Fritzing

Fritzing is an open-source initiative to develop amateur or hobby CAD software for the design of electronics hardware, intended to allow designers and artists to build more permanent circuits from prototypes. It was developed at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam. Fritzing is free software under the GPL 3.0 or later license, with the source code available on GitHub and the binaries at a monetary cost, which is allowed by the GPL.

Goals

The software was created with inspiration from the Processing programming language and the Arduino microcontroller and allows a designer, artist, researcher, or hobbyist to document their Arduino-based prototype and create a PCB layout for manufacturing. The associated website helps users share and discuss drafts and experiences as well as to reduce manufacturing costs.

Fritzing can be seen as an electronic design automation (EDA) tool for non-engineers: the input metaphor is inspired by the environment of designers (the breadboard-based prototype), while the output is focused on accessible means of production. As of December 2, 2014 Fritzing has made a code view option, where one can modify code and upload it directly to an Arduino device.

Component images are distributed under CC BY-SA 3.0, which will also be the license for any generated breadboard views.

Maker

Fritzing allows for creation of printed circuit boards. Fritzing provides access to a commercial service known as ‘FritzingFab’ to order PCBs created with designs made on the Fritzing software.

2016-2019 Fritzing Development Stall

From 2016-2019, development for version 0.9.4 stopped, mainly because Fritzing’s revenue declined. Before 2016, when Fritzing 0.9.3b was released, donations were not mandatory, so only a few users who downloaded Fritzing donated. Some users wanted development to continue and even tried to convince some developers to continue, but failed.

Finally, in 2019, Aisler arranged a development team for Fritzing, and version 0.9.4 was released. Since then, donations were compulsory, with options to donate either 8€ or 25€

Simulator

Since version 0.9.10, Fritzing incorporates a basic simulator, which is still in beta. The main aim of the simulator is to teach electronics to beginners, and Fritzing version 0.9.10 only supports analysis of DC circuits. The simulator works on the breadboard and schematic views. In addition, it checks that the parts are working within their specifications (otherwise, a smoke symbol appears). The simulator provides multimeters to read voltages and currents and it attempts to recreate a realistic laboratory session.

The simulator was officially supported in Fritzing 1.0.0, and improvements have been made since.

Friends of Fritzing e.V.

Friends of Fritzing e.V. was a non-profit association established in 2012 to support the development and sustainability of the Fritzing project. Fritzing itself began in 2007 as a publicly funded research initiative at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Germany, and later transitioned to community-driven development.

The foundation played a crucial role in maintaining the Fritzing software and its ecosystem. However, due to administrative overhead, Friends of Fritzing e.V. ceased operations in 2018.

Following the closure, the Fritzing team sought alternative methods to sustain the project. In 2019, they transitioned to using Open Collective, a platform that facilitates transparent financial contributions to open-source projects.

Release history

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References

External links