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- INTRODUCING PADS-PCB
-
-
- Welcome to the PADS-PCB Evaluation Package. It
- has been prepared to introduce you to the most
- powerful low-cost PCB design system you can
- buy for your personal computer--PADS-PCB.
- PADS-PCB is the best price/ performance
- solution to the cost of designing circuit
- boards. PADS-PCB is easy to learn and use--so
- whether you only occasionally design PCB's or
- you spend full time at it, PADS-PCB can help
- you. Many people have a difficult time
- believing that a CAD system that sells for so
- little can really be so powerful. We know it
- can, and want to convince you also. That's
- why we created the PADS-PCB Evaluation
- Package.
-
- If you've ever evaluated CAD before, you are
- probably tired of demo disks. Don't worry,
- this is not another demo! Instead, it is real
- working software, with all the capabilities and
- outputs of the actual software. The only limit
- is that the PADS-PCB Evaluation Package is
- limited to designs of about 30 IC's. The
- Evaluation Package includes some sample
- designs to teach you the basic operation of
- PADS-PCB. Once you are familiar with the
- operation, you are free to use PADS-PCB to
- design your own boards, using the 6000 parts
- included in the library.
-
- You can use this Evaluation Package together
- with the PADS-Logic Evaluation Package. You
- can start with the net list database from
- PADS-Logic, and can see how changes in the
- schematic can be automatically transferred
- to PADS-PCB.
-
- The installation instructions for loading the
- software are given in the Installation manual
- located at the front of this manual. If you do
- not have a printed copy of this manual, the
- instructions are located in the file
- INSTALL.DOC, located on this disk.
-
-
-
- USING PADS-PCB
-
-
- The Evaluation package can be run as either an
- automatic self-running demonstration, or as an
- interactive design tool.
-
- Running the Self-Running Demonstration
-
- To start the automatic self-running
- demonstration:
- 1) Make the \PADSDEMO directory your current
- directory by typing:
- CD \PADSDEMO<CR>
- 2) Then type:
- PCBDEMO<CR>
-
- The PADS-PCB self-running evaluation will
- start. This is an automatic program that tells
- you about PADS-PCB while running the actual
- software. The self-running evaluation shows
- the primary features of PADS-PCB with a series
- of pop-up windows and demonstrations. It is
- designed to give you a quick overview of the
- PADS-PCB features, as you view the graphics.
- Several comments:
- o To pause the self-running demonstration,
- press the space bar.
- o When you are ready to continue again, press
- the space bar again.
- o Message windows will be displayed for a
- fixed amount of time and are then removed to
- continue. If you wish to proceed faster,
- select any key other than the space bar.
- o To exit from the self-running
- demonstration, press CTRL-X. (While
- depressing the CTRL key, select X).This will
- return the program to the interactive software
- discussed below. You can exit from PADS-PCB by
- pressing ALT-X. (While depressing the ALT
- key, select X.)
-
-
- Running the Interactive PADS-PCB Program
-
- Most users will want to work with the software
- to evaluate the features of PADS-PCB. To start
- the interactive portion of the PADS-PCB
- evaluation
- 1) First make the \PADSDEMO directory your
- current directory by typing:
- CD \PADSDEMO<CR>
- 2) Then you type:
- PCBS<CR>
- to enter the program directly, or you can
- type:
- PADSGO<CR>
- to enter the PADS Command Shell, used to
- select one of several PADS design programs.
- To enter the PADS-PCB program from the PADS
- Shell, place the mouse cursor over the box
- labeled PADS-PCB and select it with the
- left mouse button.
-
- The PADS-PCB copyright notice and the message:
- Press any Key to Continue
- will appear. Press a key and PADS-PCB will
- load into memory and you can start designing.
-
- Should you encounter any problems, call your
- local dealer or, in the U.S.A., call our
- Technical Support Hot Line at (508) 486-3328.
-
-
-
-
- USING PADS-PCB
-
-
- You should begin your use of PADS-PCB by
- becoming acquainted with the graphical user
- interface of the software, and the basic
- operation of the system.
-
- The Graphical User Interface
-
- The initial screen presentation is divided
- into 4 main sections: the Working Area, the
- System Information Window, the Command Menu
- Window, and the Prompt Line.
-
- The Working Area is the large black area that
- fills the major portion of the graphic screen,
- not occupied by menus and the prompt line.
-
- On the left side of the screen is the System
- Information Window and the Command Menu
- Window.
-
- The System Information Window displays the
- following information (from the top):
- o Cursor Position The X and Y position
- of the cursor with respect to
- the system origin (0,0).
- o Grid XX The user grid in thousands of
- an inch.
- o Level N The current layer of the
- design
- o Width The current width for all
- traces and lines
- o Job Name The design job name
- o "Postage Stamp" Locates the position of
- the window relative to the
- circuit board.
- o Menu Path This multi-line title window
- lists the path for the
- current menu.
-
- Below the System Information Window is the
- Command Menu. This displays the command
- options available in the current menu. These
- commands are mapped to the function keys F1
- through F10.
-
- At the bottom of the Working Area is the
- Prompt Line. This is the primary means of
- communication between you and PADS-PCB.
- Potential error messages are also displayed
- here.
-
- Changing the Grid and Layer
-
- PADS-PCB has a system grid of .001". You have
- the freedom to place components, route traces,
- or define the board outline to the nearest
- .001". However, working on a .001" grid is
- often not important and, in fact, can be
- annoying. What is needed is the same
- reference used in manual PCB design - a grid.
- The Grid parameter provides you this, only our
- grid is better than your manual grid because
- the computer's accuracy insures you stay
- exactly on the grid you select. You can
- change PADS-PCB's grid from .025" to .100" or
- to .200", or .093"--simply by typing a new
- grid value.
-
- The grid is currently set to 100 mils. Move
- the mouse, and you will see the cursor move
- and the X Y coordinate values update in 100
- unit (.100") increments. Type:
- G10 <CR>
- You will see the Grid parameter in the System
- Information Window change to 10. When you move
- the mouse, movements will be in 10 mil
- increments instead of 100 mils, as indicated
- by the Cursor display. You can also set the
- grid to a metric value, so that you can work
- in millimeters, rather than inches. This is
- done by selecting the Parameters command in
- the SetUp menu.
-
- Another important item in the System
- Information Window is the Level or Layer
- parameter. PADS-PCB supports boards with up
- to 30 levels. You select the level you want
- to place an item on by simply typing a new
- value for the Level Parameter. Like Grid, it
- can be changed by typing its first letter,
- "L", followed by a value from 1 to 30 (or 0
- to put an item on all layers) and <CR>,
- indicating the new level or layer you want.
- The display changes to the new current layer,
- so you will immediately know if you have
- entered the correct value.
-
- Selecting Commands from the Menu
-
- PADS-PCB uses a hierarchical command menu
- structure, which starts with a main menu and
- has a series of sub-menus organized for
- efficient operation. In the first, or main
- menu, there are nine sub-menus: IN/OUT, SETUP,
- CREATE, PLACE, ROUTE, CHECK, ECO, REPORTS and
- CAM. When a sub-menu is selected from the
- main menu, the name of that menu is
- displayed in the System Information Area. The
- command options associated with the sub-menu
- will appear in the Command Window,
- replacing the commands of the main menu.
- Sometimes there is more than one level of sub-
- menus, so you must make an additional
- selection. We suggest you look at each of the
- menu selections to understand what options are
- available. Menus have been organized to
- correspond with the way you work. All
- placement functions are in the Place menu, for
- example.
-
- Commands are selected in two ways, by using
- function keys F1 through F10 located on your
- keyboard, or with your mouse. The numbers to
- the left of the commands correspond to the
- function key numbers, and F10 always is the
- EXIT command. To select commands with the
- function key, simply select the corresponding
- number key.
-
- To select with the mouse, move the cursor over
- the command option and select it with the left
- mouse button. When a 3-button mouse is
- available, menu items can be selected with the
- middle button by holding down this button and
- moving the mouse. As the mouse is moved, the
- highlight bar will scroll through the menu
- options. When the left button is pressed, the
- highlighted menu command is selected and the
- cursor returns to its position in the working
- area. The right mouse button always is used to
- select the EXIT command.
-
- Loading A Design File
-
- All circuit board files, or "jobs", are
- stored on your hard disk as individual DOS
- files with the extension .JOB. To work on a
- design, you first load the file from your hard
- disk into memory. This is done as follows:
- 1) Select In/Out command (F1) from the main
- menu. A new menu will appear, with the
- commands of the In/Out menu.
- 2) Select the Job In command (F1). The prompt
- line at the bottom of the screen will
- request you to input a file name. Type:
- * <CR>
- 3) A pop-up directory lists the names of the
- job files supplied with the evaluation.
- Place the cursor over DEMO and press the
- left mouse button to bring the design file
- named DEMO into memory. We will use this
- design to explore the powers of PADS-PCB.
-
- Storing Your Job to the Disk
- Designing a complex board will take time. You
- should periodically save the design onto the
- disk as a file. To store the design on disk,
- follow these steps:
- 1) Select the In/Out menu (F1).
- 2) Select Job Out (F2). You are requested to
- give a file name with the message:
- Job output file name (CR=PCB.job):
- 3) You should use a unique file name. Type
- this name, followed by <CR>. If this file
- already exists, you will be asked to
- overwrite it. Your design job is stored in
- a few seconds on the disk, while the
- Working indicator is displayed.
-
- Windowing Commands
-
- PADS-PCB provides a complete set of window
- control commands, based on the numeric keyboard
- located to the right of the main keyboard.
- (Note: Your keyboard must have NUM LOCK turned
- off in order to access the Windowing Keys.) The
- function of each key is as follows:
-
- Num 1 (End): Redraw the screen
- Num 2 (down arrow): Move the window down
- Num 3 (Pg Dn): Zoom out
- Num 4 (left arrow): Move the window left
- Num 6 (right arrow): Move the window
- right
- Num 7 (Home): Show the entire board
- Num 8 (up arrow): Move the window up
- Num 9 (Pg Up): Zoom in
- Num 0 (Ins): Reposition window with
- cursor in center
- Num . (Del): Start creating a window box
-
- Try zooming in several times to see how much
- detail can be seen. Try the other commands
- until you are comfortable with them. If you get
- "lost," selecting the Num 7 key (Home) will show
- the whole board. Remember that the Postage Stamp
- Window indicates the position of the viewing
- window relative to the board.
-
- Assigning Colors to Items
-
- PADS-PCB uses a 16 color palette to let you
- set any item on any layer in the design to a
- color of your choice. To change the color
- assignments:
- 1) Exit In/Out to the main system menu (using
- F10).
- 2) Enter the SetUp menu ( F2).
- 3) Select the Display function (F1). When you
- select Display, the design disappears and
- is replaced by a menu for color selection.
- The top row is the palette of 16 colors.
- 4) To assign an item on a specific layer to a
- desired color, move the cursor on top of
- the color and select with the left mouse
- button or F1.
- 5) You can assign a color to any level of any
- item in the database. Select one of the
- layer numbers that correspond to the item
- whose color you wish to change. A highlight
- box of the color selected surrounds the
- layer number. To make an item invisible,
- set it to black, the background color.
- 6) When you select Exit (F10), the design is
- redrawn with the selected colors.
-
- Note: a short-cut way to select the Display
- command is with the macro Alt-D
-
- Modeless Commands
-
- You have already seen two modeless commands, G
- for grid and L for level. Modeless commands
- are time-savers; they let you select commands
- without going through the menu hierarchy. The
- following lists all of the time-saving
- modeless commands that are available to you in
- PADS-PCB.
- Sxxx Searches whatever the user
- specifies. xxx can be a part, a part
- with a specific pin, or an x-y
- coordinate.
- T xx yy Changes current text height (xx) and
- width (yy).
- C Select either the standard or full
- screen cursor.
- Gx Changes the current system grid to x
- mils.
- N nnn Highlight a named trace in the
- design.
- R n Show all lines wider than n at their
- real width. All traces smaller are shown as
- a center line.
- Ctrl PgDn Cursor position relative to last
- selection.
- Alt-9 Displays the requested file entered
- at the Prompt Line at your CRT.
- Alt-0 Displays the error messages from
- PADS-PCB.
- Arrow Keys Moves cursor 1 grid in the
- requested direction. These arrow are the
- separate arrow keys, not the arrow keys
- on the numeric keypad.
- Three of these commands require further
- explanation, as you will use them often.
-
- Examining Specific Nets
- It is often useful to look at a specific
- signal, or group of signals in the circuit to
- check for cross-talk, impedance, etc. PADS-
- PCB allows you to examine one signal or a set
- of signals with all other nets invisible with
- a few simple commands. If you want to see
- only power and ground, do the following:
- 1) Enter the SetUp menu (F2). Select Net Attr
- (F5).
- 2) A pop-up menu appears in the Working Area.
- Three Signal Name entries are listed: --
- All--, GND, +5V. Currently, all three are
- marked ON. Move the cursor over the ON in
- the Disp column next to All, and select
- (F1). The value in the Disp column marker
- next to ALL should change to OFF,
- indicating all of the nets with the
- exception of GND and +5V will be invisible
- when you repaint the screen.
- 3) Exit from the command with F10 and you will
- see that only the GND and +5V nets visible.
-
- What if the signal you want to see is not in
- the pop-up menu? You may select a new signal
- to be viewed other than +5V and GND.
- 1) If you re-enter the Net Attr option, one of
- the menu choices is Add Item (F2). Select
- it.
- 2) The message:
- Net name to add>
- is displayed on the Prompt Line.
- 3) DATA1 is one of the signals in the design.
- You can highlight it by typing:
- DATA1<CR>
- 4) DATA1 appears in the pop-up menu with the
- Disp value set to ON. Set DATA1 to ON
- and all the other net names to OFF in the
- pop-up menu, and exit with F10 to
- redisplay the design. You will now see
- only signal net DATA1 displayed.
-
- The other values in the Net Attr command allow
- you to define the routing rules for each net
- in the circuit.
-
-
- Highlighting a Net in the Design
- It is sometimes useful to see all the nets in
- the layout ,and to highlight one so you can
- visualize it in its position relative to the
- other traces. To do this, do the following:
- 1) Set all of the nets currently marked OFF to
- ON with the Net Attr option. Exit from the
- command.
- 2) Type:
- N DATA1<CR>
- 3) You will see the net named DATA1 change
- color and stand out against the other nets
- in the layout.
- 4) Type:
- N <CR>
- to unhighlight the net.
-
- Defining the Dot Grid
- The Dot Grid is a convenient way to help you
- measure distance. Note that the dot grid is
- independent of the system or snap grid, and
- changing it will not affect the system grid.
- You may change it as follows:
- 1) Enter SetUp (F2)
- 2) Select Params (F4)
- 3) The cursor will flash over the Dot Grid
- value. Type in:
- 250 <CR>
- to set the Dot Grid to .250". The dot grid
- is redrawn and spaced at .250", rather
- than 1.0" intervals.
-
- Reviewing the Job Limits
-
- The Shareware version of PADS-PCB is fully
- functioning, but the maximum design size has
- been limited. The maximum number of parts,
- connections, gates, and so forth is limited, to
- allow you to do a design with a complexity of
- approximately 30 IC's. This limit will vary,
- depending on the type of circuit, number of
- connections, and other parameters of your
- design. If you are doing a design that
- approaches this limit, you should check the
- system limits to see how close you are. This is
- done as follows:
- 1) From the Main menu, select Reports (F8),
- then select Job Limits (F5).
- 2) Input a file name to the prompt:
- Job Limits Status output file name (CR=Printer):
- 3) The job limits will be displayed in the
- Working Area. For each data type in the
- circuit, you will see the current number
- used and the maximum number available. If
- you reach the maximum number, the software
- will prevent you from adding any more
- items.
-
-
-
- PLACING COMPONENTS
-
-
- Now that you are familiar with the general
- operation of PADS-PCB, it is time to learn the
- functions for designing a circuit board. The
- first step in designing a circuit board with a
- CAD system is placing the components. This is
- a little different from manual design, where
- you would normally start by placing some
- components, route them, place more components,
- continue routing, etc. If you think about it,
- the reason you work this way is so that you
- leave enough room for the routes, and it's
- very difficult to visualize if enough room is
- there unless you route the traces. PADS-PCB
- lets you visualize the interconnection pattern
- of the circuit during placement before you
- route because you can display the logical
- connections between components. Of course,
- you can work the old way; you're just not
- forced to anymore.
-
- In this chapter, you will be working with a
- small mixed analog/digital board, to
- understand the principles of component
- placement with PADS-PCB. You will learn the
- interactive as well as the automatic placement
- commands.
-
- Bring in job PLACE using the Job In command.
- The components are scattered around the edge
- of the board. You will be placing these on
- the board. Currently all of the components
- except the integrated circuits (IC's) are
- "glued" in place. This means that they cannot
- move until you "unglue" them with the Unglue
- command.
-
- Matrices and Group Rotations
-
- You are going to place the IC's on a pre-
- defined matrix. From the main menu, select
- Place (F4), then Autoplace (F8), followed by
- Mat Place (F3). All of the IC's will
- automatically be placed at regular intervals
- on the pre-defined matrix. You also can
- create your own matrix.
- As you can see, the matrix we created is
- better suited to IC's oriented vertically than
- horizontally, so you need to rotate them.
- Exit back to the Place menu, and select
- Rotate (F3). You can either point at an
- individual components, and select it, or
- rotate all of them together. Type:
- U* <CR>
- and all of the IC's will rotate at the same
- time.
-
-
-
- One way of determining component placement
- quality is by counting the total length of all
- connections in the design- the shorter the
- total length, the better the placement. As
- the placement proceeds, you can recheck this,
- in order to tell if you are improving the
- placement.
- 1) Select Exit (F10), then Auto Place (F8)
- again, then Net Length (F7). The prompt
- line gives you the current X, Y and X+Y
- connection length.
- 2) Next, you will reorder the nets to reduce
- or minimize the connection length. Select
- Length Min (F6). This automatically
- reorders the nodes in a net to result in
- the minimum connection length for that net.
- The connection total length is reduced, and
- the prompt area message indicates the
- "before" and "after" X, Y and total
- connection length.
- 3) Select Exit (F10) to return to the Place
- menu.
-
- Moving Components
-
- Now try moving individual IC's.
- 1) Select the Move (F1) command.
- 2) Select a component by placing the cursor
- over it, and pressing the left mouse
- button. The component, along with its
- connections, will be highlighted. The
- "Postage Stamp" in the System Information
- Window displays the component name, part
- type, logic family, and decal name.
- 3) As you move the cursor, the component will
- follow. You will also see that the
- connections follow the component as it
- moves. We call this "dynamic rubber
- banding."
- 4) You can rotate the component with Rotate
- (F2).
- 5) The component is set into position with
- Complete (F1).
- 6) Exit (F10) takes you back to the Place
- menu.
-
- Placing Components on the Solder Side
-
- PADS-PCB lets you place components on the back
- side of the board. Try this.
- 1) Select Opposite (F4).
- 2) Move the cursor over one of the IC's, and
- press Select (F1). The component will
- appear to mirror, and will move to the
- opposite side, as indicated by the
- component outline changing color.
-
- Placing Discrete Components
-
- Next we will place some of the Discrete
- components.
- 1) Glue down the IC's. Select Glue (F5) in
- the Place Menu, and type:
- U*<CR>
- You will see each component highlighted, in
- turn.
- 2) Make the resistors and the crystal movable
- by selecting Unglue (F6) and typing:
- Y*<CR>
- R*<CR>
- This will unglue the crystal and all
- resistors. Move each of these components
- onto the board. You use the connection rubber
- band to show the IC's to which they are
- connected, so you can position as close to
- these components as possible.
-
- Using Alternate Decals
-
- PADS has a feature called Alternate Decal
- which permits you to instantly change the
- physical shape or "Decal" of a part. For
- example, let's suppose you wished to stand
- resistor R1 on end, rather than horizontal.
- 1) Use Pg Up to zoom in on the resistor.
- 2) Select Move (F1) from the Place menu, then
- select R1 with the cursor. When R1 is
- attached to the cursor, select Alternate
- (F5). The resistor changes to a decal that
- represents a "stand-up" resistor.
- 3) Select Complete (F1) to set the resistor R1
- in place.
-
- Placing a Group of Components
-
- Group placement operations speed up the
- placement process. You can define components,
- traces, connections, as a single group
- element, and then move, rotate, delete,
- mirror, or copy the group with a single
- command.
- 1) Using the Job In command , load the job
- called GROUP. You will notice there is a
- small analog circuit in the lower left-hand
- side of the board.
- 2) Select Group Oper (F9) from the Place menu.
- 3) To define the group, place the cursor in
- the lower left-hand corner of the group,
- select Define Group (F1), and pull the
- cursor until the Analog circuit is enclosed
- within the rectangle formed. Then select
- Complete (F1), to finish defining the
- group.
- 4) You are asked if you wish to move track
- segments in group not tied to grouped
- components. Respond with Y.
- 5) Use Move (F1) to move the group around.
- While you are moving, only the outline is
- displayed. When you set the group down
- with Complete (F1), the components and
- traces are redrawn.
-
- Copying a Group
- 1) You can copy the group, by using Copy
- (F2).
- 2) The copy is attached to your cursor. Move
- it to a vacant area on the board.
- 3) Set it with Complete (F1). Note that the
- system renames the components on the copied
- circuit, so that duplicate part names do
- not exist on the board.
-
- A group can be saved to disk and used in
- another design with the Cut and Paste
- commands, allowing you to define a sub-circuit
- and repeat it on other boards.
-
- Autoplacement with PADS-PCB
-
- Load the file APLACE with the Job In command.
- This is a 20 IC board ,with components not yet
- placed. The two mounting holes, connector P1,
- capacitors C1 and C2, and IC U21, have already
- been placed in their final location. We will
- use this file for demonstrating some
- Autoplacement features.
- 1) A placement matrix for the IC's has been
- set up. If you wish to see the matrix,
- select Place (F4) from the main menu, then
- Auto Place(F8), then Set Matrix (F4), and
- you will see the first matrix. This is
- then to be used for IC's.
- 2) You control which components are to be
- acted upon by the autoplacement commands by
- the use of the Glue (F5) and Unglue (F6)
- commands. Any component that is glued will
- not be effected by automatic placement. Any
- component that is unglued, will be effected
- by automatic placement. To place the IC's,
- you must first Unglue only the IC's.
- Select Unglue (F6), and then in response to
- Select (F1), type:
- U*<CR>
- 3) All IC's now are unglued, including the
- memory chip U21 that is already on the
- board. We want to keep U21 in its fixed
- location during autoplace. To do this,
- select Glue (F5)and use the mouse cursor to
- select U21. Insure the part is fixed in
- place with Move (F1). You should not be
- able to move U21.
- 4) From the Auto Place (F8) menu, Select Auto
- II (F2).
- 5) Select Initial (F1) to start the Initial
- Placement. This command will move all the
- unplaced components (IC's) up on the matrix
- in an intelligent fashion. The placement
- command places parts that are closely
- connected to the connector or to U21 in a
- position as close as possible to these
- parts, so that this total connection length
- is at a minimum.
- Observe the messages that appear at the
- Prompt Line. In less than a minute's time,
- the unplaced IC's are moved onto the board
- and placed on the matrix. Notice that the
- discrete components were not placed,
- because they are glued down.
- 6) All the memory IC's except one have been
- placed in the two upper matrix rows. At
- this point, you will use the Swap command
- to improve the placement. The Swap command
- will try swapping pairs of adjacent parts
- to improve the placement. Select Swap Pairs
- (F3), and observe the messages.
-
- Gate and Pin Swapping
-
- You can also use Gate and Pin swapping to
- reduce the connection length.
- 1) From the Place menu, Auto Place(F8), Swap
- Items (F1), then Swap Gates (F2).
- 2) The message:
- Gate/Pin Swap Report File Name (CR=Printer):
- invites you to give a file name for the
- "was-is" report that is generated during
- the swapping process. Respond to the
- message giving the file the name:
- SWAP <CR>
- 3) Run Auto (F2) to start the automatic gate
- swapping function. Select Exit (F10), then
- repeat the sequence for Swap Pins (F3).
- You will find that the connection length is
- reduced by these operations.
-
- The Gate and Pin Swap Report file will be used
- to update the schematic, using the PADS-Logic
- Engineering Change Order (ECO) update
- capability. After the schematic is
- automatically updated with the gate and pin
- swap information, it will match the board
- design.
-
- Evaluating Placement Quality
-
- You have already seen that the Connection
- Length command will give you a measurement of
- the placement quality. In addition, there are
- two other placement analysis tools in PADS-
- PCB that you may use to evaluate the placement
- results. The first tool is the Histogram
- command, which will display the density of
- connections for each channel in the circuit.
- The second is the Connection Density Map,
- which displays the connection density in each
- area of the circuit, using colors to show the
- density of connections, with red indicating
- areas of congestion where routing may be a
- problem.
- 1) From the Auto Place menu, select Auto II
- (F2), ConDensity (F5). Select Histogram
- (F1), and respond to the
- Routing Grid Size (5-250)[100]:
- prompt with:
- 25 <CR>
- A graph will be displayed across the top of
- the board, and along the left side. The
- graphs represent the ratio of "Connections-
- To-Routing Channel Ratio" for each 25 mil
- routing channel in both the X and Y
- Direction. The peaks in the graph
- represent potential routing problem areas.
- 2) Select Density Map (F2), and respond to the
- prompt:
- Density map Grid Size (25-500)[100]:
- by typing:
- 100 <CR>
-
- In this simple design example , you will not
- have a problem routing the connections. In a
- more dense board, you would examine the red
- areas and try to improve the placement around
- them.
-
- Other Placement Functions
-
- There are a number of other placement commands
- you can use. The first, Net Attr, is used to
- define the rules for defining the connection
- pattern for nets. A second, Connection Bias,
- lets you select how the connection length is
- used during automatic placement. This feature
- allows you to place components:
- o Using Minimum Connection Length, or
- o Minimum Connection Length, yet biased
- against Long Connections, or
- o Minimum Length, yet biased against Angled
- Connections, or
- o Minimum Connection Length, yet biased
- against Long Angled Connections.
-
- The Auto Rename command enables you to
- automatically rename all of the parts, and
- create a file used to update the schematic.
- You can define the renaming sequence any way
- you wish: Horizontal/Vertical, Right to Left,
- Top to Bottom, and rename all components in a
- specific type, such as IC's, or all components
- on the board.
-
-
-
- TURNING CONNECTIONS INTO
- ROUTES
-
- In CAD terminology, a "connection" is not a
- physical piece of copper etch, but instead
- represents a logical signal in the schematic.
- It is displayed as a straight line rubber band
- between two component pins in PADS-PCB.
- Connections are displayed for two reasons --
- during placement they will help you see which
- components should be near each other; during
- routing they show you where your destination
- target is, and also when you need to make room
- for other routes.
-
- "Routing", whether automatic or interactive,
- is the process of converting the logical
- connections into physical "traces" or "routes"
- either interactively or automatically. In
- this section, we will work with one job at two
- different stages, before and after routing.
- You will try interactive routing, and then
- editing routes.
-
- Interactive Routing of Connections
-
- This exercise is an introduction to the
- interactive route options, to get you familiar
- with them:
- 1) Bring in job ROUTE, using the Job In
- command from the In/Out menu.
- 2) You will see the upper left corner of a
- small 2-layer circuit board. The component
- outlines are yellow, the pads are green,
- and the logical connections are white.
- There are no routes yet. You are going to
- route - that is, convert some of these
- logical connections into physical etch-
- these connections.
- 3) From the Main menu, select the Route (F5)
- command menu.
- 4) Place the cursor over one of the white
- connections -- try the vertical one
- connecting to pin 9 of U1, to pin 5 of U3
- on the left center of the working area.
- Move the cursor over the connection near to
- pin 9 of U1 and select Route Conn (F1).
- 5) You will see the white connection
- disappear, and be replaced by a short red
- route (because you are on layer 2) with a
- grey connection at its end. By moving the
- cursor, you move the red route segment up,
- down, left, or right, at a 45 or 90 degree
- angle from the pin. Note the information
- display on the left side of the screen,
- with the message:
- DATA4
- U1.9
- U3.5
- Width 12
- indicating that the signal being routed is
- signal DATA4. It connects pin 9 of IC U1,
- and pin 5 of IC U3. It has a width of
- .012". Whenever you are routing, this
- display will give you the route information
- to tell you what you are doing. The menu
- now gives you a new set of options you may
- use while routing.
- 6) Next, change layers with Level (F4). The
- routed segment turns blue, which is the
- color for traces on layer 1.
- 7) Put a corner in the route with Add Corner
- (F1). You may proceed in eight directions
- (90 and 45 degree directions) from this
- corner. Try this. To put the next segment
- at any angle, select Angle (F3). Now the
- route segment follows the cursor exactly,
- and you can put any angle in the trace.
- Selecting Angle (F3) again puts you back
- into the 45/90o only mode again.
- 8) Select Level (F4) again. You will see the
- second route segment turn red, indicating
- its back on layer 2, and that a via has
- been put at the intersection of the two
- segments in the route. PADS-PCB
- automatically puts in vias for you.
- 9) Route towards the destination pin, putting
- in corners as appropriate. Note that the
- grey connection always follows the end of
- the route and connects it to the
- destination, pin 5 of U3. You can complete
- this route only at the correct destination
- pin.
- 10) You can stop the route without finishing
- it at the destination by selecting End
- (F8). Try this. Note the connection
- remains between the end of the route and
- the destination pin. This is a partial
- route. You can go on to route another
- connection, or move existing traces to
- clear up a block.
- 11) Put the cursor on the purple connection
- part of the partial route, and select Route
- Conn (F1) to pick up the route again. Route
- it to the destination pin. To complete the
- route, select Complete (F9). This will
- finish the route on the destination pin,
- inserting a corner to change direction if
- necessary to reach the pin.
-
- Converting a Route to a Connection
-
- You can convert traces back to connections:
- 1) Put the cursor on any part of the route you
- wish to convert to a connection, and select
- Unroute (F7).
- 2) The route will disappear, and the following
- message will be displayed on the Prompt
- Line:
- Confirm Unrouting Y/(N)?
- Type Y or F1 to confirm the process. The
- trace is removed and the white connection
- is redisplayed. If you type N or F10, the
- route will reappear.
-
- Whenever you delete any type of data item, you
- will be asked to confirm the process.
-
- Changing the Width of a Route
-
- It is possible at any time during routing to
- change the width of a trace. To illustrate
- this, at some point in the middle of routing
- a trace, do the following:
- 1) Type:
- W75<CR>
- This changes the width of the trace segment
- you are currently routing to a new width of
- .075". You will see the width change, as
- soon as you move the cursor. Also, the
- Global Width display changes to 75.
- 2) To change the width back to .012", type:
- W12 <CR>
-
- You may change the trace width of any segment
- of any route at any time. You have complete
- control over every route segment on the board
- -- you can neck down, or up as you choose.
-
- You may also change the width of a trace
- segment, a complete trace, or a net after it
- is routed, with the Line Width (F7) command in
- the Modify (F5) option of the Route menu.
-
- Routing Tips to Remember
-
- o I f you make a mistake in positioning a
- corner, you can use the Delete Corner (F2)
- option to back up quickly.
- o You use Angle (F3) to corner at any angle,
- not just 45 degree or 90o.
- o The Complete (F9) command is used to finish
- a trace; it is not an autorouter. It follows
- very simple rules to finish the route, and
- will finish only on the correct pin.
- o To "copper share", you must follow the route
- all the way to the destination pin, putting in
- corners and vias as appropriate.
- o Move the mouse with small movements. Let the
- route catch up to the cursor position before
- continuing.
- o Have connections, traces, and pads, visible;
- component outlines and names invisible.
- o Enlarge the view so that you see only about
- 4-8 IC's, not the entire board.
- oAs you edit routes, you will "erase" portions
- of some of routes and pads. They are still in
- the database and you should periodically
- repaint the screen by selecting Key 1 (End) on
- the numeric key pad.
-
- Modifying an Existing Route
-
- You will quickly learn that some traces you
- have routed need to be changed (or "edited" in
- CAD terminology) in order to put in the other
- routes. If you are designing manually, this
- usually means heavy use of an eraser, and
- possible mistakes when rerouting.
-
- Moving an Existing Route Segment
- 1) Select the Modify (F5) option. You have a
- number of options available. These allow
- you to move the traces in a number of
- different ways.
- 2) Move the cursor over a vertical trace
- segment, and select Move Seg (F2). Note
- that as you do, the trace changes color and
- is highlighted. This allows you to see the
- entire net better while you are routing it.
- 3) As you move the cursor right and left, you
- will see the vertical segment move to
- follow the cursor. The route segments that
- connect to the vertical segment will also
- either extend, or retract so that they
- remain connected to the ends of the segment
- being moved. You cannot lose connectivity
- while routing. Position the segment where
- you want and complete it (F1).
-
- Moving a Via or Corner
- Try using the other Modify commands.
- 1) Put the cursor on a route corner, or via
- and select Move Corner (F1).
- 2) As you move the route corner, watch what
- happens. The segments joined by the
- corner, as well as the route segments
- forming these segments will move as the
- corner follows the moving cursor.
- 3) Select Angle (F2). In this mode, only the
- segments forming the corner will move.
- Angle is a mode command, so selecting it
- again will change back.
-
- Cut Segment
- Cut Seg (F3) is interesting. It will cut a
- single segment into 3 segments.
- 1) Move the cursor onto a route segment,
- choose Cut Seg (F3), and watch what
- happens.
- 2) In Cut Segment mode, Swap Crn (F3) lets you
- move the other portion of the segment you
- cut originally.
-
- Reroute Traces
- Rather than move corners and segments in a
- route, you can reroute a segment. This can be
- somewhat faster to do, depending on the trace
- you are moving. Often this will seem more
- natural to the first time CAD user, too. You
- reroute by doing the following.
- 1) Place the mouse cursor on a trace segment
- and select Reroute (F9).
- 2) The segment of the trace you select will
- turn back to a connection and you can start
- routing it. Start from the end of the
- segment closest to the cursor.
- 3) Continue routing the trace until you have
- established a new path back to the other
- end of the original segment and select
- Complete(F9) to finish it. It may take a
- couple of times to get use to this feature
- but once you do it will be very useful.
-
- Some Hints When Modifying Routes
- o Plan what you want to do before you do it.
- Try to think about route changes in terms of
- the commands in Modify Route. The most
- powerful are Move Corner, Move Segment and Cut
- Segment, and Reroute.
- o When selecting a trace segment or corner,
- select it at an unambiguous point, not where
- it crosses another trace.
-
-
-
-
- AUTOROUTING WITH PADS-PCB
-
-
- PADS-PCB has three autorouting options, PADS-
- Route, PADS-PowerRouter and PADS-SuperRouter.
- o PADS-SuperRouter is an excellent choice for
- complex digital through-hole designs. Based on
- rip-up techniques, it is capable of achieving
- 100% results on complex circuits.
- o PADS-PowerRouter is the highest performance
- autorouter you can buy running on a Personal
- Computer. Using shove as well as rip-up
- algorithms, it is capable of achieving 100%
- routing results on most of today's circuit
- boards.
-
- Both PADS-PowerRouter and PADS-SuperRouter are
- too sophisticated to explain in this manual,
- so we have chosen to include PADS-Route in the
- evaluation. PADS-Route includes 3 separate
- routers: two specialized, fast routers for
- memory and power bussing, and a third general
- purpose router for all the other connections.
-
- Using the Power and Ground Router
-
- The power and ground bus router is a
- heuristic, or pattern router. This means that
- it tries to route with a predetermined
- pattern. This router is useful for digital
- boards that do not have buried power planes.
- 1) Bring in job ROUTE2. This board is
- unrouted.
- 2) From the main menu, select Route (F5),
- then the Auto Route option (F2).
- 3) Two messages will prompt you to select the
- routing and via grids:
- Routing Grid (25) >
- Via Grid [0]>
- You should respond to both with
- 25 <CR>
- 4) A new message is displayed:
- Select Router Passes (F7) then select Connections to be
- routed
- You will first define the autorouting
- passes. Select Setup (F7) and use the mouse
- to select SHORT P/G in the pop-up window,
- then Select Exit (F10).
- 5) You will route the entire board, so select
- Board (F4). This will start the
- autorouter, and in the System Information
- Window, you will see displayed the number
- of connections selected for routing, and
- later, information on the router status and
- success rate.
- 6) Traces will be displayed as they route,
- with blue traces on Layer 2, and green
- traces on Layer l.
- 7) After the autorouter is complete, you are
- presented with the results. The autorouter
- has completed about 85% of the power and
- ground connections. The connections it has
- routed are excellent quality, probably very
- similar to manual routing. Those it did
- not complete either did not fit the
- heuristic pattern, or conflicted with
- others. You might interactively complete
- these at this time.
-
- Using the Memory Router
-
- The memory router is heuristic, like the power
- router. It is used as follows:
- 1) You must first display the connections to
- be routed. From the Main menu, select the
- SetUp (F2) menu, and then select Net Attr
- (F5). Go to Net Attr With the mouse, select
- the display setting for ALL connections,
- changing it to ON.
- 2) Exit from the SetUp menu. Select the
- Autoroute option (F2) in the Route menu.
- 3) Two messages will prompt you to select the
- routing and via grids:
- Routing Grid (25) >
- Via Grid [0]>
- You should respond to both with
- 25 <CR>
- 4) A new message is displayed:
- Select Router Passes (F7) then select Connections to be
- routed
- You will first define the autorouting
- passes. Select Setup (F7), select SHORT P/G
- again to turn it off, then select SHORT
- MEMORY, HORIZ/VERT and SHORT ONLY. Then
- select Exit (F10).
- 5) You can route a specific net. Select Net
- (F3). You will be prompted with:
- NET NAME TO SELECT>
- Type J <CR> and <CR> again. The number of
- connections selected is displayed and the
- autorouter will start. You can watch the
- routes being made.
- 6) Next route the entire boards. Select Board
- (F4). The memory traces will be routed.
-
- Using the Maze Router
-
- The Maze autorouter routes two layers at a
- time, but you can route multi-layer boards
- with up to 30 layers by selecting two layers
- at a time. This router has a number of
- individual passes, which will use
- progressively more powerful methods to route
- the connections. You might choose to run one
- or more passes at a time, stop and
- interactively edit the results, then continue
- autorouting. In this exercise, we will run a
- number of the routers at one time.
- 1) Continue with the design where you have
- just routed the Memory Connections.
- 2) Select SetUp (F7). Turn off, or deselect
- all of the passes from being routed. Then
- select the passes named ONE VIA, THREE VIAS
- and FIVE VIAS. They should be highlighted
- as they are selected.
- 3) When you are done, select Exit (F10), then
- Board (F4) to route all connections in the
- circuit. As the autorouter works, the
- finished routes are displayed, and the
- results are updated in the System
- Information Window.
- 4) When the router is finished, most of the
- unrouted connections are near the
- connector. You would typically spend a few
- minutes editing the routes to finish the
- remaining connections.
-
-
-
- CHECKING THE DESIGN
-
-
- The Check commands will automatically check
- your entire design for violations of your
- minimum spacing rules. (These are defined in
- the SetUp menu). An effective Check function
- is absolutely vital in a CAD system. Without
- it, you are absolutely guaranteed to make
- either short circuits or minimum clearance
- violations. PADS-PCB indicates violations
- with colored markers. The colors for errors
- can be assigned by layer with the Display (F1)
- command in the SetUp menu.
-
- DRC Violations
-
- You will see how check works in PADS-PCB in
- this exercise.
- 1) Load the job named CHECK. This is an
- already routed board. From the main menu,
- select Check (F6) and then select Spacing
- (F1) to begin the spacing rules checking.
- 2) The System Information Window will display
- the status of the check activity and the
- number of errors found. When Check is
- complete, you will see colored error
- markers displayed at the point of the
- errors in the design. Each colored marker
- indicates an error.
- 3) At the top of the layout there is a trace-
- to-text error. This is because the trace
- has been routed through text placed on
- layer one. Zoom into this area, move the
- trace with Modify Route, and rerun the
- Check function.
- 4) Fix the other trace-to-trace and trace-to-
- pad errors and rerun the Check program.
- The error markers will disappear, if
- corrected properly.
-
- In addition to design rule checking, which is
- a check of physical correctness, PADS-PCB also
- provides additional checking functions:
- o There are three netlist checks, to let you
- check the finished design database against the
- original schematic netlist. Net lists from
- PADS-Logic, Schema, and Futurenet compatible
- systems are supported.
- o The Tie Plane check command insures that all
- component pins which are part of a net that is
- a power plane are correctly connected to the
- plane.
-
-
-
- PRODUCING ARTWORK
- DRAWINGS
-
-
- PADS-PCB supports a wide range of
- photoplotters, matrix printers, laser
- printers, and pen plotters. The pen plotter
- software can be used to produce check plot
- quality drawings - useful to give to
- Engineering or to help you analyze entire
- layouts - and artwork quality drawings which,
- when produced at 2:1 and photo reduced, are
- suitable as reproduction artwork, helping you
- save the cost of photoplotting.
-
- Producing a Drawing on a Laser Printer
-
- This exercise will show how to produce laser
- printer outputs with PADS-PCB. The procedure
- is similar for all outputs.
- 1) Bring in job CHECK. We will use this design
- to demonstrate the post-processors.
- 2) From the main menu, Select the CAM (F9)
- menu. You will be prompted with:
- Specify CAM output sub-directory:
- 3) Type in the name for a new sub-directory
- under the CAM directory using, for
- example, your initials as the name of the
- sub-directory. A new sub-directory will be
- created under the CAM directory, and all
- output drawing files will go into it. We do
- this so that your software and job
- directories don't get cluttered with
- temporary work files.
- 4) You have four options:
- o Direct (F1) creates drawings and artwork
- directly.
- o Batch (F2) creates drawing from
- previously created CAM files.
- o Defaults (F3) lets you define the
- aperture table, the drill tooling, and
- other CAM parameters.
- o Verify (F4) produces a pen or printer
- plot from a photoplotting file. This lets
- you check your artwork file before you
- spend money producing a bad plot .
- 5) Select Direct (F1). A new command window
- is displayed, and you have the option to
- produce photoplotting, pen plot, laser
- printer, drill or matrix printer output.
- Select Laser Printer with your cursor (F1).
- Then select Proceed either with the mouse
- or with F2.
- 6) The menu display changes to let you select
- the type of drawing you want. Start with
- an Assembly Drawing. Select "Assy Dwg-Top
- Side," with the cursor. Note that 30
- levels are displayed, with Level 1 and 27
- highlighted. This is because Level 27 is
- reserved, by convention, for top assembly.
- (Note: Levels 23 - 30 are reserved by
- convention for a variety of drawings but
- can be used for routing, if needed).
- Select Proceed (F2).
- 7) The next menu display lets you choose which
- items will be plotted, highlighted in grey.
- For each type of output, we have already
- provided the typical items that appear on
- the drawing.
- 8) To change the default plot options, put the
- cursor on the Level 1 box to the right of
- Text, and select this with Select (F1).
- The box will change color, indicating that
- text is no longer selected. Select Proceed
- (F2) to go to the next menu.
- 9) The next menu lets you select the size of
- the drawing, rotation, and other functions.
- For this plot, leave these settings
- unchanged and select Proceed.
- 10) The last menu lets you store the results
- into a file for later plotting, or create
- your drawing immediately. To produce a
- drawing, select the label Proceed With
- Current Selection with the cursor, then
- select Proceed (F2). The system will be
- busy for a short period, and then begin
- plotting.
- 11) After you have produced the first drawing,
- try producing other types of drawings. You
- will see how easy it is. And if there is a
- drawing type that is not a standard output,
- you can use the general plot option to
- produce custom outputs.
-
- PADS-PCB Reports
-
- PADS-PCB can produce a number of useful
- reports from your design database, including
- net list reports, an unused gate and pin
- reports, board status, and a report about the
- design limits. The best way to find out about
- them is to produce some reports.
- 1) If you have not already done so, load a
- design file into memory.
- 2) Select the Reports (F8) menu from the main
- menu. Print out each of the reports, using
- the command options in the Reports menu to
- become acquainted with their contents. Any
- report can be printed immediately, or sent
- to a disk file for later review or editing.
-
- The reports available from PADS-PCB in the
- Report menu are as follows:
- o Net List (F1) gives the entire net list for
- the design.
- o Unused (F3) lists all unconnected parts,
- gates, and pins.
- o Statistics (F4) provides information on the
- number of routed and unrouted connections,
- pins, via, board density, trace length, etc.
- o Job Limits (F5) indicates the maximum limits
- of the system and the usage with the current
- design.
- o Part List 1(F6) and Part List 2 (F7),
- display the parts list in two different
- formats.
-
- When a report is selected, a prompt invites
- you to type the name of the file to be
- created. Type a file name, followed by <CR>
- The file may be listed to the printer, or can
- be displayed by selecting Alt-9, and giving
- the name of the file.
-
-
-
- MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR
- DESIGN
-
-
- When you are placing or routing a board with
- PADS-PCB, you don't have to worry about
- accidentally changing your net list
- connectivity. PADS-PCB has built in checks to
- make sure you don't destroy that netlist. This
- raises an important question, though.
- Sometimes you will want to change the design-
- how is this done with PADS-PCB? We have
- collected all of the functions that can change
- the connectivity and put them into a single
- menu, called ECO (Engineering Change Order).
-
- In this chapter you will add a large capacitor
- to a design, and connect it to power and
- ground. You will also delete pin 7 of U21
- from signal 21. Finally, you will rename
- signal net DA00 to SIGA, and rename component
- U10 to U50.
- 1) Call up the design 1STLOOK. From the main
- menu, select ECO (F7).
- 2) Because the changes you make in the board
- must go to the schematic, select To Sch
- (F1) . The following message will be
- displayed:
- Output schematic ECO report file name (CR=Printer):
- Respond with a file name, for example
- ECOTEST, followed by <CR>. As you make
- changes in the design, they are
- automatically added to this file.
-
- Adding a New Part to the Job
-
- 1) Select Add Part (F5). Select Keyboard I/O
- (F2)
- 2) To the prompt:
- Name of part type for new part>
- Respond
- R*<CR>
- 3) The library browse command provides an easy
- method to scan a list of components
- visually. A pop-up window is presented.
- The bottom half shows a list of parts
- corresponding to your wild card command, in
- this case all parts beginning with R. The
- top half shows the symbol for the currently
- highlighted part. You can use the arrow
- keys to scroll through the list of
- components, or you can place the cursor
- over a part type and press Select (F1) to
- view the specific graphical symbols.
- 4) To add the 1/8 Watt resistor, place the
- mouse cursor over STD: R1/8W, choose Select
- (F1), and then Accept (F2).
- 5) The system prompts:
- Reference designator for new part>
- Respond by typing:
- R25<CR>
- The pop-up window disappears and the
- resistor will be attached to the cursor.
- 6) Move the cursor around and notice how the
- part follows. Set the resistor in place
- with Complete (F1).
-
- You can also add a part without using the
- library browse function. Next you will add a
- capacitor, with the part name CAP\MA20.
- 1) Select Add Part (F5). Select Keyboard I/O
- (F2)
- 2) To the prompt:
- Name of part type for new part>
- Respond:
- CAP\MA20<CR>
- 3) The system prompts:
- Reference designator for new part>
- Respond by typing:
- C100<CR>
- The capacitor will be attached to the
- cursor.
- 4) The new capacitor appears in white attached
- to the cursor. You are now able to position
- the component in the design. Rotate it
- (F2), place it in the layout, and set it
- with Complete (F1).
-
- Adding Connections to the Design
-
- Next you will connect the new capacitor to
- Power and Ground.
- 1) New connections are added with the trace
- width displayed in the System Information
- Window. Before adding the connection, set
- width to .050" with the W modeless command:
- W50 <CR>
- 2) Select Add Conn (F1). You may either type
- the connection or point at it with the
- mouse cursor. Put the cursor on a pin in
- the circuit that is connected to ground ,
- and select it with Select (F1). Note: The
- component name, the selected pin, and the
- signal name are shown in the System
- Information Window. Check to see that the
- signal is Ground, and the Ground net is
- highlighted.
- 3) When moving the cursor, you will see a
- brown connection following the cursor.
- Move the cursor to the lower pin of the
- new capacitor and select F1 again to
- complete the connection.
- 4) You could continue to tie more pins to the
- signal with additional selections, but
- let's stop here. Select Exit (F10).
- 5) Repeat steps 2-4 to add the Power
- connection, +5V, to the capacitor.
-
- You have just added a connection by pointing
- at the start and end pins. Sometimes it's
- easier to add connections by typing the pins,
- particularly if the ECO is in the form of a
- list of changes. Let's see how this is done.
- 1) Select Keyboard (I/O). To the prompt:
- Starting connection pin - reference designation.pin>
- 2) Type:
- R9.2 <CR>
- This selects pin 2 of R9 to start the
- connection. The cursor moves to this pin.
- 3) To connect the other end of the connection,
- select Keyboard I/O(F2) again. To the
- prompt, type:
- R4.3<CR>
- 4) The cursor moves to R4 pin 3, and the
- connection is drawn. Select Exit (F10) to
- complete the net.
-
- You may also add traces, with the Add Route
- (F3) command. When this is selected, you have
- the same capabilities for defining the trace
- path as when manually routing traces.
-
- Removing a Pin from a Net
-
- A typical change order that you might get from
- the design engineer is to disconnect a
- specific pin from a signal. In some CAD
- systems, this is very difficult to do. See
- how easily this is done, as you remove U21 pin
- 7 from its net.
- 1) First, identify this pin visually.
- 2) Select DisConn Pin (F4) from the ECO menu.
- 3) Select Keyboard I/O (F2).
- To the prompt:
- Pin to disconnect -- reference designation.pin>
- Type:
- U21.7 <CR>
- The cursor will move to pin 7 of U21, and
- the 2 routes connected to U21.7 will be
- highlighted. You will be asked to confirm
- the deletion with the prompt:
- Confirm pin disconnection from net Y/(N)?
- When you type Y, the highlighted routes
- will disappear, a new connection will be
- created, connecting U20.7 to U2.3, the two
- pins that were at the ends of the two
- removed routes. Select Exit (F10).
-
- Renaming Nets and Components
-
- Before you change the net name DA00 to SIGA,
- highlight the DA00 net by typing at the prompt
- line:
- NDA00<CR>
- Signal DA00 will be highlighted. This is the
- net name you will change.
- 1) From the ECO menu, select RenameNet (F3).
- 2) Select KeyBoard I/O (F2).
- 3) To the prompt:
- Name of net to rename>
- Type:
- DA00<CR>
- 4) The system responds
- Old net name is DA00 New Name>
- Type:
- SIGA<CR>
-
- Now, rename component U10 to U50.
- 1) From the ECO menu, select RenamePart (F7).
- 2) Select KeyBoard I/O (F2).
- 3) To the prompt:
- Reference Designator of part>
- Type:
- U10<CR>
- U10 will be highlighted and the prompt
- responds:
- Reference Designator is U10 New Reference Designator
- Type:
- U50<CR>
-
- Listing the ECO File
-
- When all changes are done, exit from the ECO
- menu back to the Main menu. You can display
- the ECO file by typing:
- Alt-9
-
- To the prompt asking for the file to be
- displayed, type the name of the file that you
- created
- ECOTEST<CR>
-
- The file is displayed. To remove it, select
- the Esc key.
-
- Forward Annotation of Changes
-
- It is also possible to automatically update
- the PCB with changes made to the schematic.
- The From Sch command is used to send a set of
- changes made in the schematic to the circuit
- board. This list of changes is calculated by
- comparing your current schematic with an
- existing job file. Differences are listed as
- a series of changes that are stored in an ECO
- file and can be used to automatically update
- the board. The changes can include: Added
- Parts, Deleted Parts, Added Connections,
- Deleted Connections, Renamed Nets, Re-named
- Parts, and Changed Part Type of Parts.
- 1) First, load the design file 1STLOOK using
- the Job In command.
- 2) You can view the ECO file that will be used
- to update the 1STLOOK design, by typing:
- Alt-9
- 3) To the prompt asking for the file to be
- displayed, type the name of the file that
- was created.
- REV1.ECO<CR>
- The file is displayed. To remove it, select
- the Esc key.
- 4) Select the ECO (F7) command from the Main
- menu. Select From Sch (F2).
- 5) To the prompt:
- Input schematic ECO file name>
- Type:
- REV1.ECO
- 6) Then, type an error output file name at the
- prompt line to direct all error messages
- into this file.
- 7) The file is read in, and the design is
- changed. You will see the parts added at
- the system origin, and the connections
- added will appear as yellow lines.
-
- Changing the Size of Component Pads
-
- Parts have pre-defined pad sizes in the
- library, which are brought into the design
- with the part. You are not limited to these
- pads however. It is very easy to change the
- shape and size of pads during a design, as the
- following exercise illustrates:
- 1) From the main menu, select the SetUp (F2)
- menu, then select Pads (F2).
- 2) You will change pin 1 of the 20 pin IC to
- be 80 mil square pad, and pin 2 to be a 60
- mil pad with a 39 mil annular hole. To the
- prompt:
- Name of Part Decal
- type:
- DIP20
- 3) The current pad definition for the DIP20 is
- displayed in a pop-up window. Currently all
- pins and pin 1 are listed. For each, there
- is a definition for the top layer (T), for
- the inner layers (I), for the bottom layer
- (B), and for layer 25.
- 4) Position the cursor over the box for the
- size of the pad on level T of pin 1 and
- select (F1). Type:
- 80<CR>
- to change this value. Repeat this for the
- bottom level B.
- 5) You need a new pad definition for pin 2.
- Since it is not currently listed, select
- Add Pin (F4). To the prompt:
- Enter new pin number>
- Type:
- 2<CR>
- 6) The current settings for pin 2 are
- displayed. For both the top and bottom
- layers, change the value in the SHP column
- to A (to make the shape annular), and add a
- new value in the column INT DIAM of 39.
- 7) Select Complete (F9) to confirm the change.
- 8) The design is redrawn with the new pad
- definitions for pins 1 and 2.
-
-
-
- Creating a PCB without a Schematic
-
-
- You may want to design the circuit board
- without first starting with a net list or a
- schematic. This can be done in PADS-PCB,
- using the On-the -Fly command. With this
- command, you can create a board, add parts and
- connections. As you work, you will be creating
- design connectivity.
-
- 1) Load the job ONTHEFLY. The board outline
- and the connector have been created and
- placed in this design.
- 2) Select On-the-Fly (F8) from the In/Out
- menu. Select Add Part (F5), then Keyboard
- I/O (F2).
- 3) In response to the prompt:
- Name of part type for new part>
- Type:
- 7404 <CR>
- A 14 pin IC is added to your cursor. This
- is U1, and is a 7404. Note you can rotate
- the part and move it around. Place the
- part with Complete (F1). If necessary,
- repaint the screen with the (End) key.
- 4) Repeat this step, adding a resistor with
- part type R1/4W.
- 5) Select Add Conn (F1), to add connections
- with the cursor, in the same way as in the
- ECO command. You must set the trace width
- with the W modeless command before adding
- connections.
- 6) You may also add traces, with the Add Route
- (F9) command. When this is selected, you
- have the same capabilities as you do when
- manually routing traces.
-
-
-
- CREATING PCB PARTS
-
-
- You have now completed the evaluation of the
- main design features of PADS-PCB. What you
- have not seen yet is the creation of parts.
- You can edit library data, add parts quickly,
- or delete parts. All parts are maintained in a
- powerful database that makes access time under
- 2 seconds for any part. A part in PADS-PCB
- consists of 2 items: a decal of the physical
- part, and part electrical data. This
- electrical data is shared between PADS-PCB and
- PADS-Logic.
-
- Creating a New Part Type
-
- You will already have the decal for most of
- the new parts that you will create. This is
- because all 14 pin IC's use the same physical
- decal, DIP14, no matter what their electrical
- characteristics. If this is the case for you,
- it is very easy to create a new part, as this
- exercise shows. We will create a new
- integrated circuit, to be called AM27C256.
- This is the same part that has been created in
- the PADS-Logic Evaluation Package.
- 1) Select the Create (F3) menu from the Main
- Menu. Then select Part Type (F6)
- 2) Select New Part (F1). To the prompt,
- respond:
- AM27C256<CR>
- 3) Select Part Info (F1) to modify the
- electrical information. This defines the
- PCB symbol, the part attributes that are
- extracted for reports, the default power
- and ground pins, etc.
- 4) The part info text screen will be presented
- and you proceed to fill in all the data
- necessary.
- o There is no part type prefix, so this
- line may be left blank.
- o The Logic Family defines the family
- with which the part is associated, i.e.,
- TTL, CMOS, ANA (for Analog), etc. Since
- this is a CMOS part, enter:
- CMO
- o The PCB Decal entry defines the name of
- the physical shape that will be used for
- the part in the circuit board. Since this
- is a 28-pin DIP IC, enter:
- DIP28\400
- o Part Attributes. You may assign any type
- of attributes to a part. Allocate 2
- attribute lines and enter in the
- information below in the two lines. Note
- that all lines start with a description,
- followed by a colon (:).
- PART DESC: 32K x 8 bit EPROM
- MFG #1: AMD
- (Note: You may want to add new attributes
- such as "Vertical Height," which may be
- useful for mechanical packaging or thermal
- analysis. Discrete parts would also have a
- "value" attribute and a "tolerance"
- attribute.)
- o The Non-Numeric Pin Number entry lets you
- define a part with pin names rather than
- numbers. As this part uses pin numbers,
- leave this entry as N (No).
- o The Number of Gates parameter indicates
- the number of gates in the part. Enter a 1.
- o The Number of Signal Pins entry is used
- to define standard power and ground pins
- in the part. The Am27C256 has 3 standard
- signal pins, VPP (pin 1), GND (pin 14),
- and +5V (pin 28), therefore, enter:
- 3
- o You must define the pin number, signal
- name, and the track width.
- On the first line, enter the pin number as
- 1, the signal name as VPP, and the track
- width as 50.
- On the second line, enter:
- 14 GND 50
- On the third line, enter:
- 28 +5V 50
- 5) When you finish entering the electrical
- information, select Complete (F9).
- 6) Select Save (F9). A <CR> will save the
- part to your user library. Exit (F10) will
- return you to the design. You may now add
- this part to the design with the add Part
- option in the On-the-Fly (F9) command from
- the In/Out menu.
-
- Creating a Decal
-
- In this exercise, you will create a 14 pin IC.
- As this already exists under the name DIP14,
- you will make a new version and call it
- MYPART. Remember IC pads are 100 mils apart,
- and the two rows are 300 mils apart.
- 1) From the main menu, Select Create (F3),
- Part Decal (F5), and Create (F1)
- 2) To the prompt, give the new decal the name:
- MYPART<CR>
- The design is stored and you are in the
- part library editor. With the commands of
- the part library editor, you can make the
- physical outline of the part, move its
- name, put in terminals, relocate the part
- origin, put text on the decal, etc. You
- can create a part for either two-layer or
- multi-layer design.
- 3) It is easier to work on a 100 mil grid. Set
- the grid to 100 by typing:
- G100 <CR>
- 4) Select Terminals (F3), then Add Term (F1).
- 5) There is now a terminal attached to the
- cursor, named "1". Place the pin in the
- center of the screen and select Complete
- (F1).
- 6) Select Add Term (F1) again. A second
- terminal is added to the cursor , labeled
- "2". Place the terminal one cursor
- movement, or 100 mils, to the right of the
- first. If necessary, use Zoom In so you can
- easily move a single cursor movement.
- Continue placing pins 3 through 7 in this
- manner, with a separation of one cursor
- movement. Then place pin 8 above pin 7,
- separated by 300 mils. You can use the
- cursor X Y display to check the distance.
- 7) Place the remaining pins 9 through 14, then
- Exit (F10).
- 8) Move the cursor on top of pin 1 and select
- Origin (F4). This makes pin 1 the origin of
- the part in the design.
- 9) You must next create the part outline. Set
- the grid to 25 by typing:
- G25 <CR>
- 10) Select Outline (F1) and 2-D Lines (F4).
- Place the cursor at -25,50 by using the S
- modeless command:
- S-25 50<CR>
- 11) Select New Poly (F1), and move the cursor
- to 625,50. Select Add Corner (F1). Move
- the cursor to 625,250 and select Add Corner
- (F1) again. Move the cursor to -25, 250
- and select Complete (F9). PADS-PCB will
- add the last corner and close the outline.
- 12) Next, define the default position of the
- component name. From the main Part Decal
- menu, select Move Name (F2), and move the
- name and part type to the center of the
- outline.
- 13) Select Save (F9) and respond with a <CR>
- to the prompt. You have created a 14 Pin IC
- Decal. You have now added the Decal to
- your user library in the actual PADS-PCB
- package.
-
-
-
- OTHER COMMANDS
-
-
- You have used most of the important commands
- of PADS-PCB in the exercises of this manual.
- You are free to experiment with the other
- commands described below. If you have
- questions, call your local PADS dealer or our
- hot-line support team, or order a copy of the
- entire user manual.
-
- ASCII File Commands
-
- PADS-PCB provides a totally open database,
- through its ASCII file commands. Users who
- wish to do so may convert a PADS-PCB design to
- another CAD system by first outputting the
- circuit as an ASCII file with the ASCII Out
- command. Similarly, the ASCII In command will
- convert a text file in PADS format into a
- complete board layout . Similar facilities
- exist for the libraries as well as the
- designs.
-
- 2-D Lines and Add Text Commands
-
- The 2-D Lines and Text commands provide the
- ability to create any general drawing item,
- solid or dashed lines, polygons, title blocks,
- etc., and text entries or notes in the PCB
- design. There is also a 2-D Lines library
- capability, for storing created items into the
- library for use on other boards.
-
-
-
- YOUR NEXT STEP
-
-
- PADS-PCB has been designed by PADS Software
- Inc., specifically to solve the problem of PCB
- design. It is not a general purpose CAD
- drafting system, but is instead a highly
- focussed tool developed to meet the needs of
- engineers and design draftspersons for a low-
- cost, but effective tool based on personal
- computers. There is no other PCB design
- system, at any price that is as simple to use,
- and at the same time offers the power and
- flexibility of PADS-PCB and its flexibility
- for a wide range of design technologies.
-
- If your designs are small, this Shareware
- version of PADS-PCB is more than adequate to
- design your circuits. Please use it with our
- compliments.
-
- If you need the capability of designing
- circuit boards 400 or more IC's, you should
- consider the actual version of PADS-PCB. It
- has all of the features of this shareware
- version, plus greatly expanded system limits,
- and it comes with a 400 page user manual
- describing all of the commands of the program
- in detail. More than thirteen thousand
- engineers are using PADS-PCB today.
-
- If you would like to put the powers of PADS-
- PCB to work on your next project, you can
- order it from your local authorized PADS
- Dealer or contact PADS Software, Inc.
- (telephone: 1-800-255-7814, fax: 508-486-
- 8217).
-
- Once again, thank you for your time and
- interest. We welcome any additional questions
- you may have about PADS-PCB or any other of
- our PADS products.
-
- When you have finished your evaluation of
- PADS-PCB, feel free to make copies and pass it
- on to a friend or colleague.
- PADS-PCB Evaluation Guide
-
- PADS-PCB Evaluation Guide
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