CADSTAR What's New
A review of recent CADSTAR releases to highlight new features
CADSTAR 13.0 offers an intuitive high-speed design workflow with a constraint management system available during circuit design that can drive and be used for verification during PCB Layout. CADSTAR offers seamless communication with your MCAD department (supporting ACIS, STEP, STL, DXF and IDF), running collision checks in a 3D environment, and the necessary design rule checks before creating your manufacturing output. High-speed design is supported with access to signal integrity, EMC, and power integrity analysis embedded directly in the CADSTAR design flow.
- Constraint Browser – enter high-speed constraints concurrently during circuit design
- Topology Editor – predefine correct pin order during circuit design to control timing and quality of high-speed signals
- Placement Planner – advanced floor-planning for engineers to conduct placement studies, design with reuse circuit and layout blocks, and communicating correct design intent for PCB layout
- IDF Interface – improve collaboration between MCAD and ECAD to drive board outlines, component placement and keep-out areas
- Power Integrity Advance – ensure proper behavior of power distribution systems embedded within CADSTAR design flow
- Dockable Active Report – improved ease-of-use of managing reports during circuit and layout design
- Automatic Drill Drawing and Table Generation – save time and effort during documentation with enhanced features to improve communication with manufacturing
- Update parts with local library – reduce design times with local part edits and easy updates into designs with reports to compare changes with master library.
CADSTAR 12.1 offers an intuitive work flow, from schematics creation, board and FPGA level system design, through to PCB layout, seamless communication with your MCAD department (supporting ACIS, STEP, STL and IDF), running collision checks in an 3D environment, and the necessary design rule checks before creating your manufacturing output. High-speed design is supported and signal integrity and EMC analysis can be included.
- Re-use of design
- OLE interface to MRP, ERP or E-PLM sysems, direct storage in any ODBC-compliant database
- Analysis and Verification - meeting high speed, high density, geometry extaction and analysis
- Integration with MCAD - BoardModeler Lite - 3D view of physical design of the complete PCB
- PCB Design Editor - Intelligent automation is theme for the enhanced Embedded Router
- P.R.Editor XR HS (Place & Route High-Speed) - powerful placement and routing tool is optimised for speed and accuracy, to tackle today’s dense PCB designs
- Ease of use - NEW GUI - start page that will allow easy access to recent designs, help files, tutorials
- True STAR-point routing in both the Design Editor and the Place and Route Editor tools (particular interesting for mixed sgnal boards)
- Design Migration Tool
- Starting Schematic and PCB Design Wizard
Delivering some new exciting features that will help reduce your time-to-market but most of all make designing EASIER!
- Re-use of Design
- Part Acceptance Attribute
- Attribute Editor
- Ease of use - NEW GUI
- Design Migration Tool
- Starting Schematic and PCB Design Wizard
As well as the introduction of the Dragon Router, CADSTAR 11 saw the release of these exciting new developements:
- Intelligent busses
- Auto connect symbols
- Schematic Symbol Creation wizard to output multiple gates
- Sheet Signal References for easy browsing through the hierarchical schematics
- Hide pins when a symbol is connected
- Highlight unconnected pins in schematics providing an easy overview for engineers if they forgot to connect a pin
- Highlight nets using multiple colors
- Positional symbol rename in schematics
- Intelligent native PDF output for documentation
- Customizable Report Generator to output Bill of Materials or any other information as you require
- Additional products are available such as:
- The Variant Manager allowing the designer to change any parts to match all the different product and international requirements, storing all the information in a single CADSTAR Schematic and PCB design
- Interfaces with spice simulators
- CADSTAR FPGA synchronizing your FPGA and PCB design.
It has never been easier to control your PCB or Schematic design. The enhanced CADSTAR design modules offer features such as:
- Version control for Components & Symbols (both in PCB and Schematic)
- Intelligent busses
- Support of Rules by Area in Design Editor
- User-defined Attributes for Components & Symbols
- Automatic Library reload
- Even more windows-compliant functionalities like multiple color choice and function key definition.
Below is a summary of major enhancements:
- Enhanced Back Annotation - Back annotation has been enhanced to work directly with a PCB design.
- Plated and Non-Plated Through-Hole Identification - Differentiate between plated & non-plated drill holes in drill drawings.
- Report Generator - For Each Part - Allow "For Each Part" loops in report generator.
Plus other significant enhancements to...
- General Design process
- P.R.Editor XR
For more information on CADSTAR and how you can upgrade to the latest release, please contact your local CADSTAR Distributor