so, but
I've been on vacation to Barcelona and Madrid, with limited internet
access. I gather that the Forum was down for much of this time. This is a
recurring problem, where one of the configuration files gets corrupted.
The tech support people at my hosting service have been unable to figure
it out. I've upgraded to the latest version of the Forum software, and
I've tightened the permissions on the configuration files. If this doesn't
work, I'll probably have to change hosting services.
Bruce Parham has contributed a command-line utility for editing library files, called FpcLib. You can see Bruce's post describing the software here. I've added the latest version to the Downloads page. |
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Aug. 14, 2007 |
Version 1.338 posted. Hopefully, this fixes a bug that could cause crashing on closing the program. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Aug. 9, 2007 |
Version 1.337 posted. This adds full support for 16 layers. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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July 19, 2007 |
Version 1.336 posted. This fixes some bugs. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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July 14, 2007 |
Version 1.335 posted. This fixes a few bugs and allows changing the net assignment of a copper area. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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June 30, 2007 |
Version 1.334 posted. This increases the display resolution to 0.1 mils for Windows 2000, XP and Vista, and fixes a few bugs. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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June 22, 2007 |
Version 1.333 posted. This fixes several bugs. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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June 11, 2007 |
Version 1.332 posted. This adds several new features. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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May 29, 2007 |
Version 1.331 posted. This adds a "redo" function and rotation of groups. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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May 18, 2007 |
Version 1.330 posted. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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May 11, 2007 |
Version 1.329 posted. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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May 8, 2007 |
Version 1.328 posted. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Apr. 29, 2007 |
Thanks to Bruce Parham, there is an updated PDF version of the User Guide available on the Downloads page. If you download it, you should extract the files to the freepcb\doc\ folder. The next release of FreePCB will have a link to this file in the Help menu. |
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Apr. 14, 2007 |
I've been working on updating the User Guide with the new features that have been added since version 1.2, which was the last stable version . This is a work in progress, which I was planning on releasing with the next stable version, which will be 1.4. However, since I'm now recommending the latest unstable version instead of version 1.2 for new users, I've decided to make it available. You can see it by clicking on User Guide, and you can download it on the Downloads page. If you download it, you should extract the files to the freepcb\doc\user_guide folder. |
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Apr. 7, 2007 |
This version fixes a few bugs, and adds the ability to create Gerber files for solder paste masks. It also adds the ability to "panelize" your Gerbers (i.e. create Gerbers with multiple copies of your board). There is also a change in the way it handles importing session files from the FreeRoute autorouter. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Mar. 11, 2007 |
I've made some changes to the Downloads page. I've added a "combined update" download that includes the latest recommended versions of all files that have changed since version 1.2. This is mainly for new users who are downloading the complete 1.2 distribution. I've also added sections for FpcROUTE and the Hershey font files. |
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Mar. 6, 2007 |
A bug already! The export .dsn and import .ses functions didn't handle filenames with embedded spaces correctly. Also, the user is now prompted before saving the project file when exporting. Version 1.326 posted. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Mar. 6, 2007 |
Version 1.325 posted. This adds an interface to the FpcROUTE utility by Bruce Parham, that allows exporting FreePCB projects into the FreeRoute web-based autorouter, and importing the results back into FreePCB. Also, I've changed the compiler settings to try to resolve an incompatibility with Win98. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Feb. 19, 2007 |
Version 1.324 posted. This adds Group Delete, and allows saving and pasting groups to/from files. It also allows changing the number of layers in an existing project, and fixes a few bugs. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Feb. 12, 2007 |
Version 1.323 posted. Everyone should upgrade to this version. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Jan. 17, 2007 |
Version 1.322 posted. This fixes a few bugs. See the User Forum/Latest News for more details. |
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Dec. 19, 2006 |
The User Forum is back up, thanks to the excellent tech support people at lowesthosting.com who found a corrupted script file, and restored it from backup. |
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Dec. 17, 2006 |
For some reason, the User Forum has stopped working! I've contacted my hosting service for help getting this resolved. Sorry for the inconvenience. |
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Oct. 22, 2006 |
Version 1.321 posted. This adds a feature long requested by TinyCAD users, namely preservation of routing when net names are changed. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Oct. 9, 2006 |
There is a new version of FPCfab (v. 1.33) by Bruce Parham on the Downloads page. |
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Sept. 1, 2006 |
Version 1.319 posted. This fixes several bugs. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Aug. 29, 2006 |
Version 1.318 posted. This fixes a bug in the rendering of clearances and a bug that could result in copper areas inside cutouts in other areas not being drawn. |
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Aug. 28, 2006 |
Yet another new version, 1.317. This fixes 2 bugs. See the User
Forum for more details. |
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Aug. 27, 2006 |
Oops! Bruce Parham has already found a critical bug in 1.315 so I've removed it and posted 1.316. |
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Aug. 27, 2006 |
Version 1.315 posted. This fixes multiple bugs. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Aug. 9, 2006 |
Version 1.314 posted. This fixes some bugs and improves support for branching traces. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Aug. 7, 2006 |
Version 1.313 posted. This fixes a few bugs that were already reported in 1.312. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Aug. 6, 2006 |
Version 1.312 posted. This adds branching traces and improves the Group Copy/Paste functions. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Jul. 15, 2006 |
Version 1.311 posted. This fixes a bug which mistakenly deletes zero-length trace segments between SMT pads and vias. Also, copper areas can now be placed inside cutouts in other areas. See the User Forum for more details. Also, I've posted a command-line utility written by Bruce Parham which generates component placement files from a FreePCB project file. It is called FpcPlace, and you can find it on the Downloads page. |
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Jul. 2, 2006 |
Version 1.310 posted. This fixes a serious bug which could cause shorts between traces and copper areas that contain cutouts. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Jul. 1, 2006 |
Version 1.309 posted. This fixes a bug in group copy and paste where the part references were not positioned correctly. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Jun. 30, 2006 |
Version 1.308 posted. This adds copy and paste operations for groups of parts and traces. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Jun. 1, 2006 |
Bruce Parham has contributed a command-line application that generates fabrication drawings from Gerber or template files. You can download it from the Downloads page. Be sure to read his application note on creating assembly drawings as well! |
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Apr. 5, 2006 |
Version 1.307 posted. This fixes a bug that could cause saving a project to fail. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Apr. 4, 2006 |
Sasha Zbrozek has added pictures to his guide to making PCBs at home. The new version (v.0.0.2) is available for download on the Resources and Links page. |
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Apr. 2, 2006 |
Version 1.306 posted. This fixes several bugs. See the User Forum for more details. Also, Sasha Zbrozek (a.k.a. kleptophobiac from the User Forum) has written a guide to making PCBs at home. It is available for download on the Resources and Links page. He promises to add to it in the future. |
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Apr. 1, 2006 |
Version 1.305 posted. This fixes several bugs. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Mar. 27, 2006 |
Version 1.304 posted. This fixes a couple of bugs. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Mar. 15, 2006 |
Version 1.303 posted. This includes a patch by Arlen Cox that improves routing from off-grid points. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Mar. 6, 2006 |
Version 1.302 posted. For the first time, I've compiled a release version as well as a debug version. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Mar. 2, 2006 |
Guillaume Rosanis (a.k.a. Merlin from the User Forum) has contributed a set of software tools for rendering and printing Gerber files. They are posted on the Downloads page. Please give them a try! |
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Jan. 31, 2006 |
The User Forum has been intermittently out of service for the past few days. Apparently there have been multiple accesses from certain IPs that seem to be running scripts, and my hosting service has been disabling the gforum.cgi to protect their server. I'm trying to find a solution. In the meantime, if anyone has been running scripts to download all of the forum posts, for example, PLEASE STOP. One of the offending IPs is 201.240.122.22 from Lima, Peru. |
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Jan. 25, 2006 |
I've posted a new version of FPCcombine (version 0.20) that creates multiple columns, repeats a given design a specified number of times, and rotates the projects before adding them to the combined project. It is on the Downloads page. Thanks again, Bob! |
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Jan. 24, 2006 |
Bob Thakkilapati has contributed a program called "FPCcombine" that performs panelization of multiple projects, by combining them into a single project. It panelizes vertically, but you can move the duplicated projects around with the "Group Move" command. It is posted on the Downloads page. Thanks Bob! |
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Dec. 11, 2005 |
Version 1.301 posted. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Dec. 9, 2005 |
Oops, I forgot to remove the dependency on DBGHELP.DLL. I've fixed this and reposted Version 1.3. |
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Dec. 8, 2005 |
Version 1.3 (unstable) posted. This corrects a bug and includes some new functions for copper areas. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Nov. 17, 2005 |
Version 1.205 posted. This corrects 2 bugs and allows "backing up" when routing using the backspace key. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Oct. 25, 2005 |
Version 1.204 posted. This corrects a few more editing bugs,
and also a bug which sometimes prevented FreePCB from finding the default
library folder if it was opened from a shortcut. See the User
Forum for more details. Also, the source code for recent versions is now available for anonymous checkout from the public SVN repository at www.berlios.de. See the Downloads page for more details. |
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Oct. 23, 2005 |
Version 1.203 posted. This corrects a few bugs in the Footprint Editor. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Oct. 12, 2005 |
Version 1.202 posted. This corrects a few bugs. See the User Forum for more details. |
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Sep. 13, 2005 |
Version 1.201 posted. This corrects a bug where undoing pin assignments to nets caused errors. |
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Sep. 6, 2005 |
Geoff Thompson has contributed an installer for the Version 1.2 distribution. It is on the Downloads page. Thanks, Geoff! |
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Aug. 25, 2005 |
Source code for Version 1.2 posted. |
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Aug. 14, 2005 |
Version 1.2 posted. This replaces 1.007 as the recommended "stable" version of FreePCB. It is basically the same as version 1.120 with a few small bug-fixes. The User Guide has also been updated for this version. |
Please refer to the "User Forum/Latest News" for more information on these and other recent developments.
Try it out!
If you would like to download FreePCB and try it out, click here. It comes with a fairly complete User Guide, which you can browse by clicking here.
If you use FreePCB to design a PCB, I would STRONGLY suggest that you check your Gerber files with a program such as ViewMate (available for free here) before spending any money to have the boards manufactured. If you make a board successfully, send me a picture and I will post it for everyone to admire!
If you have suggestions, comments or questions I can be reached at:
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(sorry for no hyperlink, but I can't stand spam) |
I will try to answer all emails but given the other demands on my time there may be some delay (hopefully a matter of days, not weeks or months).
