Mentor Graphics Pads Version History • Plus & Easy

Following Siemens’ acquisition of Mentor Graphics (completed 2017), the first Siemens‑branded releases arrived in 2021, focusing on cloud collaboration and mechanical‑electrical co‑design.

PADS (Printed Automated Design System) has evolved from a simple DOS-based tool into a sophisticated suite of electronic design automation (EDA) software. Now part of Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics ), its version history reflects the shift from manual board layout to high-speed, multi-layer, and AI-driven design. The Early Era: 1985–1997 mentor graphics pads version history

Late 2010s — Mentor becomes Siemens EDA The Early Era: 1985–1997 Late 2010s — Mentor

: PADS was briefly owned by the Japanese manufacturer Kyoden before being acquired by in early 2000. PCB Libraries Mentor Graphics Era (2002–2016) At the time, PCB design was done on

Before it was "Mentor Graphics PADS," it was simply . The software was developed in the early 1980s by a company named CAD Software , Inc., based in Littleton, Massachusetts. At the time, PCB design was done on Unix workstations costing $50,000+. PADS was revolutionary because it ran on MS-DOS on a standard IBM PC.

, with "Professional" being a powerful hybrid based on the high-end Xpedition technology.

★★★★☆ (4/5) – Powerful, historically significant, but licensing and edition complexity hold it back from a perfect score.