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30 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2023 available. When evaluating free tools, pay close attention. Some will be open source or com- munity-run projects, and while the philosophy behind them might be attractive, make sure those tools are still being actively maintained and provide user support. Some low-cost and free CAD tools are funded and developed by PCB manufacturers. ey produce tools that specifically work with their manufacturing process, which can be great if a designer has a specific manufacturer in mind for their design. However, this choice can also lock in a specific manufacturer path, so choose carefully. Does the manufacturer's CAD tool cost money? If so, how much? Can it provide Gerber files? Commercial packages can quickly become expensive. ere are a few CAD tools available that charge a monthly subscription price, but most offer prices ranging from about $75 all the way to over $2,000. Pay attention to the limits placed on products with multiple tiers of pric- ing and be particularly careful not to get caught in a "freemium" trap, where a piece of soware seems great until that really important feature is locked behind an expensive paywall. Component Libraries CAD tools are almost always customizable with libraries full of parts and components. It is important to be sure that the tool being con- sidered can support the parts required by the design. Many tools like to brag about the size of their parts libraries, but don't be fooled by a big number. A typical designer might need a library of about 10,000 parts, but when looking at the library offered by a CAD tool, confirm that the requisite parts are available. Look for commonly used parts and check whether the tool comes with proprietary libraries or access to specialized libraries required for the project. No matter the CAD tool, eventually design- ers end up creating components themselves. Make sure the tool provides the capabilities needed to both create new components and add them from external sources. Complexity CAD tools exist to tackle the complex prob- lem of designing PCBs. Unfortunately, it's inev- itable that the CAD tool will itself be somewhat