The Evolution of PADS: A Comprehensive Version History For nearly four decades, PADS (Personal Automated Design System) has been a mainstay in the PCB design world. From its humble beginnings as a DOS-based tool to its current status as a cloud-connected powerhouse under Siemens, the software has undergone significant transformations. This post explores the major milestones in the PADS journey. The Early Years (1985–2000) PADS was founded by Gene Marsh and first released in
Mentor Graphics changed the versioning nomenclature to "VX" (Visual Experience) to denote a major architectural update in the graphics engine. mentor graphics pads version history