KiCAD vs Target 3001 – 2nd Impression

1 – Schematics – KiCAD is most definitly a step up. It is much, much faster to work with once you get used to the somewhat weird user interface.

2 – PCB Layout – It is hard to say. I see huge advantages in the life-cycle of interactions between PCB/Schematics as I apply changes.

3 – 3D – Both gets the job done. KiCAD have a special mode making 3D model look realistic, but so far I must admit that I preffer Target 2001 on this.

Will be interesting to see how these impressions change as I get to learn KiCAD more – so far it is ok – weird, but ok.

I am mainly a Windows user/developer so my expectations to user interface is standarized through years of Windows usage. Target 3001 fall into that category. People who have grown up with Linux is not used to this and tend to re-invent the wheel by doing things differently – KiCAD falls into this category. It takes a bit of time to get used to because it don’t follow standards we are used to. Once you get the shortcuts into your fingers they actually are quite convenient.

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