A STRATEGIC MILESTONE — BLUEPRINT® AND CAM350

Tel: 800.535.3226 • 508-970-0670 • www.downstreamtech.comDownStream Technologies, LLC. © 2008 All rights reserved. CAM350® and BluePrint for Printed Circuit Boards® are registered

trademarks of DownStream Technologies, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

IN THIS ISSUE:

A Strategic Milestone BluePrint® and CAM350® Integration!pages 1–2

CAM350 Version 10.0 Coming Soon page 3

PCB Design Re-paneled byFabricationDid you know? page 3-4

BluePrint-PCB® 2.0 andCAM350 10.0Unified Installation Media pages 5

CAM350 Pad ModificationFor Stencils, Mask and Paste Layers pages 5–11

VAR SpotlightAvid Technologies page 11



A STRATEGIC MILESTONE —BLUEPRINT® AND CAM350®

INTEGRATION!BluePrint 2.0, the next version of our PCB documentation tool, includes integration to CAM350 for complete PCB post-processing, support for PanelDocument creation, as well as other new enhancements. BluePrint 2.0 helpsdesigners simplify and automate the creation of the documentation thatdrives the PCB fabrication, assembly and inspection processes. The integration to CAM350 creates a completely synergistic solution for all PCB post- processing, including manufacturing verification, optimization, outputgeneration and documentation. This sets the stage for a process by whichyou can utilize CAM350 and BluePrint to create and distribute all the deliverables required for a complete PCB fabrication and assembly releasepackage in one single electronic file. The electronic release package can thenbe used to distribute, view and extract documents, Gerber files, NC Drill/Milldata and panel designs for the manufacturing process.

BluePrint 2.0 is the second major release of the revolutionary software application from DownStream Technologies. In addition to tight integration toCAM350, BluePrint 2.0 supports a new module for panel document creation.Users can first create the panel using new or existing panel templates, stepand repeat the design automatically and or interactively and place fiducialsand pinning holes. Users can then use the panel view to drag and drop on a document, provide mill tab and v-scoring details, or notes and drill countsto quickly create a panel drawing. One notable feature of the panel function is that any panel defined by CAM350 can be used automatically in BluePrintwithout the need to recreate the panel. Conversely, any Panel defined in BluePrint can be accessed by CAM350 without the need to re-enter the data.



EVENT CALENDAR

Get to Know CAM350 10.0August 20th, 2PM EST (11AM PST)CAM350 10.0 is expected to ship Fall 2008. To familiarize you with the improvements andnew functionality found in 10.0, we are holdingonline seminars throughout the summer.During this hour, you will see CAM350 10.0perform live. Reserve your seat today to beamong the first to see the new GUI and somuch more.

BluePrint Online SeminarsAugust 21st, 2 Sessions: 1PM London BST(8AM EST) and 2PM EST (11AM PST) Do you know what BluePrint can do for youand your PCB Designs? Now is the chance tofind out! You won’t believe the functionality,automation, and time savings you’ll experiencewith this remarkable new software. Say “goodbye” to the old, time-consuming method forcreating PCB documentation, and “hello” to the new way of creating fast, comprehensivePCB documentation. Say “hello” to BluePrint-PCB!

September 14-19, 2008Santa Clara MarriottSanta Clara CAJoin DownStream Technologies at the annualPCB Design Conference West. We will be featuring our latest software releases —CAM350 10.0 and BluePrint-PCB 2.0. Theserepresent a milestone for DownStream, so youwon’t want to miss all the excitement at PCBWest in September! Please Join Us.

CAM350 (10.0) All-Day Training CourseAugust 8th training being held in Portland ORAttend CAM350 training this summer and you’llsee the new release of CAM350 software, andget trained on the latest technology and functionality. If you have always wanted tolearn more about CAM350, there is no bettertime than now. Our milestone release will becoming out in the Fall of 2008 — CAM350 10.0.Register Today… 800-535-3226 x623

For complete details visit:www.downstreamtech.com/events.html

BLUEPRINT 2.0 INCLUDES NEW FUNCTIONALITYAND ENHANCEMENTS INCLUDING:

Panel Document Module – A new module for creating panels and panel documents. You can define panels using existing or new templates, step andrepeat the design automatically, add fiducials, and pinning holes, then dragand drop onto a panel drawing for dimensioning and documentation.

Flip Panel – Allows you to select boards in the panel and flip them so that thetop side of half of the boards and the bottom side of half will be side by sidein the panel.

Universal Release Package Navigator – A new Release Package Navigatorallows you to create and store all CAM350 and BluePrint outputs in a singleelectronic file. You can now view and insert various documents, and files intothe release package such as PDF, Gerber, NC, DXF, and BluePrint native filesand the imported PCB database. When sent to a manufacturer, these files can then be viewed, and or extracted dependingupon the file type so that all the contents of a PCB assembly can be storedin a single electronic file and shared as needed by down stream processes.

CAM350 Embedding – BluePrint is now integrated with CAM350 so that data created or imported by either product can be used and shared with theother application.

Usability Updates – A number of usability enhancements have been added tostreamline BluePrint’s user interface as well as expedite access to frequentlyaccessed dialog box commands including:

• New toolbars and context menus for reference designators, components and callouts

• New Component fill and fill-style commands for PCB views, variants and process steps

• New Noteblock line spacing and starting number controls

• New Insert Time and Date command

• Ability to select parts for process step using any attribute

• Automatically generate a Parts List from any PCB View

• New reference designators follow any angle component rotation

• Assembly Variant displays now support components with fill patterns and outline patterns

• New coordinate toolbar for location feedback during graphic editing

GD&T improvements for Compliance with the ASME 14.5M-1994 specification.

ODB++ Version 8.0 – Supports the latest version of the Valor ODB++ specification.

Defect Fixes – Other software corrections have been made to previouslyexisting functionality, further improving upon BluePrint’s quality and reliability.

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CAM350 VERSION 10.0COMING SOON!CAM350 10.0 completes a strategic milestone inDownStream’s product development lifecycle as CAM350 willintegrate with the BluePrint document authoring tool to createa synergistic solution for all PCB post-processing.

This sets the stage for a process by which you can utilizeCAM350 and BluePrint together to create and distribute all thedeliverables required for a complete PCB fabrication andassembly release package in one single electronic file.

The electronic release package can then be used to distribute,view and extract documents, Gerber files, NC Drill/Mill dataand panel designs for the manufacturing process.

Release 10 includes new functionality andenhancements, including:

• Universal Release Package Navigator - Store all CAM350outputs in a single electronic file. Gerber, drill, and paneldata can be easily accessible to BluePrint. Any designdata created by BluePrint can also be used and viewedby CAM350.

• Graphic Interface - Updated to a modern MS Office®style interface. Tab based editors with task oriented pallets give a uniform interface across all DownStreamproducts.

• Project Explorer Bar - Brings many of the viewing optionsto the default CAM350 window. Searching for nets,parts, D-codes, and other key elements can now beaccomplished from the main window in all the Editors.

• Flip Panel - Select boards in the panel and flip them sothat the top side of half the board and the bottom side ofhalf will be side by side in the panel.

• Design Compare - Graphically compare two differentdesigns.

• Crossprobing to Expedition® - Backward annotation oferrors found in Gerbers.

• Also included in CAM350 10: Longer File and Net NameSupport, Netlist Enhancements, Streams Enhancements,PADS® Interface Update, ODB++ Interface Update,Usability Updates, and some Software Corrections

CAM350 Release 10 is the third major release of the softwarefrom DownStream Technologies in just five years. Part of the

enhancements to CAM350 focus on continued improvement inthe verification of design data before commitment to PCB fabrication, while other updates bring new functionality andimproved usability.

DID YOU KNOW? 90% of panels provided by PCB design are re-paneled by Fabrication

Yes, while fabrication needs the specification for the creation ofassembly panels, they don’t need the stepped up data. Thestepped up data is typically deleted and the fabricator workswith the individual board through the tooling process. Once thetooling of the individual board is complete, they step it into theassembly panel specified in the documentation. Why? Becausethey want to work on one board at a time as opposed to multiple boards if they used the stepped up data. This waythey insure any edits are done to all boards exactly the same.

So the question is: Does the designer need to provide stepped up outputs or just the documentation for the steppedup outputs?

The answer is: Just the documentation, most, if not all, of anyother outputs made are discarded by Fabrication.

Why waste the effort of going from the Electrical CAD system,to a mechanical CAD with some having to use a CAM systemas a go-between?

BluePrint 2.0 solves this problem by allowing the user to createall their panel documents in the same location they create allother documentation. Wizards allow the user to quickly createthe stepped data; web routes, mill tabs, score line, and thedetails associated with them; fiducials and tooling holes areadded with a few mouse clicks. No longer does the designer need to do the work of the fabricator, just to createproper documentation.

Other panelization specific features include:

1) Merging of web routes to properly represent what thepanel will look like after fabrication

2) Add web routes and mill tabs to areas away from theboards

3) Generation of Centroid information for the entire panel

4) Create complete panels from board outlines only, usedifferent shapes to simulate different boards

5) Only have Gerber’s? Use CAM350 to add intelligence,then open up the data in BluePrint and leverage it tocreate your documentation.

6) Share Step and Repeat info with CAM350

CACAM3M35050®CAM350®

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BLUEPRINT-PCB® 2.0 ANDCAM350 10.0 : UNIFIEDINSTALLATION MEDIAIn case you haven’t heard, BluePrint-PCB 2.0 and CAM350 10.0are the next major releases of product offerings fromDownStream Technologies. DownStream products provide thetools for automating release package documentation for printedcircuit board fabrication and assembly. With the upcoming coordinated release of these products, BluePrint-PCB 2.0 andCAM350 10.0 will now share databases so that data can betransferred between the applications. The common purpose ofrelease package automation along with the new functionalityfor sharing databases creates the new requirement for a common platform for installing BluePrint-PCB and CAM350.

The new DownStream installation media will support installationof both BluePrint-PCB and CAM350 products as well as yourlicense file installation. The installation scripts walk you throughthe installation of the DownStream License Manager, CAM350and BluePrint-PCB. You can choose any or all three of the installation options to execute. Each installation option appearsas a separate program entry in the Windows Control PanelAdd/Remove Programs dialog. This allows you to manage yourDownStream product installations individually using the WindowsControl Panel.

BluePrint-PCB is licensed using network licenses only. CAM350can be licensed using either nodelocked (hardware dongle)licenses or network licenses. The DownStream installationscripts will detect and manage BluePrint-PCB network licensesand CAM350 nodelocked licenses on the same machine.

The DownStream License Manager is installed when you selectthe “Install License File” installation option. Based on the selected license file and the target installation PC, theDownStream License Manager installation determines whetherserver or client license installation is required. For both serverand client PCs, network licenses are modified during installationbased on the license server name and folder location for thelicense manager installation. Server installation will install and

start the FLEXlm® network license server. Additionally, both server and client installation will install the license file and test forsuccessful license checkout.

For expert FLEXlm users, the installation of the DownStreamLicense Manager includes support for FLEXlm license environment variables. You can specify environment variable settings for your DownStream licenses during the installation.Both products, BluePrint-PCB and CAM350, support licenseenvironment variables for network licenses in addition to licensefiles on the client machines.

The DownStream License Manager installation includes theFLEXlm utility program, LMTOOLS.exe and the DownStreamLicense Borrowing utility, LICENSEBORROW.exe. LICENSEBORROW.exe from DownStream is the recommendedtool to borrow floating licenses from a network server and toreturn the borrowed licenses early. LICENSEBORROW.exe has a simple high level user interface. LICENSEBORROW.exe understands which borrowed features are active forDownStream. In a single command, LICENSEBORROW.exereturns all necessary borrowed features upon an early return.See the BluePrint-PCB or CAM350 installation guides for moredetails on the use of LICENSEBORROW.exe.

CAM350 PAD MODIFICATIONFOR STENCILS, MASK ANDPASTE LAYERSThere are a number of options in CAM350 to help you createstencil, paste or mask layers. Rather than draw new data, youcan use menu items like Over/Undersize and Change Dcode ontemplate data to create new layers.

This article refers to some advanced data selection methods,such as using filters. These methods are detailed in article “Data Selection Methods for Editing” from the Spring 08 issue of DataFlows. (visit DownStream to review this article)

Over/Under Size

The Over/Under Size command creates a new layer from dataon a template layer. It changes the size of selected objects whilekeeping them in the same location. This is ideal for creatingPaste and Mask layers. You can start the command by selectingUtilities | Over/Undersize. This opens the Over/undersize setup window.

CACAM3M35050®CAM350®

BluePrinBluePrint·t·PCPCB®BluePrint·PCB®



Note that the unit used is mil. If database units are set to metric,then units used by Amount would be MM. If the Percent optionis selected then units are not used.

Clicking OK brings you back to the main program window. Atthis point you should select the data you want to change. Singleitem selection and windowing options are operating normallyhere. You can see some new toolbar items as well.

CAM350 assumes that all non-round flashes are SMT. If you justwant to affect SMT pads, check the “SMT only box”. “Drw”(draw) is automatically unselected. By selecting the Filter buttonyou could specify specific Dcodes to be affected by theOver/undersize.

Example: Oversize to create a Mask Top Layer.

Top layer visible, we select Utilities | Over/undersize.Select amount and type in 10. In this case we want mask apertures that are 10 mils larger than original. Source layer is theactive layer by default. Target layer is new layer by default.

Hit OK. Check the SMT Box on the Tool bar. Then click the“select all” button. New layer is created, seen below in Grey.

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There are a few round shapes we wanted to get mask data foras well. No problem. We just run Over/undersize again, changethe target layer from new layer to the one we created in the last

step. Hit ok. Then uncheck Draw and use windowing to selectthe pads we want.

Alternatively you could selectively copy the flashes on the sourcelayer to a new layer. Then you could perform the Over/undersizeon that.

If you set target as an existing layer, please note that it will not

remove the old data. If you are enlarging data, then this is noproblem as the old data is covered by the new data.

Over/undersize can only change the size of a flash. To changethe shape, you need to change the Dcode used.

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Changing Dcodes

Edit | Change | Dcode changes one Dcode to another. Dcodesare described in the Aperture Table. Dcodes consist of an identification number, a shape and size. CAM350 also supportsangles on Dcodes. Select TABLES | APERTURE (or the yhotkey) to view this table. If you are going to use the Change |Dcode command to replace a Dcode, You need to have theDcode you want to use in the Aperture table.

Of course, you could just make adjustments directly to the aperture table. This is not recommended as such a change is

global. It will change that Dcode on all layers, both draws andflashes. So unless you are sure the Dcode you want to changeis only used in places you want to change it, don’t edit the aperture table. Note that INFO | REPORTS | DCODES is helpfulin determining where a Dcode is used. Also the “h” hotkey willhighlight the active Dcode, which is also helpful in determiningwhere a Dcode is used.

Getting items into your Aperture table is as easy as selecting anundefined Dcode (shape “none”). Below Dcode 63 has beenselected with a mouse click.

You could type in a Dcode number at the top right instead.Then on the right side, select a shape. Once a shape is selectedsize and other options will appear. As you make your selections, you can see what the Dcode will look like in theupper right window.

Once you have the Dcode you want to use in the aperture table,you use Edit | Change Dcode to change Dcode. Selecting themenu item places you in a selection mode. You can either selecta single item or use filtering and windowing options. Once yourdata is selected (it will be highlighted if selected), RIGHT clickanywhere. This opens the Dcode selection menu. 8



Just pick the new Dcode from the list and the process is finished.

For a non-standard shape, a Custom Aperture (CAP) is used.

The CAP Editor

Tools | CAP Editor opens an editor used to create, load and saveCAPs. Under Add you can find drawing tools that can be usedto create any shape you want. Note that the tool bar here hasdifferent options. There is a POS/NEG toggle that will allow youto draw negative data. When adding a line, there is the optionfor square ends (no cap).

There is an origin visible in the CAP editor as well; this is thecenter of the aperture. Keep this in mind when creating a CAP.If it is offset from this origin, then it will by offset by the same distance from where it is placed back in the CAM editor.

To save a CAP to the current job, select FILE | Save CAP. If youare editing one and want to use a new name, select FILE | SaveCAP As. If you want to save out all CAPS in the current job toan external library, use File | Save Lib.

Under FILE | Open there are more options.

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Here you can select a CAP from the current job to load it into theeditor. When a CAP is selected you can get a preview of it onthe right side. At the bottom you can select an external library.You can either pick one CAP from it just as you would from thecurrent job list, or you can choose Merge Lib to append all CAPsin the external library to the current job. Followed with a Save libyou can update an external CAP library with more items.

Select File | Exit CAP editor to exit the CAP Editor. You can alsouse the Return to CAM editor button on the tool bar.

In the aperture table, choose the shape CUSTOM to get theoption to select a custom aperture by name. The CAP on thelist can either be from your current jobs custom library, or anexternal Library.

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Macros

Macros can automate preceding processes. The MacroExchange Web site has an example of this with the homeplatemacro. You can find it under the list of Available macros at

http://www.downstreamtech.com/support/available-macro_X.html

The homeplate macro allows you to select a pair of rectangularor square pads, and change them into a pair of homeplateshapes. It then checks the rest of the layer for matching padpairs and transforms them as well. This macro could be used asa starting point for similar macros. The macro includes instructions on how to use it when it is run. To run a macro,select MACRO | PLAY in the CAM350 menu then browse toselect the macro you want to run.

For more information about macros can be found under the helptopic “Macro Language Guide”. CAM350 uses BASIC as thecore of its macro language. Look under the heading “BasicCommands” for a list.

The Macro language Guide is a lot of information to absorb atonce, especially as most of it will not be useful in the macro youwant to write. There are quite a few commands.

Instead, try the MACRO | RECORD option in CAM350 to recorda macro that does generally what you want it to do. You canthen view the recorded macro in a text editor (like notepad) andlook up the commands using the help “SEARCH” option. Onceyou understand how the macro you recorded works, you canstart making changes to it. If it ends up doing something youdon’t want it to do, try MACRO | DEBUG. This debug mode willlet you step though the macro line by line to help you determinewhere things go wrong.

AVID Technologies provides design servicesto companies requiringadvanced and innovativeelectronic product

development, as well as a full line of CAD/CAM/CAE/PLM software solutions, training, custom programming and consultingservices. This combination of services, consulting and softwaresolutions enable AVID to extend productive and proficient costand time saving measures to companies/entities in the medical,

aerospace, industrial and automotive industries, among others.

AVID software and consulting division offersCAD/CAM/CAE/PLM solutions from DownStream Technologies,PTC, and Omnify, to help companies standardize and automate their engineering, mechanical and manufacturingdesign processes.

Phone: 800.285.2843 / [email protected]

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A STRATEGIC MILESTONE — BLUEPRINT® AND CAM350

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