Compare DipTrace vs. SOLIDWORKS PCB

DipTrace is a professional PCB design suite from Novarm Ltd, in continuous development since 2004 and used by over 30,000 engineers across 50+ countries. Companies in aerospace, defense, medical devices, and industrial electronics rely on it for production work. The suite covers the full design flow in one environment. Schematic Capture handles multi-sheet hierarchical projects with electrical rule check, a Digital SPICE Simulator for analog and digital circuits, and cross-selection with the board. PCB Layout provides interactive push-and-shove editing, where moving or rotating a placed component displaces neighbouring traces and vias as you work, and dragged traces route themselves around pads, keepouts, and existing copper. Designers choose whether design rules are enforced at all times or violations are permitted deliberately. High-speed work is supported through differential pair routing, length matching, layer stackup management, and a PCB calculator. Manufacturing output covers Gerber X2, ODB++, IPC-2581, NC Drill, and STEP for mechanical CAD. Version 5.3 introduced a native XML project format that mirrors the binary format feature for feature, making designs practical to keep under Git or another version control system. Component sourcing runs through a database-powered search with Mouser integration and SnapEDA access to more than 10 million parts. Projects import from Altium, KiCad, Eagle, OrCAD, EasyEDA Pro, Pulsonix, and PADS. DipTrace runs natively on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Licensing is perpetual — bought once, with no subscription or maintenance fees — across five editions starting at $75. Technical support is provided to every user, including those on the free edition.

SOLIDWORKS PCB streamlines the process of designing Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) efficiently while fostering exceptional collaboration between electrical engineers and 3D mechanical design teams. This integration provides a significant benefit in scenarios where close ECAD-MCAD cooperation is vital for the successful development of electronic products. Users can define rigid-flex areas, layers, and stack thicknesses, facilitating the design of single board rigid-flex PCBs. Additionally, the regions of the rigid-flex layer stack can be specified with bend lines and angles, which can then be validated through 3D folding and component clearance checks to ensure the accuracy of the layout. Project management, design files, and documentation are seamlessly handled with the SOLIDWORKS PCB-PDM Connector, which enhances the PDM-based design and data management workflow. This system securely stores and organizes design data for quick access, alleviates worries related to version control and potential data loss, and allows for collaborative work on design data from various locations. The unmatched integration and collaboration between ECAD and MCAD offered by SOLIDWORKS ensures that all design data is unified, promoting efficiency and innovation in the product development process. This powerful synergy ultimately leads to improved product quality and faster time-to-market.