Have you written a macro and want to execute it quickly and easily with a custom defined shortcut key? That’s easy to do in PADS! Application Note MG579433, written by Bill Tkachuk and Todd Hendren, give you step-by-step directions on how to record a macro, then assign it to a shortcut key of your choice.
You can find the app note at https://supportnet.mentor.com/reference/appnotes/index.cfm?id=MG579433
Jim
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A few weeks ago I was visiting a nearby customer to demonstrate the powerful ELDO SPICE simulator as an add-on to our HyperLynx Analog simulation lauchpad. To navigate through the schematic, I clicked on the arrows I use for links on the cover page to jump to the page for simulation. After the demo was complete the customer asked me, “You clicked on an arrow on the table of contents page and ended … Read More
After years of pooh-poohing AMD, Intel had to admit you could get more data throughput switching to a high-speed serial approach. Let’s say high-speed serial is in the 1 to 10 Gbps range per lane, and use PCIe as an example. This is where the benefits become irresistible and the behavior becomes unexpected according to the previous rules of layout design.
The PCIe specification helps define the different … Read More
If signal integrity engineers had the power to make their jobs as easy as possible, every signal in an electronic device would have its own coaxial cable to connect driver to transmitter. But then electronics would be the size of buildings again and certainly wouldn’t fit in your pocket. So instead, we try to cram as much stuff as possible onto a little PCB and make it work at 100s and 1000s … Read More
One of the nice things about newer, faster busses like DDR3 and DDR4 is on-die termination. They are nice because you don’t have a bunch of components clogging up your routing layers, and I would say more importantly, it limits your required layer transitions which can help make your boards quieter. So take advantage of the fact that you don’t have to route out to a terminator and try … Read More
In the past I have blogged about crossing splits in reference planes. This is probably the most glaringly obvious of reference plane changes, and will of course result in radiation from the signal.
But another type of reference plane change which is more common, and usually much less avoidable, is when a signal transitions layers through a via. In such a case, the reference planes will change and … Read More
This Tip is Shared by Yan Killy, Technical Marketing Engineer
There are technology and fabrication reasons why designers on occasion need to change the width of a trace during interactive routing. In PADS, you can easily accomplish this with settings in Design Rules and the use of Modeless Commands.
Using Design Rules you set can up the trace width range for all nets or one net in particular. In … Read More
Much of the your end PCB product costs can be directly influenced by the parts selected up front during the schematic capture phase of the design process. When you incorporate information into the designer’s part selection interface such as preferred part status, compliance, and/or obsolescence, you can reduce the work and rework of designs thus saving you additional costs.
Today, it is a challenge … Read More
Short for Web-based seminar, a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web. This week the DxDesigner team completed a series of 4 webinars with the following titles:
Unleash the Full Power of Your PCB Design Software Tools
Is Your PCB Engineering Team Collaborating Efficiently?
Scalable Design Creation Technology for Your PCB Design Flow
Reduce Product Costs with … Read More
Since FPGAs, field programmable gate arrays, are in their very nature fluid and changing, how do you force them into your electronics design techniques that all assume fixed parts? Hardware design uses, well… hardware, physical chips and resistors that have fixed functionality. We pull parts from libraries, wire them up, lay etch and build the gizmo. FPGAs throw out the definition of hardware … Read More
Did you know that support for documenting your designs with custom borders has been enhanced in recent releases of DxDesigner to automate and improve the ease of use and accuracy in documenting your electronic designs. Several Parameterized Properties reflect the current design information on your border symbol. Properties like @NAME, @SHEET, and @PRINTORDER are used to display the information specified … Read More
Because of today’s difficult design environments, business demands closely correspond with component selection for push for time-to-market demands, minimum flexibility in schedules, and constant pressure for productivity costs. Parts selected during PCB schematic capture directly impact the cost of the finished product.
Mentor Graphics PCB Data Management System (DMS) can lower product cost by incorporating … Read More
In the blog post on Chromatic Color Schemes Within DxDesigner I offered a prize for the best color scheme submitted!
I want to congratulate LeYuan for the winning entry and thank everyone who entered and responded back with the color schemes you use or designed.
Stay tuned for another promotion soon and feel free to comment or respond to any of the DxDesigner blogs and ask your own questions to the … Read More
Are you aware of the power of the DxDesigner Navigator in EE7.9.4 or PADS 9.5? As shipped the Navigator isn’t very exciting in appearance with the default display in the tree of symbol names and net names. But it is useful for opening pages, zooming to a component, renaming nets and components or simply selecting a net and double clicking to zoom to fit. Design information is lacking, because … Read More
Do you need to do more with your schematic? Are you frustrated with PADS Logic? It’s time to take a fresh look at a front-end layout tool that enables complete PCB design creation.
You can use DxDesigner for its many strengths, including:
Ease of use
Easy to learn
Tightly integrated with PADS layout
Take a look as I tell you more about the relationship between PADS Logic and DxDesigner, and … Read More