Makers rejoice! Quadcept is leveling the playing field for circuit board design tools

Whether you’re a basement hobbyist or an engineer at Apple, ECAD software tools are a basic requirement for building the circuits and circuit boards that power our electronic devices. Unfortunately for the weekend tinkerer – and all the way up to medium-sized businesses – ECAD (short for electronic computer-aided design) tools remain part of a legacy industry that sees a small number of high-profile companies setting software licensing fees that only the wealthiest tech firms can afford to pony up.

“The same big players have controlled the industry for about 30 or 40 years now,” explains Tomoki “Tom” Matsuda, a marketing strategist at Osaka-based ECAD software provider Quadcept. “One license from a market-leader like Cadence, Mentor, or Zuken can cost US$100,000. Only top-tier firms, like Panasonic or IBM, can afford that. Even for the hobbyist that wants to level up, mid-range ECAD tools go for US$15,000 to US$20,000 a license.”

Quadcept wants to shake up the global ECAD business by adopting a subscription model for its own powerful software, a potentially disruptive approach that could level the playing field for hobbyists and SMEs. To put it into perspective, think about actual construction tools. Anyone can go to the local hardware store to buy a hammer, nails, and a saw if they want to build a table or a bookshelf – but if you want to build a house, you need heavy machinery. An amateur builder or small contractor couldn’t possibly afford to buy the newest, top-of-the-line bulldozers and cranes, so what do they do? They lease them from a professional equipment supplier. Before Quadcept, the only option would have been to buy those things outright.

Matsuda says the startup was inspired by Adobe’s controversial move last year to rent, rather than sell, its software – a decision that, while initially condemned by many long-time users, has turned out to be surprisingly popular. “We’ve cut the initial cost to zero while adding many more functions than free or mid-tier ECAD tools,” Matsuda tells Tech in Asia.

Quadcept’s monthly plans are broken into two categories: circuit design tools cost JPY 3,800 (or US$40) per month and printed circuit board (PCB) design tools cost JPY 9,500 (or US$100) per month. While users can receive a discount by opting for an annual plan, Matsuda stresses that the service doesn’t require any long-term commitments or contracts.

“For monthly users, we have a retention rate of between 95 and 98 percent,” he adds. “Almost all of the bigger companies choose annual contracts.”

Once a client is happy with their PCB design, Quadcept connects them with partner manufacturers in Japan, China, and Taiwan. Matsuda says that users can get a price quote for each board with one click, then place an order directly with the manufacturer. For the domestic market, Quadcept partnered with P-ban.com – Japan’s largest online PCB manufacturer.

Quadcept’s PCB design interface

From multinational firms to the maker movement

Founded in 2010 and officially launched in 2012, Quadcept has attracted nearly 10,000 domestic subscribers in a two-year timeframe. While it initially targeted hobbyists and SMEs – Tokyo-based electric wheelchair startup Whill is a subscriber – a number of prominent Japanese tech firms have also signed up. The service counts Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nikon, Canon, and NEC among its corporate clients. How did it manage to attract such major players?

“Big companies already have high-end ECAD systems, but they require expensive product data management and maintenance fees, which can cost around US$1 million a year per license,” Matsuda says. “A lot of these big companies are shrinking, reducing research and development for new products. Simply put, using Quadcept helps them cut costs.”