PCB Layout Tools in OrCAD X

Key Takeaways

• OrCAD X offers a highly flexible and customizable workspace, allowing designers to adjust toolbars, panes, and control layer visibility.

• With features such as easy-to-use commands, hotkeys, and support for manual or assisted routing, OrCAD X enhances the efficiency of working with BGAs and high-pin count devices.

• OrCAD X enhances design productivity by providing customizable grids, snapping configurations for proper element spacing and alignment, and straightforward shape drawing and editing.

DDR Trace Routing with OrCAD X Presto PCB Editor

OrCAD X Presto PCB Editor refreshes PCB design through a new intuitive interface, blending power and technology for seamless navigation, placement, routing, analysis, and visualization. The right PCB layout tools can play a huge impact on designers’ abilities, crucial for turning ideas into reality, emphasizing the need for advanced features. In the discussion below, we'll delve into some important features found in OrCAD X PCB layout tools, highlighting how they contribute to design productivity.

OrCAD X PCB Layout Tools

Controlling visibility and color of layers in OrCAD X Presto PCB Editor

Workspace Customization for Streamlined Layout Workflows

OrCAD X enhances the layout stage with its highly modifiable windows and intuitive control over the visibility and color of layers. Users can customize their workspace by rearranging floating toolbars and panes, which can be pinned, unpinned, or left floating. This flexibility extends to controlling layer visibility and color, making it straightforward to manage the appearance of different elements within the design.

Routing on specific layers is also made effortless, eliminating the need to navigate through menus to enable essential elements such as DDR signals or silkscreen text adjustments. The visibility pane plays a critical role here, especially the nets tab, which allows designers to quickly find and locate specific nets. Assigning colors to these nets helps highlight them on the canvas, providing clarity on how signals are connected across multiple layers.

Place and Route DRAM Module Fanout Example in OrCAD X Presto PCB Editor

Place & Route With a New Layout Interface

OrCAD X simplifies the PCB design process by offering a user-friendly interface that enhances accessibility in interactive routing and placement. It allows users to quickly select routing commands from a floating toolbar or use hotkeys to connect nets. It also enables swift transitions between manual and assisted routing methods such as hug, shove, and clearance view.

The platform streamlines working with BGAs and high-pin count devices by simplifying fanout usage, supported by visual graphics for functionality explanation. This ensures optimal design fits, aids in managing signal integrity for high-frequency signals through visual graphics, via placement previews, and the configuration of via arrays. 

Design Flexibility Features

Drawing shapes in OrCAD X Presto PCB Editor

During the layout stage, settings, commands, and design data are made easily accessible, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple menus or manually adjust settings. The software features customizable grids and multiple snapping configurations, which are crucial for ensuring proper spacing, clearances, and alignment of design elements, thus facilitating quick adjustments in component placement and routing. 

Adding and editing shapes is straightforward, allowing designers to select, draw, and modify shapes based on specific requirements like shape use, layer, and net. OrCAD X also offers enhanced visualization capabilities, enabling designers to switch between 2D and 3D views, view designs from various camera angles, and quickly highlight nets and components to review connections. This is useful to visualize component size on the board after placement. 

The properties pane and search panel provide detailed information about design elements and enable efficient troubleshooting of DRC errors, with a clear list of design issues and the ability to navigate directly to the problem area for quick fixes during layout. These features collectively enhance the design experience, allowing for faster completion of complex PCB layouts.

Discover how advanced PCB layout tools in OrCAD X can make your designs come to life through a free trial of OrCAD X today and experience unparalleled design productivity!