PCB design editors / #5
Cadence OrCAD X
A strong professional choice inside the Cadence world; hard to justify outside it.
23/35Ranked #5 in pcb design editors
Last reviewed
- Who it is for
- Companies with existing Cadence designs, and engineers who rely on PSpice simulation and want a path to Allegro for the hardest boards.
- Made by
- Cadence Design Systems
- Runs on
- Windows
- Cost
- Paid. Sold by Cadence and its channel partners; check orcad.com or a reseller for a quote.
- Poor fit for
- Hobbyists, students outside a university programme, and small teams with no Cadence history.
Strengths
- OrCAD Capture is a long-established schematic editor, with PSpice simulation alongside.
- Shares its technology with Cadence Allegro, so designs can move up to it.
- Complete constraint management and fabrication outputs.
Limits
- Windows only.
- Pricing is by quote rather than published.
- The toolset is large, and its learning curve is steep.
Scores and the reasons for them
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cost and licensing | 2/5 | Paid, priced by quote through Cadence and resellers. |
| Learning curve | 2/5 | A large professional toolset; expect training. |
| Library and part support | 4/5 | Professional part libraries and component information systems. |
| Board complexity | 5/5 | Constraint-driven design that scales up to Cadence Allegro. |
| Output for fabrication | 5/5 | Full fabrication and assembly outputs. |
| File portability | 2/5 | Cadence formats; other tools import OrCAD schematics and Allegro boards with varying fidelity. |
| Collaboration | 3/5 | Team and data-management features are available; check which edition includes them. |
Real boards made with Cadence OrCAD X
- BeagleBone Black by BeagleBoard.org Foundation (Documentation CC BY-SA; hardware licence listed as “Other” on its OSHWA certification (US000236). Read the repository before reusing it.)