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Draw PCB, Perfboard or Stripboard layouts in Ubuntu with DIYLC

Last updated: November 21, 2013

Want to draw PCB, Perfboard or Stripboard layouts on your Ubuntu or Linux Mint machine? Well, there is a free, open source application called DIY Layout Creator which works on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.

DIY Layout Creator (DIYLC in short) is freeware drawing tool developed with help of a large online community of DIY electronics enthusiasts.

The goal is to provide a simple interface and enough power to let the user draw schematics, board/chassis layouts and guitar wiring diagrams quickly and without a steep learning curve. Also, it is build around the flexible open source framework that may be used to draw pretty much anything.

Below is a sample board layout drawn in DIYLC3 (Click to enlarge).

diy layout creator sample

Features:

  • platform independence, will run on any machine having Java JRE/JDK 1.6.0_10 or newer
  • easy to use interface, most of the operations can be done using mouse
  • draws schematics, board layouts and chassis layouts
  • high flexibility, has the API to allow plug-ins and new components to be added without much trouble
  • improved performance and reduced memory consumption compared to the previous versions
  • save default values for each property of a component individually
  • group components together and treat them as one, e.g. move, edit or delete
  • export the output to image, PDF or printer
  • export PCB trace mask suitable for toner transfer
  • create a Bill of Materials as a part of the project or export it to few different file formats
  • zoom in/out feature
  • configurable grid spacing on the project level
  • auto update checks for new versions
  • import files created with older versions of the application
  • create and load project templates
  • [pending] integration with online project library, sharing your drawings with ease

Install DIY Layout Creator in Ubuntu:

We can easily install DIYLC in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint from its repository.

To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it open, copy and paste the code below and run to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://www.diy-fever.com/diylc_repository binary/">/etc/apt/sources.list.d/diylc.list'

Then you can install the app after checking for updates. To do so, run:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install diylc

Once installed, open it from Unity Dash or Menu.

DIY Layout Creator Main window

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