Cadence® OrCAD® PCB Editor Basics is an intuitive, easy-to-use, constraint-driven environment for creating and editing PCBs. Its extensive feature set addresses a wide range of today’s design challenges and manufacturability concerns.
FEATURE SUMMARY
| Limited database (layers, components, connections)* |
Exposed copper DRC |
| Netlist/crossplace/crossprobe |
Interactive routing/etch editing |
| Padstack and symbol editor |
Automatic silkscreen generation |
| Split plane support |
Customizable/automated drill legend/NC output |
| Multiple via sizes, blind/buried via support |
SKILL runtime, macro, and script support |
| Autoplacement/Quickplace/Floorplanner |
Variant assembly drawing creation |
| IFF import |
Variant bill-of-materials generation |
| 2-D drafting and dimensioning |
Dynamic shapes with real-time plowing and healing |
| Gerber 274X, 274D artwork output generation |
CAD interfaces – DXF (Ver.14), IDF (Ver. 2 and 3) |
| Multiple UNDO/REDO |
PCB interfaces – OrCAD Layout, PADS (Ver.5), P-CAD (Ver.8) |
| Valor ODB++, ODB++(X) and universal viewer |
Constraint manager (physical, spacing, properties, and DRC) |
| HTML-based reports |
Manual testprep |
PCB EDITING ENVIRONMENT
PCB Editor Basics provides a powerful and flexible set of floorplanning tools. Powerful shape-based shove/hug interactive etch creation/editing provides a highly productive interconnect environment. Dynamic shape capability offers real-time copper pour plowing/healing functionality during placement and routing iterations. The software can also generate a full suite of phototooling, bare-board fabrication and test outputs, including Gerber 274x, NC drill, and bare-board test in a variety of formats.
CONSTRAINT MANAGEMENT
A constraint management system displays physical and spacing rules. Each worksheet provides a spreadsheet interface that enables the user to define, manage, and validate the different rules in a hierarchical fashion. This powerful application allows designers to graphically create, edit, and review constraint sets as graphical topologies that act as electronic blueprints of an ideal implementation strategy. Once the constraints are present in the database, they are used to drive the placement and routing processes for constrained signals. The constraint management system is completely integrated with the PCB editor.
FLOORPLANNING AND PLACEMENT
The constraint and rules-driven methodology drives a powerful and flexible set of placement capabilities, including interactive and automatic component placement. The engineer or designer can assign components or subcircuits to specific “rooms” during design entry or floorplanning. Components can be filtered and selected by reference designator, device package/footprint style, associated net name, part number, or the schematic sheet/page number. With thousands of components on today’s boards needing precise management, real-time assembly analysis and feedback increases the designer’s productivity and efficiency by placing components to corporate or EMS guidelines.
INTERACTIVE ETCH EDITING
The interactive routing capability of PCB Editor Basics provides powerful, interactive features that deliver controlled automation to maintain user control, while maximizing routing productivity. Real-time, shape-based, any angle, push/shove routing enables users to choose between “shove-preferred,” “hug-preferred,” or “hug-only” modes. Shove-preferred mode allows users to construct the optimum interconnect path while the real-time, shape-based router takes care of dynamically pushing obstacles. Routes will automatically jump over obstacles such as pins or vias. The hug-preferred mode is the perfect solution when a databus needs to be constructed. In hug-preferred mode, the router contour follows other interconnect as a priority and only pushes aside or jumps obstacles when there is no other option. The hug-only option performs like the hug-preferred mode, but without the push-and-shove aggression on other etch objects. The real-time, embedded, shape-based routing engine optimizes the route by either pushing obstacles or contour-following obstacles while dynamically jumping vias or component pins.
DYNAMIC SHAPES
Dynamic shape technology offers real-time copper pour plowing/healing functionality. Shape parameters can be applied at three different levels. Parameters are structured into global, shape instance, and object-level hierarchies. Traces, vias, and components added to a dynamic shape will automatically plow and void through the shape. When items are removed, the shape will automatically fill back in. Dynamic shapes do not require batch autovoiding or other post-processing steps after edits are made.
PCB MANUFACTURING
A full suite of photo-tooling, bare-board fabrication and test outputs, including Gerber 274x, NC drill, and bare-board test in a variety of formats can be generated. More importantly, OrCAD PCB Editor supports the industry initiative towards Gerber-less manufacturing through its Valor ODB++ interface that also includes the Valor Universal Viewer. The ODB++ data format creates accurate and reliable manufacturing data for high-quality, Gerber-less manufacturing.
*NOTE: The OrCAD PCB Editor Basics product in the PCB Designer Basics suite has the following capability limitations:
- Your board can have up to four layers only
- You cannot save a board that has more than 500 components and/or 2000 nets
- You cannot save a board, if the design logic imported is more than 500 components and/or 2000 nets