TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS

TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMSDesigning printed circuit boards (PCBs) is the backbone of electrical engineering, answering the ongoing need for smaller, more efficient ways to power electronics. With the rise of the IoT, PCB design is having a resurgence in importance and growing more advanced to meet the needs of new IoT devices, which will grow from 20 billion in 2017 to more than 75 billion connected devices in 20251.

Choosing the right PCB design platform to use is important. Software selection should take into consideration usage, features, cost, and functional scalability to facilitate future growth. Evaluate your options based on your design goals, what your product is and its complexity.

Free and low-cost CAD libraries like Ultra Librarian can power additional design efficiency by providing ready-to-use symbols and footprints that save hours of time.

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PCB Designers Face Many Challenges Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Today’s Leading PCB Design Platforms

Cadence Allegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Mentor Xpedition Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Altium Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Mentor PADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Cadence OrCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

AutoDesk Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

KiCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The Future of PCB Design Platforms. . . . . . 11

Design Faster With Platform-Neutral ECAD Library Tools. . . . . . . 12

INDEX

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PCB DESIGNERS FACE MANY CHALLENGES TODAY, INCLUDING:

› New devices in higher pin-count packages, with ever-shrinking pitches

› Evolving standards-based interfaces - such as DDR3, DDR4, PCI Express®

(PCIe®) Gen3, USB 3.0 and others - that require new methods of implementation

› Continued miniaturization of electromechanical devices, which is forcing the need for tighter ECAD/MCAD validation and a closed-loop process (Tip: The ability to design and collaborate in 3D can mitigate interference and clearance issues.)

› Time-to-market, which is critical for both startups and next-gen product development teams at established enterprises

› Design for manufacturing (DFM) review and simulation are critical for first revision success and to minimize scrap or costly “bone pile”

re-spins (especially for custom packages that are time-consuming and error-prone to build)

› Having to change design capabilities to meet evolving standards

› Finding the content needed for PCB design - a typical engineer spends half their day creating and maintaining their CAD libraries, a huge time drain

› The need for trustworthy design analysis tools to improve integrity, reduce crosstalk, etc.

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Summary: A leading enterprise solution with an extensive feature set and unique high-end processes. It may cost more and take a bit more time to learn than some of our other featured tools, but the capabilities are worth it.

Target Persona: The advanced PCB designer pushing the boundaries of technology and system design methodology requiring high-end routing, SI/PI analysis, and next generation collaboration and concurrent engineering techniques, generally in large, complex enterprise environments.

Key Features:› A scalable, constraint-driven solution that supports multiple design approaches› For simple to complex PCBs, including those with RF etch components› Addresses everything from electrical analysis to multi-board signal

simulations in the multi-gigabit range› Streamlines the process for ECAD/MCAD collaboration

› World-class auto-place and auto-route› Reusable design segments

› Provides leading chip, package, board solutions environment› Advanced interactive and auto interactive routing guided

by in design analysis› Enterprise library and data management with

configurable analytics

TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS: CADENCE ALLEGRO

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TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS: MENTOR XPEDITION ENTERPRISE

Summary: For larger companies with complex multi-department processes, this leading enterprise solution is powerful and capable. It has extensive features and capabilities comparable to Cadence Allegro, as well as industry-unique methodologies.

Target Persona: The “tall thin” designer working on complex multi-board FPGA systems designed in a multi-discipline enterprise environment and ready to invest some time to learn all the capabilities of an extremely powerful platform.

Key Features: › Hyperlink environment for simulation› Library management, which large enterprises require› Tight integration between schematic design and PCB layout› Collaborative placement and routing of highly complex PCBs› Contains many industry-unique technologies that address advanced

business needs › World-class auto-place and auto-route

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TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS: ALTIUM DESIGNER

Summary: It’s an all-in one inclusive solution for the mainstream marketplace. Not as robust as Allegro or Xpedition, but popular due to its ease of use, unified design/FPGA environment, intuitive collaboration, engineering reach and successful marketing.

Target Persona: The designer who needs to do a lot with very little, usually at startups, small to mid-sized companies and service bureaus.

Key Features: › A unified view of electronic and mechanical design › Intuitive 3D MCAD integration and step-model integration› Photorealistic look in 3D environment› Ability to import 3D enclosures over layout for view

fit check/conflicts› Allows users to create without restrictions,

which provides flexibility but can lead to incorrect or poor designs

› The higher-end capabilities are less robust compared to other tools

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TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS: MENTOR PADS

Summary: Mentor is a long-standing traditional tool with powerful capabilities, well-known for its ease of use, excellent support and reliability and strong ecosystem.

Target Persona: The flexible generalist, the “short and fat” designer at small and mid-sized companies that are doing it all on a tight budget.

Key Features: › Lower entry point/cost of ownership than Mentor Xpedition› New 3D checks allow for enclosure/3D conflict DRCs› ASCII-based netlisting capabilities allow for manual override/

editing of package features› True cross-probing is bi-directional when using DX-Designer or

PADSLogic (not cross-highlight)

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Summary: A progressive PCB design solution for any design engineer at a more attractive price point than enterprise level solutions. Built on the Cadence Allegro platform, OrCAD offers high performance and reliability, while providing users the option to scale easily as their design requirements increase.

Target Persona: For individual PCB designers and smaller design teams at mid- sized companies that require scalable PCB technology and a supporting ecosystem.

Key Features: › Scalable PCB design solution including schematic, layout, libraries, simulation, supply chain connections, data management, and ECAD/ MCAD integration› PCB layout based on Allegro technology

› Powerful and easy to use interactive routing environment› Constraint management for high speed designs with real-time

DRC and DFM checking› Integrated analog and SI/PI simulation with PSpice and Sigrity

› Lacks some higher-end capabilities, but scalability to Allegro provides easy path to an enterprise solution

TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS: CADENCE ORCAD

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TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS: AUTODESK EAGLE

Summary: With a subscription model, it’s ideal for engineers working on smaller projects for shorter periods of time. While relatively capable for simpler projects, there are serious limitations for many professional uses.

Target Persona: Popular mostly with hobbyists due to its origins as a free tool, but you’ll be surprised at who uses it - for example, enterprise innovation labs will use it for its speed and ease of use for simpler design jobs.

Key Features: › Strong community with plugins for automating parts of the process› Low-cost, subscription pricing› Many demo boards and reference designs are available in Eagle › Lacks quality higher-end capabilities like auto-place and auto-route

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Summary: An entry-level, user-supported tool with a large following of people looking for a free design tool. With daily updates, it changes so fast that it can’t be verified for enterprise use. But it’s one of today’s fastest-growing platforms.

Target Persona: For startups and hobbyists working on simpler PCB design projects.

Key Features: › Totally free and open-source› Making noteworthy progress in product quality and

capabilities › An integrated environment for schematic capture and

PCB layout design› Tools to create a BOM, artwork, Gerber files and 3D

views of PCBs and components› Users can customize

TODAY’S LEADING PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS: KICAD

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THE FUTURE OF PCB DESIGN PLATFORMS

› More integrated solutions pairing mechanical and PCB

› More modularity of design with higher-level building blocks and reference architectures that can be dragged and dropped into designs

› More intelligence in the design environment with intelligent recommendations and personalization

› More DFM tools that support SMT assembly, not just PCB fabrication

› True 3D collaborative design to and from 3D native MCAD tools

› Increasing ability to translate, import and export from one EDA tool to the next

› Costs will go down due to pressures from new low-cost and free tools

› High-end capabilities like auto-routing and auto-placing will become faster and more accurate as computer power continues to increase

› Simulation of all types will become more common and necessary

› Content that can be seamlessly integrated into the design environment will become more important

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DESIGN FASTER...

Join the many designers who are speeding up their design process by

downloading TE Connectivity PCB footprints and schematic symbols on TE.com.

This informational ebook is brought to you by TE Connectivity. It was produced by AspenCore with information from leading PCB designers.

WITH PLATFORM-NEUTRAL ECAD LIBRARY TOOLS LIKE ULTRA LIBRARIAN, REGARDLESS OF WHICH PCB DESIGN PLATFORM YOU USE

Parts libraries with millions of pre-built parts can help you design faster with the ability to preview and download symbols, footprints and 3D STEP models in native CAD formats. Designers make more informed part decisions by easily reviewing pricing, availability, compliance and datasheets.

With a CAD-neutral library, design teams can work with different CAD tools, yet still get a consistent set of parts from a single library. Programmatically created parts can be re-factored to a user’s design requirements compared to a static part in a library.

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