DxDesigner for Expedition PCB Flow (v2005)

Duration:  3 Days
Course Part Number: 220882

Contact us for details about training at your site 

Course Overview

The DxDesigner for the Expedition Flow course was developed to improve your knowledge and skills with Design Definition solutions. Using the DxDesigner tools suite, you will gain proficiency in project management with Dashboard, schematic capture with DxDesigner, part selection using DxDatabook and much more. You will also learn how to prepare your final schematic for interfacing with Mentor’s Expedition PCB layout tool.

Detailed lab exercises help reinforce what is discussed during the lectures and provide you with extensive tool usage experience under the guidance of our industry expert instructors.  

You will learn how to

• Use DxDesigner proficiently in the creation of flat and hierarchical schematic designs
• Place wires and buses in the design to create net connections
• Use DxDatabook to search, select, and verify parts used in your design 
• Create symbols for your schematics through a variety of methods, including the Symbol Wizard
• Effectively build intelligence into your design using attributes
• Annotate and Document the schematic design using DxDesigner Utilities including: DxPDF, Partslister, the cross-reference utility, and DxVariantManager
• Compile, package and export your schematic to Expedition PCB for place and route
• Use CES to create and assign constraints to your design and pass that information to Expedition

Hands-On Labs

Throughout this course, extensive hands-on lab exercises provide you with practical experience using DxDesigner software. Hands-on lab topics include: 

• Creating a project and setting up projects in Dashboard
• Configuring DxDesigner
• Schematic creation for flat and hierarchical designs
• Symbol graphics creation
• Adding Attributes to symbols and schematics
• Design Reuse
•  Net label cross-referencing 
• Interfacing to Expedition PCB layout tool
• Setting constraints with CES
•  A student design challenge that pulls together all aspects of the tool discussed during class

Audience

• Engineers and schematic designers who will use DxDesigner to create schematics that will be used as "front end" designs for Mentor’s Expedition PCB layout tool
• CAD Engineers and Managers who will be responsible for integration of the DxDesigner tool suite in their design flow
• PCB Designers who would like to have a good understanding of the front-end schematic capture process

Prerequisites

• Familiarity with Windows XP, NT, 2000 or UNIX operating systems.

Key Topics

DxDesigner Introduction

• General Design Flow
• DxDesigner Environment
• Schematic Definition
• Symbol Definition
• Projects and Libraries
• DxDesigner Objects and Properties
• DxDesigner Support Files
• DxDesigner to Expedition PCB Flow
• Introduction to Dashboard
• Getting Help in Dashboard and DxDesigner
• SupportNet
• Configurator

Projects and Libraries

• Projects Directory Structure
• Creating Projects for Expedition Flow
• Opening and Using Existing Projects
• Adding/Importing Libraries to Project

Creating Schematics

• Tips and Techniques for Efficient Schematic Capture
• Keyboard Key Bindings for Use in DxDesigner
• Strokes in DxDesigner
• DxDesigner Commands
• Adding Components to Schematics
• Adding Components Using DxDatabook
• Component Arrays
• Component Properties
• Component Attributes
• Adding Nets/Busses and Net/Bus Labels
• FastDraw Mode in DxDesigner
• Adding/IDeleting New Schematic Sheets
• Saving/Restoring Designs

Modifying Schematics            

• DxDesigner Add-ins
• Component Replacement Using DxDataBook
• Finding/Replacing Objects in Schematics
• Modifying Multiple Attributes
• ProjectNavigator Contents Add-in
• Verification using DxDatabook

Creating Symbols

• Symbol Block Types
• Symbol Anatomy
• Symbol Creation Process
• Symbol Wizard for Symbol Creation
• Selection Filter
• Tips and Techniques
• FPGA Symbol Creation
• Creating Symbols for a Schematic
• Heterogeneous Devices

Design Reuse

• Occurrence Attributes (OATs)
• Hierarchical Blocks
• FUBs
• Hierarchical Attribute Replacement
• Design Variants Using DxVariantManager
• Using/Copying Schematics From Other Projects

Checking and Documenting Schematics        

• Checking Schematics
• Verifying Parts in Multi-sheet Designs Using DxDatabook
• Design Rule Checking (ViewDRC)
• Creating Parts Lists
• DxVariantManager Bill of Material (BOM)
• Creating Cross Reference in Schematics (Scout)
• Archiving Designs
• PDF Schematics
• Printing Schematics

Interfacing to Expedition PCB

• General PCB Flow
• Forward Annotating the Netlist to Expedition PCB
• Backannotating ECO from Expedition PCB to DxDesigner

Adding Constraints using CES

• Constraint Definition
• Constraint Editor System (CES)
• CES in Expedition PCB Flow
• Constraint Setup
• Creating Net Classes
• Creating Clearance, Parallelism and Cross Talk Rules
• Synchronizing DxDesigner and Expedition Constraints