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Major productivity enhancements to Zuken’s desktop PCB design suite CADSTAR
include faster and more accurate automated routing
Placement orientation now accurate to 1/1000 th
degree
September
7th, 2004– Bristol, UK -
Zuken announces CADSTAR 7.0, a
major revision to its scalable, front-to-back desktop
PCB design suite. Enhancements include increased
routing precision for high-density and miniaturized
boards, improved place-and-route automation, definition
of lengthening track patterns constraints through
a graphical user interface, and a new search tool
for finding components and other design items faster.
A tool for simulation and verification, CADSTAR SI
Verify eliminates unnecessary design iterations and
is available as an option with the CADSTAR 7.0 solution.
Using the upgraded tool suite,
placement can now be done with 1/1000 th degree precision,
enabling even the most densely populated boards to
be accurately placed and tight design constraints
to be set. This feature is also important for designers
of integrated circuit test boards, as test probing
points need to be meticulously defined.
The place-and-route editor within
the tool suite has additional customization and scripting
options to improve user productivity. Custom menus
can be created, keyboards can be re-mapped to match
the requirements of individual users or host systems,
and comprehensive scripting references have been
added. New routing wizards guide users, via a graphical
user interface, through step-by-step automated routing
routines for complete boards. Copper pour can now
be configured to automatically re-pour whenever there
are changes. This enables the user to route through
copper area, and the copper will be re-poured to
prevent errors.
Where track lengths need to be
adjusted to achieve timing goals, a lengthening wizard
has been introduced that allows users to choose their
preferred track pattern, via a pull-down menu, for
lengthening individual tracks or differential pairs.
Another improvement is the ability
to define constraints within component footprints.
If the component is moved, the constrained footprint
area automatically moves with it. Also, the search
tool is now faster and easier to use when locating
components or other design elements.
Higher performance routers in
the P.R.Editor XR 2000 and 5000 families can also
be specified as add-on options with CADSTAR 7.0.
Amongst other enhancements, constraints can be defined
in terms of both length and delay.
In addition, the high-speed versions
of the routers enable skew constraints to be set,
making it easier to route buses while ensuring that
all nets are routed within defined tolerances, preventing
timing problems and improving signal integrity control.
The
CADSTAR SI Verify module provides post-layout simulation
and verification. Operating at up to Gigabit speeds,
the tool uses a transmission line simulation approach
to analyze reflection and crosstalk effects and
also facilitates real interconnect timing and delay
analysis. It incorporates a graphical scenario
editor, layer stack definition for optimization
of impedances and layers, an EMC device library,
and the option to perform interactive simulation
or batch simulation. Using CADSTAR SI Verify cuts
design iterations, particularly in high-speed and
densely populated designs where design ‘rules-of-thumb’ are
no longer accurate enough.
CADSTAR
7 is available now, and costs from € 3,650
/ $3,495.
+++ends
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About
CADSTAR
CADSTAR is a Windows-based solution
for PCB design that spans schematic capture, placement, routing,
library creation and management, signal integrity, EMC analysis,
and production of manufacturing data. CADSTAR also features
internet-accessible libraries of over 100,000 components,
a 3D design tool, automatic and high-speed routing, variant
management, and signal integrity management and verification.
It provides users with a competitively priced, scalable solution
for designing simple or complex, multilayer PCBs.
About Zuken:
Established in 1976, Zuken has evolved into a provider of solutions
that maximize the efficiency of the design and manufacturing
processes of electronics companies around the world. Zuken
holds a leading global share of the PCB/MCM/HIC software
market in the field of electronic design automation (EDA).
In addition to its longstanding experience as a provider
of innovative solutions for PCB design, Zuken’s expanded
portfolio encompasses proven solutions for the development
of information technology (IT) infrastructures. Listed
on Level 1 of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the company is
headquartered in Japan and has development, sales and support
centers in 10 countries including the US, Germany, UK and
France. Zuken's customers include the world's top 30 electronics
manufacturers from automotive to aerospace, communications
to consumer electronics, and medical to military.
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