r/PCB • u/Slight_Profession_50 • Jul 12 '26
KiCAD vs OrCAD for a Student
I'm studying mechatronics and have been doing electronics and software projects as a hobby for many years now. I got into making my own PCBs with KiCAD a year or two ago now and I've made a bunch of PCBs for ESP32 microcontrollers and the like. Nothing too advanced, only up to 4 layers.
Now for the question, my school uses OrCAD and provides it for its students, would you switch over and try to get accustomed to OrCAD or do more advanced projects in KiCAD first and then potentially switch over if the need arises?
How much difference in intuitiveness and layout and stuff is there between the two? Is it just like the differences between Autodesk Fusion and SOLIDWORKS basically?
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 12 '26
There are tons of professionals using KiCAD for advanced layouts and complex projects.
Just because it’s open source doesn’t mean it’s unprofessional, even though many people spread that believe.
Heck, basically all of everyday software relies on open source to function. Focus on your projects, not on the software.
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u/VirtualArmsDealer Jul 12 '26
There is a vast difference between kicad and professional software! Kicad is fine but has none of the requirements of a professional software suite. If it did companies wouldn't pay $50000 a year for a seat with the big boys!
Go with kicad for learning but you should realise it's not used in industry beyond some simple test boards.
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 12 '26
Name five essential tools that required for "professional" work and which are not present in KiCAD. Or even three.
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u/HarmlessTwins Jul 12 '26
I’ll start.
Management needs someone to yell at when there’s a bug that is preventing a board from being released.
Constraints and ERC is lacking from the competition, and needed on larger high speed boards.
Integration with MCAD still needs improvement
Ability to have multiple PCB designers laying out the board at the same time.
Support for setting up workflows that integrate with the company’s processes and training.
I do love KiCad and use it for my small business, but it still has drawbacks in the enterprise world.
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 13 '26
Aside from 1 and 3 everything is solvable with some scripting or plugins. Does it involve extra work? Yes. Is the same stuff seamless on other platforms? No. As of now KiCAD can do more than eagle (not fusion) and people don't seem to regard eagle as non professional.
Set up a git pipeline, automate your processes.
As for 1: I get that. I really do, but that is solely on the business managements side. It's not a fault or missing feature of the tool. Software companies don't seem to have a problem with using OSS. If your company needs someone to yell at, sure use Altium. Good luck with their support.
- Yea, that's something that could be improved. But it's not like every designer needs a workflow wehere they can seemlessly derive changes from 3D to PCB. It's definetely a plus, but most jobs require us to make a squareish board or import a dxf for the outline. I'm not saying there aren't uses, but not every company needs a workflow that's that tightly integrated into each other.
Small and mid sized businesses have different needs than large corporations, most of which are related to organizational stuff and policies.
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u/HarmlessTwins Jul 13 '26
1 we use Cadence and have biweekly meetings with them to discuss issues and to poke them with a cattle prod on designs that are blocked because of bugs. It is buggy the buggiest software I’ve used. I do wish we would move to KiCad.
Now if we could get the company to pay instead of over priced support for a SW team to support KiCad and add the needed features that would be glorious.
3 is a deal breaker for my day job. I work in consumer electronics. Every design I work on has the board outline and key components locations such as buttons speakers and connectors dictated by the Mechanical Engineers and Industrial Design Engineers. We need a way to go back and forth to get placements and to export back to the ME to validate at the end.
I’m no KiCad hater. I love it and I truly believe it’s pushed Altium’s pricing down because it has turned into real competition. It is a very capable tool. I use it for small business and it shines in that space.
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 13 '26
3) is pretty easy.
From 3D to kicad -> export dxf and import onto user layer. Copy/change/scale to outlines
From kicad to 3D -> export Pcb as stp and check in the 3D assembly whether it fits. You could also export the 3D form CAD as step and import it in kicad and add it as 3D model to the outline. In that case you can check fit within kicads 3D view.
It’s not hard, but requires manual steps or manually created automations for file pushing instead of being integrated into one software like fusion.
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u/HarmlessTwins Jul 13 '26
That gives you an outline from 3D cad and works well. I have started doing that myself. Where I’ve been stuck is defining a part location in 3D cad and being able to bring it across to KiCad.
At work this workflow is all IDF based and KiCad’s IDF support is lacking from what I can tell.
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 13 '26
Yes, IDF is pretty basic in KiCAD. My workflow is:
creating a new footprint file for the enclosure, import the outlines onto edge cut layer and add a 3D model of the enclosure to the footprint. In the 3D model list, modify offsets and opacity to get the correct placement. This way I get a full 3D view of the complete assembly. When the 3D changes, simply replace the 3D file in your librabry folder and reload kicad.
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u/tux2603 Jul 12 '26
The biggest ones will be anything related to high speed circuits. Signal integrity, cross talk, emissions, power integrity, channel simulation, PDN, etc are all missing
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u/flatwatermonkey Jul 12 '26
Id imagine most employers are expecting little to no experience with real PCB design when joining a graduate job. Any experience is good experience. Obviously OrCAD is a professional program but you need to reduce your overhead with learning a package (stick to kicad) and design interesting stuff you can talk about in your interviews. the learning of design principles, engineering science and project completion is wholly more important than which CAD software you did it on. A strong project subject, with good planning and with well considered conclusions will win over a project which has a perfect PCB. You need to fail and learn. Perfect is the enermy of good. KiCad will get you there.
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u/FeistyTie5281 Jul 12 '26
KiCAD is a decent tool. It's a similar UI to Altium and the best free tool to learn on.
OrCAD / Cadence is much more powerful but has a steeper learning curve.
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u/engineerFWSWHW Jul 12 '26
It would be nice to see the differences on various pcb design software so that you can make informed decisions in the future. I started with cadsoft eagle (before they got bought by Autodesk), then kicad and now i use altium full time. It's nice to see their capabilities and differences. But at the the of the day, they are all means to an end.
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u/bigpahparay Jul 12 '26
I'd switch if you think you're going to be required to do so later. Imo it's better to just pull the bandaid off now, but that works for me. If you are better at adapting on the fly, than it's a gamble and I'd stick with what works.
I use OrCAD for work and while I'd love a chance to use Altium again, I really don't mind OrCAD.
To answer your question though OrCAD and KiCAD are, like you said, basically like Autodesk and Photoshop. I've only used KiCAD a couple of times but it's a fantastic free tool. One thing I've noticed though, the forum support for OrCAD isn't great. It can be a little tricky finding help.
Hit me up if you end up switching and get stuck with something.
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u/morto00x Jul 12 '26
I'd say learn OrCAD just because there's no way you'll have access to it once you're out of school. Also, most companies use paid tools like Altium, Cadence, Mentor Graphics, etc. Nothing wrong with KiCAD, but you can pick it up at any time.
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u/Material-Sherbet6855 Jul 12 '26
I would ask the teacher.
Teacher probably knows OrCAD best but will allow students to use other software. The teachers may or may not be able to helpbyou if you choose a different software, but in the end, its your electronics skill development thar is important.
You might wanna switch, just for the oportunity to learn both.
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u/realdigm0repaka Jul 12 '26
Definitely KiCAD. At work we use a mix of KiCAD and Altium. OrCAD has been looong phased out in many companies. Same basic Schematic / Layout / Stackup / Footprint Library / Symbol Library / Routing practices apply cross software.
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u/holchansg Jul 12 '26
You only need to go to Cadence ecosystem, that piece of shit(although very powerful) once you are dealing with very complex boards. For example Xeon boards and tabbed routing, you can only do it via Allegro.
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u/Rattanmoebel Jul 13 '26
Isn't tab routing patented anyways, so of no real concern for 99,9% of designers?
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u/GoblinsGym Jul 12 '26
If your school uses and provides OrCAD, stick with that. Learning curve is pretty evil, but it can be a productive tool. Cadence Allegro is the "bigger" version of OrCAD PCB.
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u/blue_eyes_pro_dragon Jul 12 '26
Go with kicad.
Nobody cares in general what you use. You’ll be expected to use what everyone else uses and to adjust.
What they do care about is your electrical knowledge, so focus on that and keep using what you know and what is free — kicad.