Electronic Design - pcb design software and what kind of environment it is in

PCB circuit board design software generally includes two major modules: schematic design and PCB design. The mainstream and powerful circuit board design software basically includes the above modules. Now the mainstream circuit board design software is: Protel and OrCAD ､Viewlogic, PowerPCB, Cadence PSD, MentorGraphices ExpeditionPCB, ZukenCadStart, Winboard/Windraft/Ivex SPICE, PCBStudio, TANGO, PCBWizard (PCB production software package supporting LiveWire), PCB production software package, etc. BOARD7 (with multiSIM)

Here is a brief introduction to several commonly used software.

1. AltiumProtel series

Protel is a circuit board design software launched by PROTEL (now Altium) in the late 1980s.

Protel99 is a plate-making system based on pure 32-bit circuit design under Windows operating system. Protel99 provides an integrated design environment, including schematic design and PCB routing tools, integrated design document management, and supports collaborative design functions for workgroups through the network.

Protel99 software interface

PCB design software Protel99 working interface

The main features of Protel99 are as follows:

Protel99 design system runs stably and efficiently;

Smart Tool technology integrates all design tools in a single design environment;

Smart Doc (smart document) technology stores all design data files in a single design database and manages them uniformly with a design manager. The design database uses ddb as the suffix and is managed uniformly in the design manager. The document unified management using the design manager is newly proposed in Protel99, which is not available in the previous version;

Smart Team (smart work group) technology allows multiple designers to safely design individually through the network, and then integrate each part into the design manager through the work group management function;

The composite option of PCB automatic wiring rules greatly facilitates the design of wiring rules;

Support integrated PCB wiring with online rule checking function;

The integrated PCB automatic routing system uses the latest artificial intelligence technology, such as artificial neural network, fuzzy expert system, fuzzy theory and fuzzy neural network, etc., even for very complex circuit boards, the wiring results can reach expert level ;

Two different layout methods are used for the automatic layout of printed circuit board design, namely, Cluster Placer and Statistical Placer. In the previous version, only the layout based on statistics was provided;

Protel99 newly added the automatic layout rule design function, the Placement tab is newly added in Protel99, used to set the items of the automatic layout rule;

Enhanced interactive layout and routing modes, including "Push and shove".

Because the Protel99SE software is simple and easy to use, it is very suitable as an introductory textbook for beginners to learn the schematic and PCB design, so it is welcomed by the majority of electronic workers.

2. Altium Designer 6.0

This latest high-end version Altium Designer6. In addition to fully inheriting the functions and advantages of the previous series of versions including Protel99SE and Protel2004, it also adds many new high-end functions. It is the industry's first and only complete board-level design solution. Altium Designer 6.0 broadens the traditional boundaries of board-level design and fully integrates FPGA design functions and SOPC design implementation functions, allowing engineers to integrate FPGA and PCB design in system design.

AltiumDesigner software interface

PCB design software Altium Designer work interface

Features of Altium Designer 6.0:

Support schematic input and HDL hardware description input mode;

Support VHDL-based design simulation, mixed-signal circuit simulation and pre/post layout signal integrity analysis;

The layout and routing of Altium Designer 6.0 adopts a completely regular driving mode, and the meshless SitusTM topology logic automatic routing function is used in the PCB routing;

Altium Designer 6.0 combines the editing of complete CAM output functions;

Altium Designer 6.0 greatly reduces the design time for packaging devices with a large number of pins on high-density boards, and simplifies the design navigation functions of complex boards. Designers can effectively process high-speed differential signals, especially for large-scale programmable devices. A large number of LVDS resources on the Internet;

Altium Designer 6.0 makes full use of the available board space and modern packaging technology to shorten the time to market with more effective process design and lower manufacturing costs;

Altium Designer 6.0 integrates the functions of FPGA and board-level design, so it is very suitable for the design of programmable FPGA devices on the circuit board, so that users do not need to use third-party software provided by FPGA manufacturers to independently perform HDL programming and design, which greatly reduces development Cycle, because it has a more complete wiring system, it is also more suitable for the design of complex high-speed circuit boards.

3. Mentor Graphics PADS series

PADS EDA system includes four parts: Power Logic, Power PCB, CAM350 and Hyper Lynx.

PowerPCB7 software interface

PCB design software PADS EDA PowerPCB7 working interface

PowerLogic7.1 and PowerPCB7.1 are excellent EDA design software launched by Mentor Graphics, which are deeply loved by users.

PowerPCB features:

Integrated design environment, all functions are easy to use;

Use PADS printed circuit board PCB design plan;

From simple to complex printed circuit board design process, achieve high ROI;

Improve production efficiency and shorten design cycle time;

Maintain design integrity with minimal analysis and simulation tools.

The Mentor Graphics PADS series have similar functions to the Protel series, with a complete design system from schematics to PCBs, and a wide range of applications.

4. Allegro System Interconnect Design Platform

The Cadence Allegro system interconnect design platform achieves cost reduction and faster time to market through the constraint-driven collaborative design between IC, package and PCB.

CadenceAllegro software interface

PCB design software CadenceAllegro work interface

Cadence Allegro features:

Using the platform's collaborative design method, engineers can quickly optimize the system interconnection between the I/O buffer, IC, package, and PCB, avoiding hardware re-projection, reducing hardware costs and design cycles;

The constraint-driven Allegro process includes advanced functions of design input, signal integrity and physical PCB design;

From high-speed and high-performance product design to the daily necessities market, Cadence provides easy integration with existing technology, allowing users to substantially improve the existing design process, and support all market areas through the latest and most advanced technology;

With the support of Cadence Encounter and Virtuoso platforms, Allegro's collaborative design method can achieve effective design chain integration.

The Allegro system is an excellent software for PCB design. It is widely used in high-speed PCB design fields such as communications. Its signal integrity analysis function is very suitable for the design of 10 Gigabit products.