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Sharing Electronic Schematics

Posted by Unknown on from the schematics-2.0 dept.

derGoldstein writes with a blurb in Make about Circuit Bee. From the article: "CircuitBee is like YouTube for your circuit schematics. You upload your Eagle or Kicad schematics, we crunch the numbers and create an online embeddable version of your schematic."

6 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Why oh why by BSAtHome · · Score: 2

    Why would you want a service that takes the crap out of your browser (it is slow) for something that you can do so easily with a common "export" function?
    What is wrong with a png image? Or what about a pdf file? At least those would be easy to print.
    I guess I miss to see the purpose of that web2.0 thingy and prefer plain old formats.

    1. Re:Why oh why by LordNimon · · Score: 4, Informative

      Are you aware that Eagle and Kicad files can be used by layout tools and by companies that manufacturer the boards? You can import the file into your tool, merge the circuitry with your existing design, and then export the whole thing to a manufacturer. Printing the schematics is not what this is about.

      --
      And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
      To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
    2. Re:Why oh why by bws111 · · Score: 2

      They say they are looking to add other capabilities, like searching by components. It would be pretty cool if you could say 'here are some components I have, what have people done with them'.

  2. just tried it; not sure its a great idea by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I do hardware and firmware work and have lately been doing some eagle board level layout.

    a lot of people don't use just one pkg. eagle is not bad for pcb layout but some friends I work with use another pkg to draw the schematic. your system would probably not handle this kind of split development.

    the javascript - well - not a big fan of it, to be honest. more and more, JS gets caught in adblock/noscript filters and its too much work to unblock you. just being candid about J. just don't like it. its usually overly complex, a support headache and not at all friendly to static style postings.

    people want to download the eagle files (or other) and use them directly. this works ok enough; I'm not sure I see value in a 'pan around' read only kind of web extension. to do anything real, you HAVE to load the file (source) into the editor and use the actual program.

    I also want to be able to click on an image and save-as easily. JS code just fights that.

    sorry, but I can't get behind a JS solution when its not at all needed. its just getting in the way and I see no need to have to fight with websites just to do circuit and board level collab.

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  3. Re:The youtube of... by MacTO · · Score: 2

    The YouTube of ... electronics. So it'll be 50 year olds telling you that your microprocessor based solution reduces to a 555 as well as a handful of capacitors and resistors.

  4. Not useful, and has some major downsides. by Animats · · Score: 2

    It's a hosted service, not just a file format. You have to sign up for their service, which comes with an overreaching EULA, one which includes both "circuitBee reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement" and "Optional premium paid services such as extra storage or additional editing features are available on the Website." So more features may become pay services over time.

    All it lets you do is look at the schematic. Looking at the examples, there doesn't seem to be any way to extract a netlist, board layout, or a bill of materials. You can't even get the original file that was uploaded. So it doesn't help you make the thing. (But you can "share it on Facebook" or "send it in a tweet".) The system seems to reflect a complete misunderstanding of what schematics are used for. "Order all the parts from Digi-Key" or "design and order PC board" features would make sense. "Share on Myspace", which they actually have, indicates complete cluelessness.

    What would be more useful would be a Javascript viewer for some standard netlist formats. Then you could take your existing Eagle file, or whatever, and make it easier to view.