Fritzing is an electronic design application aimed at makers, students, designers and hobbyists. It provides an intuitive environment for documenting physical electronic circuits and developing printed circuit boards.
The software uses a visual breadboard representation to help users transfer physical prototypes into digital designs. Connections can then be examined through conventional electronic schematics before progressing to PCB layout.
Fritzing also includes basic circuit simulation based on ngspice. This functionality is more limited than that found in dedicated circuit simulators and depends on the availability of suitable SPICE models for individual components.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Breadboard view representing physical electronic prototypes.
- Schematic editor for conventional electronic circuit diagrams.
- PCB editor for designing printed circuit boards.
- Synchronised circuit connections across different design views.
- Extensive component library with commonly used electronic parts.
- Part Creator for modifying and creating custom components.
- Basic SPICE simulation using ngspice.
- DC circuit analysis for supported electronic components.
- Experimental transient simulation capabilities.
- Automatic routing of PCB traces.
- Manual routing for precise control over board connections.
- Design rules checking for PCB layouts.
- Configurable copper keepout areas and ground fills.
- Export Gerber files for PCB manufacturing.
- Generate parts lists and circuit netlists.
- Export diagrams as SVG, PDF and image files.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Website: fritzing.org
Support:
Developer: Fritzing development team
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
Fritzing is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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