Cables/Connecting
The PCB Interconnect verification tool - ConnTrace
HDL Works has today announced the release and immediate availability of ConnTrace, the PCB Interconnect verification tool. ConnTrace is a new and easy to use tool, to verify that multiple PCBs in a system are connected correctly. It can handle (rotated) connectors as well as shrouds on (through) a backplane. The PCB connection view shows traces for all signals that can be reached through the connectors. Filters and sorting allow you to concentrate on the potential problems.
InteConnTrace uses rules (based on regular expressions) to match the signal names between PCBs. It allows the tool to validate groups of matches although individual signals can still differ. The rules can be generated automatically and be fine-tuned by the designer. The automated approach will often match 80% to 90% of all connector pins.
The flexibility of ConnTrace allows it to be used in any design flow and does not require any design methodology. The rules generator in combination with the sorted problem view allows engineers to validate 1000+ connector pins in half an hour. Even a short-circuit, created when two signals are finally connected over several connectors, is easily found.
PCB support
ConnTrace support the majority of PCB tools include Altium, Cadence (Allegro and Orcad), Mentor Graphics (DxDesigner, PADS and Veribest) and Zuken (Cadstar and CR5000).
Availability
ConnTrace 1.1 is available now and can be downloaded and evaluated from the company website.