40 years of OrCAD: From Basement Beginnings to PCB Legend

When OrCAD was born in 1985, the world was a different place. Big hair was everywhere, "Back to the Future" played in theaters, and the personal computer was just starting to shake up the rules. In a quiet Oregon basement, John Durbetaki saw something the electronics world did not know it was missing. He was not looking at a drafting board or a sea of vellum. Instead, he was hunched over an IBM PC, fingers racing across the keyboard. The result was a Schematic Design Tool, or SDT, for DOS. A program that took PCB design out of the back office and put it into the hands of anyone with a spark of ambition.

1989 OrCAD SDT (Schematic Design Tool) 3.2.1 user manual

Back then, if you were an engineer, your tools were physical. Rulers, markers, and acetate overlays cluttered your desk. If you were lucky, a minicomputer hummed in the corner, always in high demand and short supply. In 1985, Durbetaki and OrCAD changed that story. Now you could sketch out your circuits with a keyboard and a blinking cursor, no need to chase time on the company mainframe or mail paper blueprints across the country. For the first time, the big idea in your head could become a real board, right on your own desk.

1994 OrCAD SDT (Schematic Design Tool) - 1.21

It was humble and homegrown. Like every great innovation, it arrived at the perfect time. The electronics world was teetering on the edge of the Surface Mount Technology (SMT) revolution. Boards were getting denser, traces tighter, and electronics were about to leap from lab benches into the pockets and homes of everyday life. OrCAD made it possible for small teams and even lone inventors to design right alongside the giants. The field was no longer reserved for only the largest companies.

The late eighties and early nineties were a blur of blinking screens and the sound of dial-up modems. As the first Game Boys chirped and laptops appeared in coffee shops, OrCAD kept pace. The software added digital simulation, launched a PCB layout tool, and eventually remade its look and feel as the world went graphical. When Windows 3.1 hit in 1992, OrCAD was ready. The program pulled engineers out of the command line and into a point-and-click world. This quiet revolution meant you could route traces while listening to Nirvana and print schematics on your dot-matrix printer as you waited for a fax from your supplier.

1994 OrCAD PCB (PCB Layout Tool) - 2.22

Meanwhile, the industry was racing forward. Chips got faster, startups mushroomed, and the Internet loomed just around the corner. Collaboration was about to get real. In 1995, OrCAD made its own leap. The company acquired auto-routing expertise from Massteck, expanded into Japan, and rang the bell on the NASDAQ. These were not just business moves. They were a recognition that PCB design was no longer a local craft. It was going global, just like the gadgets OrCAD helped create. Suddenly, engineers in Tokyo, Silicon Valley, and Munich were all speaking the same design language.

1994 OrCAD VST (Verification & Simulation Tool) - 1.20

But the real plot twist came at the close of the nineties. The world was obsessed with Y2K. Dot-com was on everyone's lips, and electronic design was getting more complicated by the day. OrCAD's merger with MicroSim brought legendary PSpice simulation into the fold, letting engineers stress-test their wildest ideas before ever ordering a board. When Cadence stepped in to acquire OrCAD in 1999, it was not the end of an era. Instead, it felt like graduation day. OrCAD had made PCB design mainstream, and now it would help define the future of electronics.

The 2000s swept in like a remix. OrCAD's DNA merged with Allegro, bringing big-enterprise muscle to desktop innovation. This was the era of the iPod, the rise of the smartphone, and the explosion of connected everything. OrCAD became the silent partner behind product after product. Its influence was felt in Silicon Valley launches, startup garages, and college labs. Every time electronics found a new home - in a shoe, in a watch, or in your fridge -OrCAD was in the background, helping engineers move faster and smarter. The software grew with the times, weaving in constraint management, high-speed design features, and support for ever-more complex boards.

2012 OrCAD Capture - 16.6

By the 2010s, the electronics world had become more interconnected and competitive than ever. Engineering teams stretched across the globe as companies raced to build the next must-have device. Smartphones, tablets, wearables, and IoT were everywhere, each demanding ever-smaller, denser, and more complex printed circuit boards. Designers needed more than just basic layout; they needed simulation, signal and power integrity checks, and seamless integration with libraries and manufacturing partners. OrCAD kept evolving, strengthening its analysis tools and workflows to help engineers catch issues early, manage component changes, and keep pace with rapidly shifting technologies and shrinking timelines. In these years, success meant agility, accuracy, and always being ready for what came next.

Now, deep into its forties, OrCAD is still rewriting the playbook. In 2023, the launch of OrCAD X brought artificial intelligence and true cloud-native technology to the engineer's desktop. Layouts can now be assisted by AI, collaboration happens live across continents, and designers have immediate access to real-time supply chain information as they work. Teams in different time zones can sketch, edit, and debug the same board as if they are in the same room, collaborating live as the industry demands. It is not just about drawing traces anymore. It is about navigating a world where semiconductors make headlines, and a single missing part can stall a global product launch. OrCAD is not just a tool. It is a partner in the race to innovate, adapt, and deliver.

2024 OrCAD PCB Layout -  24.1

Looking back, what is remarkable is how OrCAD's history syncs perfectly with every wave of technology. The rise of the PC, the era of global manufacturing, the mobile explosion, and the dawn of artificial intelligence. OrCAD never simply followed trends. It helped invent them, democratizing the design process and making sure the next big thing could come from anywhere, not just from the industry's biggest players.

But the true story of OrCAD is written by the people who use it every day. The students who turn ideas into first prototypes. The seasoned designers who push the boundaries of performance. The teams who collaborate across continents and time zones. The community of engineers, educators, and innovators who share their tips, report bugs, demand more, and inspire the next generation to build boldly.

So, here’s to you - the dreamers, builders, and problem-solvers who have shaped OrCAD and continue to drive it forward. Today, as engineers imagine the devices that will define the next forty years, OrCAD remains by your side. Not as nostalgia, but as living proof that a great idea - nurtured by a passionate, creative community - can keep changing the world, one PCB at a time. Thank you for being the spark behind every milestone and for making OrCAD not just a tool, but a legacy of innovation.

If you'd like to experience the next generation of OrCAD, sign up to learn when OrCAD X 25.1 is released.