PCB tool suites target the independent engineer

Independent engineers are typically part of a small to mid-sized company, or members of an isolated team within a large enterprise, and perform the complete design, analysis and manufacturing data delivery of PCB electronic products. In the past, the only option for engineers producing complex designs was to use enterprise solutions, however, these solutions were often out of reach due to budget and infrastructure requirements.

Current lower-priced offerings do not support the needs of independent engineers as the design process can often include more than schematic entry and layout of the PCB and may require analysis such as signal integrity, thermal, design-for-manufacturability and power distribution network integrity.

Design cycle iterations are minimised by the tool suites’ correct-by-construction methodology, which is enabled by a common constraint management system used across the flow to support advanced high-speed topologies and design for manufacture. The PCB design solutions also feature integrated analysis and verification technologies that allow engineers to virtually prototype their system with HyperLynx–powered signal/power integrity analysis, analogue/thermal simulation and full-board rule checks, minimising physical prototype cycles. To tackle complex layouts, the tool suites are offered with Xpedition-powered technologies including sketch routing, simultaneous 2D/3D layout, hierarchical placement/planning, component and net explorers and manufacturing preparation and design review. Via PartQuest, a fully integrated website that merges Digi-Key part numbers with symbols and footprints, engineers can use over 360,000 parts, reducing manual errors and saving time and cost.

“The biggest pressure that we face is being able to produce a design that is good on the first run.” said Louis Demers, CTO, Obzerv Technologies. “The PADS tool suite is a very cost-effective design solution that tackles our most complex design challenges, as well as providing a growth path for our future needs. The advantage of going with PADS is that we will be able to converge toward a workable design much quicker, with fewer iterations and expenses. We will also have more time to be bold in our design, driving for maximum performance and functionality.”

John Sherman, Vice President, Astek, commented: “To achieve maximum engineering efficiency and to optimise our products, our engineers work on board projects from concept through simulation and layout, all the way into manufacturing. They need to use a broad set of tools, which means tools must be easy to pick up after a period of non-use. They also push the edge on product complexity, with high-frequency, high-density designs. We believe the PADS technology will enable us to easily tackle our complexity challenges, optimising the productivity of our multi-disciplinary engineers.”

“As the industry grows there is a need for higher productivity design capabilities for the independent engineer. With the PADS product offerings we can better serve the independent engineer with scalable price-performance options from lower priced options up to highly complex design and analysis powered by Xpedition technologies,” said AJ Incorvaia, General Manager, Systems Design Division, Mentor Graphics.

The PADS Standard is priced at $5,000, the Standard Plus at $10,000 and the Professional at $18,000.