Fritzing

Fritzing is an advanced and comprehensive piece of software developed in order to provide designers, engineers or even artists with a reliable means of taking their projects and ideas to the stage of a functional prototype.

The program is meant to function as a teaching instrument, allowing users to learn how to create and work with Printer Circuit Boards (or PCB), and other electronics.

In Fritzing's main window, users can view the virtual circuit being built, enabling them to switch between three view modes: 'Breadboard', 'Schematic' and 'PCB View'. The 'Breadboard' is generally the place where users begin their work, as it offers the ability to create a circuit that mimics the real thing, thus preventing the occurrence of mistakes when taking the project from a virtual state to a physical object.

The 'Schematic' mode will show the circuit as a diagram, which can be quite handy for users who prefer standard circuit symbols. In 'PCB View', users can design and export the documents required to produce the Printed Circuit Board.

Fritzing provides users with an extensive 'Part Library', that they can drag and drop in their project. The available parts are organized in categories: 'Core', 'All Parts' and 'Mine'. Moreover, with the 'Part Inspector', users can view and modify the information of individual circuit parts.

An interesting feature of Fritzing is the ability to create customized parts. Users need to enter the part name, an icon and a graphic image to be used in the chosen view mode. Other specifications are required, such as 'Label', 'Description', 'Properties', 'Tags', 'Author'. Similarly, users need to add a list of 'Connectors' for the part.

Fritzing is an interesting and reliable application whose main function is that of a learning tool, which allows users to automate electronics' design, test out ideas and develop PCBs for their electronics.