FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
Sales Enablement Documentation
OrCAD Standard
INTERNAL USE ONLY Target Customer: Hobbyists, Engineers currently using free software, Small Engineering groups. Standard should be used for small, simple designs but implementation of more complex circuitry is possible with a manual process.
Feature Highlights
User-Friendly Schematic Entry
Easily create simple, single sheet schematics or more complex hierarchical, multi-sheet schematics. Ensure your design intent is communicated accurately by defining and embedding physical rules into the schematic to drive the PCB design.
Advanced PCB Layout & Implementation
Advanced Features make the most of your design time. Dynamic shapes (link is external) with real-time plowing and healing make power planes and copper pours simple and easy to manage. Quickplace, floorplanning, and placement by room streamline and optimize the board layout. Complete the connections on your board quickly and easily with interactive hug, push and shove, scribble and snake routing.
Basic Simulation
Perform Single-net PSpice simulation and pre-layout SI analysis. All PSpice simulation analysis types are included allowing you to fully understand and ensure circuit functionality (link is external) before moving to PCB.
Rule-Based Design and Real-Time Design Rule Checks
Set basic physical rules for layer-based routing, trace width, spacing and net properties. Rules are checked in real-time while you design.
Video: OrCAD Feature: Routing
3D ECAD/MCAD Co-Design
Analyze designs in 3D, generate 3D PDFs, cross probe between 3D and 2D views and check for clearance issues.
Video: OrCAD Feature: 3D
NOTE: If a customer has SOLIDWORKS, be sure to discuss CADSync
Integrated Front to Back Design
OrCAD’s tight integration with PCB allows for easy data exchange and cross probing. It is the ideal front-to-back PCB design solution, complete with support for design hierarchy.
Design for Manufacturing Analysis
Run design for manufacturing (DFM) checks while you design in real-time, to find and fix problems in your design that typically would not be caught until your board was produced.
Video: OrCAD Feature: DFM
Unified Part Search
Access to CAD Parts and 3D models directly in capture from Ultra Librarian. The unified search shows you manufacturer and distributor information as well as the availability of the symbol, footprint and 3D Model. This seamless integration makes it easy to search, review, and use complete, verified components in your design.
Video: Unified Search: OrCAD Product Feature (link is external)
Basic Autorouting and Fanout
Complete your designs faster with basic route and fanout capabilities. Autoroute a select group of nets with the included route-by-pick. Fanout specific components or nets and control direction and max length.
OrCAD Professional
INTERNAL USE ONLY Target Customer: Engineering groups with mid to high level design complexity (high-speed, differential pairs, rigid-flex, XNets, DDR). Companies producing multiples of the same design. PCB Professional contains automated technology to solve common problems like timing discrepancies, late-stage design changes, production and testing challenges, and slow time-to-market.
Note: Includes everything in standard plus:
Feature Highlights
Advanced interactive PCB editing
High-speed rules and additional features like region based rules for tight-pin areas, interactive delay tuning, etch over void detection, and more, make it easy to complete more complex design while adhering to design specifications.
Feature | Description |
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Region-Based Rules | With OrCAD constraint regions you can define physical and spacing constraints for specific regions, helping to eliminate some of these manual, error-prone tasks. Create a shape for the region and assign the constraint set. OrCAD PCB Designer automatically follows these constraints when routing in the region and returns to the default constraints when no longer in the defined region. |
Interactive Delay Tuning (link is external) | With OrCAD interactive delay tuning a real-time, pop-up meter allows you to see when the required trace length has been achieved. Simply select the trace and watch the meter as the delay tune is added. The meter will turn green when the desired length is met. |
Etch Over Void (link is external) | Segment Over Void detection in OrCAD reports problem traces with the click of a button and highlights them for you to easily review. |
Trace Length Matching (link is external) | With Constraints for Net Groups in OrCAD, you can create Constraints for minimum and maximum propagation delay in mils, nanoseconds or percentage. Or set constraints for total etch length. Create Net Groups and assign the constraints to all the nets in a group. Analyze the constraints without ever leaving the Constraint Manager. Eliminate the need to check each individual net, DRC markers flag any incorrect lengths in real-time. |
Real-Time Electrically Aware PCB Design
Ensure signal quality and manufacturability with Real-Time Electrically Aware PCB Design. With Placement Vision, view the effect placement has on components with nets affected by propagation delay, total etch length and relative propagation delay to ensure the required timing can be achieved. With Route Vision, identify problems while you route such as non-ideal pad entry, parallel gap less than preferred, and more and optimize routes with a single click. Once placement and routing are complete, easily analyze your traces and ensure signal quality with Impedance Vision and Coupling vision.
Feature | Description |
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Real-Time Coupling Analysis (link is external) | Easily and quickly identify coupling issues without always having to rely on the SI expert. |
Real-Time Impedance Analysis (link is external) | Easily and quickly identify impedance discontinuity issues visually, without simulation models or extensive signal integrity expertise. |
Automated Rigid-Flex Design
Complete Rigid-Flex Designs with ease using contour etch routing to follow your unique flex shape with pre-defined spacing. Ensure your rigid-flex design will function as intended with specific rules for rigid and flex portions of the design and dynamic zone design rule checks.
Video: Rigid-Flex Design (Coming Soon)
Design Reuse and Replication
Do you have reoccurring circuitry in a design or use the same circuit in multiple designs? Complete PCB layout quickly with the ability to replicate an existing circuit.
Feature | Description |
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Replicate Redundant Circuits (link is external) | With placement replication in OrCAD, once a circuit is defined, easily create a place replicate module. Create a reuse module from already completed circuitry and save it to your library for future use. When you apply the module, OrCAD PCB Designer automatically configures the circuit layout and spacing. It’s as easy as copy and paste, but with the added ability to manage the module and share it with your entire team. |
Advanced Autorouting
Additional capabilities allow you to easily route differential pairs (link is external) to meet specific design requirements and automatically route some or all of your board including preferences for fanouts, vias, tuning, test points and more.
Feature | Description |
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Real-Time Dynamic Diff Pair Routing (link is external) | Easily meet length and phase pin-to-pin constraints as traces bend without creating electrical issues. |
Real-Time Route Analysis (link is external) | Real-time interactive checks help you easily find and fix common route quality issues that manufacturing DRC signoff checks miss. |
Auto Routing (link is external) | The industry standard Auto-router in OrCAD ensures your design will be completed on time. Set up the required parameters for the auto-router to follow and define the number of passes. Set preferences for fanouts, vias, tuning, test points and more. Then let the auto-router do the work. |
Streamline manufacturing and testing with backdrilling (link is external), dynamic shape filets, and automatic test points. Download the manufacturer’s technology file from the DesignTrue DFM Partner Portal and automatically ensure your manufacturer’s specific minimum tolerances are met with DesignTrue DFM checks. Use PCB Panelization to setup and manage your fabrication panels directly within PCB Editor.
Feature | Description |
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Automated Backdrilling Support (link is external) | Remove unused sections of plated through holes in high-speed designs to improve signal integrity. |
Dynamic Shape Fillets at the pads (link is external) | Manually adding fillets and teardrops can add weeks to your design. And allowing a board house to add them after design completion, will leave you unaware of effects on your board. Dynamic Shape Fillets in OrCAD allows you to automate this process easily and ensures your design intent is unchanged. Simply set the required parameters for the teardrops or fillets or highlight the selection of pins or vias and OrCAD PCB Designer automatically creates the shapes. |
Automatic test point creation (link is external) | Eliminate the need to manually add test points to your design. OrCAD allows you to automatically create test points, ensuring no opens or shorts are created in the assembly, all while adhering to strict fabrication requirements. |
DesignTrue DFM (link is external) | Checking for DFM issues DRC violations are shown in the design canvas in real-time while designing, because the best time to find and fix errors as well as a faster completion time for the designs. |
Built-in SI Analysis
Simple SI simulations can be performed to ensure your circuit functions as intended with post-layout analysis and X-Net support. You don’t need to be an SI expert to explore, identify and solve “What-if” scenarios for high-speed signals on your board.
Feature | Description |
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Z-axis and package pin delay (link is external) | Measure from true signal origin to end point through vias and through packages, not just the etch, so you can get timing right and ensure signal performance. |
Extended Net (XNet) Creation and Post-Layout Analysis (link is external) | Use the SI Design Setup Wizard to walk you through all the necessary information and steps to perform SI simulations- including XNET creation. Then perform post-layout analysis and create “what if” scenarios on critical high-speed signal on your board. |
Improve overall productivity and efficiency with a collection of time-reducing functions. Quickly and easily manage component placement and routing for circular boards with Polar Grid. Auto-silkscreen component name location/rotation and optimization with Label Tuning. Highlight padstacks in design by color with the Padstack finder. Change the signal or net name on an existing via without deleting and intersections of re-adding the via. Create shapes that are not based on a grid, but on other objects using drafting utility. Advanced post-processing allows you to create post-processed data in a set order that can be saved and easily reproduced to match manufacturers requirements.
Video Coming Soon: Updated Productivity Toolbox Overivew Video
Allegro
INTERNAL USE ONLY Target Customer: Engineering groups working on highly complex designs where effective collaboration is essential. Additional Automation and capabilities for high-speed designs, built-in simulation for signal integrity and signal quality issues, optimized component placement and embedded components.
Note: Includes everything in Standard and Pro plus:
Allegro + Options General Highlights
Intelligent Design for Manufacturing
Allegro guides you through the process in real-time with features such as dynamic DFA, placement guidance, shape-based fillets, and a full suite of DFM rules, so you can avoid manufacturing errors before they happen.
Dynamic Collaboration and Planning
Effectively design and validate your flow plan with real-time shapes, multiple module and IP reuse features, and intelligent design planning (link is external), making rapid implementation of your final etch possible.
Proactive Signal Quality Design Capabilities
Achieve peak signal quality performance with automated signal shielding, modeless indesign analysis for impedance (link is external), coupling (link is external), crosstalk (link is external), reflection (link is external) and IR drop (link is external), as well as automated return path analysis and more.
Next-Generation Technology
Give yourself the capability to complete next-level design with features such as chip-on-board, tabbed routing, fiber-weave, embedded constraints, and more.
Intuitive High-speed Design Capabilities
Allegro’s auto-interactive delay and phase tune, auto rules-based routing, timing vision (link is external) and reusable electrical rules sets provides unparalleled insight into your board and routes. With immediate design feedback, you can complete your designs up to 4x faster.
Allegro Breakdown
Allegro Base
Effectively solve signal integrity issues with additional electrical constraints for parallelism to assist with exposed length and crosstalk in your designs. Seamlessly create and manage complicated vias with capabilities to create and save via structures for reuse in your designs, manage vias with rules to define via count, and match vias on differential pairs. As your design requirements change or increase in complexity, you can add on feature options tailored to your current needs
Feature | Description |
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Dynamic DFA | Checking for DFM issues DRC violations are shown in the design canvas in real-time while designing, because the best time to find and fix errors as well as a faster completion time for the designs. |
Via Rules and Match | Advanced capabilities for vias including saving via structures for reuse and additional rules for maximum via counts and matched vias on differential pairs. |
High speed Option
Quickly and easily identify signal integrity issues to improve overall design performance with the high-speed option from Allegro. Easily design for DDR3, DDR4, PCIe, and USB 3.0 with features such as auto-interactive delay and phase tune, tabbed and off angle routing, and fiberweave. Timing Vision (link is external) allows you to graphically see real-time delay and phase information directly on the routing canvas, allowing you to easily select and tune problem nets automatically.
Feature | Description |
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Timing Vision (link is external) | Easily detect and resolve any timing issues such as delay and phase in real-time with the help of color-coded overlays on your canvas. |
Return Path DRC (link is external) | Allegro analyzes your design to provide real-time insights and feedback to help you find and avoid potential return path issues. As you work, traces are color coded so you can quickly identify potential issues. Mousing over an issue displays powerful, actionable information about the violation, including what rule isn’t met, the rule value, and actual values in your design. And the colors dynamically update as you make adjustments so you can visually confirm your issues are resolved. |
Miniaturization Option
Create reliable, powerful, compact designs and ensure HDI project success by enabling a rules-driven HDI design flow with rules for HDI spacing, stacking and micro-via insert. Additional capabilities and manufacturing rules for embedded package components (link is external) ensures overall design success and reliability.
Feature | Description |
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Embedded Package Components | Utilize embedded components for shorter signal paths, increased performance and reduced PCB size. |
Rules-Driven HDI Flow (link is external) | Properly managing impedance is critical of managing the signal integrity of your board. But DRC based rules-driven checks only measure generic rules of thumb. With impedance analysis workflow integrated within the Allegro canvas you can easily identify and resolve real SI problems in your design. |
Productivity Toolbox
Improve overall productivity and efficiency with a collection of time-reducing functions and additional technology. Compare revisions of Gerber files with Design Compare capabilities. Manage variants in the assembly and bill of materials to accommodate differences in the design. Incorporate RF into your design with the Coil Designer and Shield Router. Use Panelization to setup and manage your fabrication panels directly within the PCB software. The Allegro Productivity Toolbox also contains additional functionality for ZDRC, CAF, Mask Generation and more.
INTERNAL USE ONLY NOTE: Allegro Productivity Toolbox IS COMPATIBLE with OrCAD level software. (Can be used in conjunction with OrCAD PCB Standard or Professional. You do not need Allegro to use this.
Team Design Option
The Allegro Symphony Team Design Option solves large team collaboration issues with two ways for design teams to collaborate: concurrently using a shared canvas and distributed team design with partitioned canvas. Now multiple designers can work on the same design, providing a time savings of up to 70%.
Design Planning Option
Utilize your board space and layers efficiently with the Design Planning Option. Net groups and automatically created net bundles allow you to visualize the entire interconnect, assign bundles to specific layers and create flow plans to communicate your design intent. Auto-Interactive Breakout technology is also included to help route BGA’s.
Analog/RF Option
Shorten the time it takes to integrate RF circuits on mixed signal designs. RF Designs can be easily created with additional functionality for parameterized etch element generation, RF etch element editing, via array placement, copper shape creation and copper shape editing. With the Layout-driven approach, automatically generate schematics for RF subcircuits that were added to the PCB layout with back annotation.
Routing Option
Efficiently route large complex boards with a 256 layer auto-router. To help with high-speed designs, the Routing Option contains additional technology to handle net scheduling, timing, crosstalk, layer set routing, net shielding and more. DFM-rules driven routing improves manufacturing yields with automatic conductor spreading, mitred corners and test points.
Manufacturing Option
The Allegro PCB Designer Manufacturing Option provides a comprehensive, powerful, easy-to-use suite of tools that makes it efficient and cost effective for PCB designers to streamline the development of release-to-manufacturing packages for their products. It includes three modules: Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Checker, Documentation Editor (link is external), and Panel Editor.