TopoR - PCB layout tool

[AndreyB]

I anyone remembers this
unusual design

Tuned out it's not created by a drunken hand - it's created an unusual tool which makes a point not to limit itself to just straight lines:



http://eda.eremex.com/products/topor/competitiveadvantages/autorouting.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TopoR

There is something about Lite edition which might work for us. My own plan is to figure out if they have command line handling - I would love to reduce the number of clicks in my workflow.

[kb1gtt]

Ah, I remember it, I seem to recall I noted it "looked messy" and I thought the component placement wasn't optimal. I don't think I complained about the electrical properties all that much. After looking over the page, I think it's a cool looking tool. I don't think it worked quite well with the above example, but with some better component placement, it probably would work well.

[kb1gtt]

Hmmm. I have wondered if this is something worth trying out. I see downloadable files at the below. I wonder what the difference between trail, and lite is.
https://www.eremex.com/downloads/

[puff]

trial has a limited trial period of up to 60 days
lite is for amateur use, supports up to 125 nets (if that's the correct word).
there are pro versions - fully featured routing in various configurations supporting 2l, 4l, 8l and 32layers

[kb1gtt]

Any idea how much a licence costs?

[puff]

It's available on request (I know, it's quite a strange practice) - but how does it align to the idea of open-sourceness?

[kb1gtt]

It's just an auto-router, so if a board is routed with this tool, it can still be opened and modified even if you do not have this tool. However if the traces are put down with this tool, it would likely be more optimal than other routers.

Are there any other routers like this (or similar) which are open source? This router is the only one I know of which routes this way.

[puff]

Some time ago I used an autorouter script for Eagle made by some German guy, who was, afaik, somehow affiliated with Eagle, but who was legally forced to stop his activities in that field (but the sources are still alive!).
have you tried a kicad autorouter, btw? have you tried altium tools?
If topor is so good, do you want me to request a quote for an open source project? What are the requirements?

[puff]

probably we can use the trial version for the first 60 days, then when needed reinstall it. will it break the license?