Sketchup is free and simple. Yet it is a powerful tool for MCAD. I run Sketchup 8 and Sketchup 7 under WINE one my Linux computer and it works quite decent. So why am i using Sktechup 7 also? The answer: Google provided a DXF Importer for Sketchup 7 – which is not included in the Free Sketchup 8 Version anymore. From the PCB designer i get a DXF (including the height information of the components) – with Sketchup 7 the DXF is imported and saved. The resulting .skp file is opened with Sketchup 8 and automatically converted to the new Version.
For those of you who are using Eagle for the ECAD – there is also a great project interfacing Eagle and Sketchup. Check it out: http://eagleup.wordpress.com/
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