|
Release Notes Most of the information contained in these release notes is not included in the Layout manuals or online help. Please read the notes carefully to see if any apply to your designs. Start by clicking Layout Release 9 notes or Advanced tool notes. Layout Release 9 notes discusses enhancements and changes within the Layout program. Advanced tool notes discusses SmartRoute issues, PCB 386+ issues, Visual CADD, GenCAD import, and GenCAM export.
Layout Release 9 notesThis section contains:
Installation notesInstallation notes gives you information concerning:
OrCAD recommends that you do not install Layout Release 9 into the same directory as any previous version of Layout. Running Capture and Layout together
Updating boards and libraries to version 9 formatUpdating occurs automatically for any board or library loaded into Layout Release 9 or the library manager, and saved. If it is saved under a different name, only the new named file will be in Layout Release 9 format. UPDATE90 migration utility OrCAD provides the UPDATE90.exe utility for you to migrate entire directories from earlier versions of Layout to Layout Release 9. It is on the distribution CDROM and, if you are going to use it, must be copied to your Layout program directory. It uses the same DLLs and file access methods used by Layout, and provides the same results as loading an older file into Layout and saving it. In addition, UPDATE90 has options that you can use to:
Batch updating If desired, you can update boards and libraries in a batch fashion using the UPDATE90 migration utility. This is strongly recommended for custom libraries so they will load more efficiently and not get further out of date with later releases. As a safety precaution it is always recommended to back up the pre-9 versions. To update all the libraries in your directory:
When UPDATE90 sees metacharacters in the input file specification (an asterisk or a question mark), it ignores the output file specification except for the ending suffix. When you click the "Update" button, all files that match your input specification are updated and written back to the source directory, using the suffix off the output file specification (usually "NEW") in place of the original "LLB" suffix. Even though your updated libraries have a suffix other than "LLB", you can inspect the updated libraries using the Layout library manager. When you are satisfied with the success of the update operation, you can delete the old files (DEL *.LLB) and then rename the new files (REN *.NEW *.LLB" from a DOS shell prompt.
What's newMany user-requested enhancements have been included in Layout Release 9. The following categories describe the most important of these.
Known problemsThe following problems have been reported and are not yet fixed for this release of Layout. The list is intended to cite the most serious problems known. It is not an exhaustive list of all known problems. Documentation errata
"On a plane layer, Layout recognizes Z order with nested copper pours, but not with pours that partially overlap. Incomplete overlapping causes a disconnect-island between the overlapping pours." To see an illustration of the disconnect-island created by partially overlapping copper pours, see one of the following topics in the Layout online help:
Application problems
General notesThis section gives you information concerning:
When multiple copies of Layout are running, data is shared between the two copies. Performing processes like AutoECO or making edits in the Library Manager can cause changes in other open copies. The way Layout handled padstack libraries had to be changed to accommodate an important feature request and also to fix a customer reported bug where he could not access PADSTACK.LLB if it resided outside the default Layout directories. The feature request was to allow multiple padstack libraries to be accessed. The mechanism used is the PADSTACK_LIB section of LAYOUT.INI which was shipped with the entry: PADSTACK=padstack.llb This entry causes Layout to search for the file using its standard search mechanism. Changing the padstack for a component pin will now read all padstack libraries and present the padstack entries in the list using the form: PADSTACKNAME[LIB\PATH\NAME.EXT] Selecting an entry will always load from the specified library (unlike older versions that loaded the first library found). Choosing Save Padstack to Lib... from the Padstack Spreadsheet Popup Menu now pops up a dialog box. The dialog allows you to either select an existing padstack library, create a new one, or browse for an unlisted, but existing one. If a new library is added to the list by either Create or Browse, the PADSTACK_LIB section of LAYOUT.INI is automatically updated.
The following elements do not back annotate to Capture. The recommended method for performing these types of changes is make the change in Capture and update Layout through the forward ECO process. If you choose to make the changes in Layout, be sure to manually update your schematic design. LAYOUT.INI is a file Layout uses to perform many of its tasks. To locate the LAYOUT.INI file, Layout looks in the following locations: If LAYOUT.INI is not found, Layout uses the Windows search engine to search: Demo files are found in the LAYOUT\SAMPLES subdirectories. OrCAD no longer provides the older (sheet) libraries. OrCAD recommends that you do not use the older libraries. Layout v6.42 did not have the COMPSIDE user property. It used a -M suffix to indicate a component that was mirrored to the bottom side of a board. Existing schematic/boards will work properly with the -M suffix, but for parts that have it, there will not be an actual footprint that exactly matches the name found in Capture and Layout. To eliminate the -M property, search the user properties (in Capture) for footprints that contain a -M suffix. Remove the suffix and add the COMPSIDE user property, then forward ECO to Layout. You can also remove the -M attribute in Layout by using the footprint spreadsheet. If you attempt to run a security key locked version of Layout without the lock, Layout searches the entire network for the security key. Searching the entire network can create a lengthy delay in reporting that Layout cannot find the lock. If you previously marked power pins as 'passive' to show visibility, it can cause Duplicate pin errors during AutoECO. This is because Capture now has visibility control for pins. You should remove all 'passive' markers on power pins and set the visibility to the same setting for all the power pins in a package.
If you experience this problem, please check OrCAD's Web site, www.orcad.com, for answers to frequently asked questions and the latest software updates. If the background remains black, instead of changing to white when you select Preview, select Redraw from the View menu. When creating a GERBER-file (Gerber 274D with the Create Apertures as Needed option enabled), the created aperture file may contain a d-code with a smaller size than your Gerber photoplotter can use. Fractional mil apertures may even get rounded to 0.0000. You should always check the aperture file to verify that all apertures are usable, usually 2 mils or larger. Designs created with versions prior to v7.10 must be updated properly so the version 9 split plane functionality works properly.
IF YOUR PRE-v7.10 DESIGN IS NOT UPDATED PROPERLY, YOUR Layout Release 9 AND LATER DESIGNS WILL NOT HAVE CORRECT SPLIT PLANES! In v7.10 or later, planes are split by drawing one or more Copper Pours over the regions you wish to dedicate to specific nets. You can assign only one net (the dominant net) to the plane itself. Other nets are assigned to the Copper Pours. After assigning nets, you can route and place vias for them over any region of the board. Split planes in Layout versions prior to v7.10 were created differently, so boards with split planes being migrated to v7.10 and later require some small changes to the design. When discussing the necessary changes, the following assumptions are made:
To convert a pre-v7.10 split plane to a v7.10 and later split plane:
Advanced tool notesThis section contains notes concerning:
SmartRouteThe following topics concerning SmartRoute are discussed:
SmartRoute does not support routing weight in the same manner as Layout. It behaves as follows:
Fanout is not as controllable in SmartRoute as it is in Layout. You cannot specify to go only to the interior or exterior of a component or specify whether to share fanout vias or not (SmartRoute is share only). Additionally, the new BGA fanout routines are available in Layout only. SmartRoute will easily route boards that have been fanned out in Layout. However, occasionally, SmartRoute will eliminate a fanout pad from a BGA and be unable to replace it if needed. If you choose to fanout your board in Layout before routing with SmartRoute use a grid of 5 mils or less for the fanout. You should always lock fanout vias in your design before autorouting with SmartRoute. If you autoroute a design, and the components in the design have already been fanned out, SmartRoute might remove some fanout vias if they have not been locked.
If SmartRoute reports an error code forcing a restart within the first 10 minutes, the following message displays: Routing problem encountered. Attempt auto-resume?
To run more than one board in batch mode, use the Add to Batch and Start Batch commands on the File menu. Add to Batch allows you to specify the input and output filenames to route. Then Start Batch runs SmartRoute on each of the designs in sequence, producing a report of all the runs which is displayed when the program finishes the last design.
If the "Out of Memory" dialog box appears while you are routing a board, and routing is nearly completed, it may be possible to get it to finish by saving it, reloading, and starting again. To save time, turn off the fanout, memory, and pattern routing for the restart. The estimated time for analyzing parameters and the To Go: value on the status bar are not very accurate. They are most useful for relative comparisons of component placements and routing rules. The Elapsed Time value shown in the status bar begins with the time already accumulated in Layout. Highlighting a net is not persistent after a pan or zoom, and changing a highlight value for any net in SmartRoute causes highlight to be reset (off) for all other nets, even when returning to Layout. SmartRoute menus are active even when autorouting is in progress. The hourglass continues to display, but the menu options are active. When loading pre-v7.10 designs to be routed with SmartRoute, you must first load them into Layout and then save them with a new name. That leaves you with both an older version for backup purposes and a current version of the design. Loading and saving updates the design database so that SmartRoute can work with a complete Layout Release 9 database. To prevent SmartRoute from routing through a drill hole on a layer, all through-hole padstacks, including mounting holes, must have a pad definition on each layer. The pad definition may be smaller than the drill so there will be no chance of copper being around the drill hole. If a pad definition is not found, it is assumed that no drill exists in a given location. This is required so that blind and buried vias may be supported properly in the future.
PCB 386+ translation issuesThis section contains information on the following topics: Multiple-element padsLayout does not support multiple-element (complex) padstacks. Only one of the defined elements is used as a pad, the others are converted to copper. Connection point outside pad dimensionsLayout does not support pads whose connection point is outside the pad dimensions. This can happen when large pad offsets are used or when a pad rotation rotates the pad off the connection point, or both. Invalid arcsInvalid arcs are converted to straight-line segments. This happens when one of the end points of the arc is the same as the center of the arc. Open connectionsIf after translation of a board from PCB 386+ to Layout, there are open connections shown for what should be routed nets, it can be because the board has duplicate wires on top of each other in the PCB 386+ file. This could happen on boards created with old versions and the routing was not changed in later versions. To eliminate duplicate wires, load the board into PCB 386+, erase all routes, and undelete. Then do the translation again. If ratnest lines still exist on the translated board, run Mincon in Layout. Wrong size thermalsTranslated boards sometimes have thermals that are the wrong size. (Large thermal may get assigned when small thermal was wanted.) This will be fixed in the next release.
Visual CADD notesVisual CADD places the following files in your Windows\System directory:
Some of these files may already exist on your computer. If you have problems running Visual CADD, it may be because of conflicting files from other applications. You will need to locate duplicates and remove older versions to a safe place where Windows does not find them.
GenCAD importGenCAD files produced by the current version of VeriBest output solderside components with both the padstack and the footprint flipped. Pads that are supposed to be on the solder side of the board get flipped twice and appear on the top layer. If you are using the GenCAD format to import a board from Veribest into Layout, input the pads on solder side SMDs to determine if your version of Veribest contains this bug.
GenCAM exportSince Layout Release 9 shipped prior to the final changes and balloting on the IPC GenCAM standard, please download the updated translator from the OrCAD web site before using this translator to manufacture boards. |