Integr8tor v8.3 sales and engineering server for auto input and design analysis is now available for download. Automatically downloads and analyzes incoming client design data; delivers quote-ready data to sales department, and design breakdowns with design-rule, DfM and capability checks to engineering and production departments. Offers a new tool that determines automatically whether holes should be drilled in sequential printed circuit boards using laser or mechanical means; analyzes characteristics such as hole size and type, and pad and ring size. Enables raft of additional layers to be analyzed automatically. Extra carbon layers, peel-off mask layers and legend layers can be analyzed automatically for characteristics such as minimum clearances and feature sizes. Analyzes solder mask layers for covered via holes. New features include expanded character sets for Asian users; bookmarks in the QED reports; improved edge connector recognition, and improved registration.

Ucamco, www.ucamco.com

Tachyon-100G laminates and prepregs enable line cards required to transmit 100GbE at data rates in excess of 25Gb/s per channel. Have identical electrical properties as Tachyon; Z-axis CTE is more than 30% lower than Tachyon. Suitable for fabricating high-layer count, 0.8mm pitch line cards with heavy 2oz. copper inner layers. Have performed reliably on TVs designed to define minimum pitch capabilities for Pb-free PCB assembly. Dk of 3.0 is stable between -55° and +125°C up to 40GHz and Df of 0.002. Materials use spread glass and reduced profile VLP-2 copper (with 2µm Rz surface roughness copper foil).

Isola Group, www.isola-group.com

Two extensions for Altium Designer --  ICD Stackup Planner and ICD Power Distribution Network (PDN) Planner -- are accessible from within the design tool. 

ICD Stackup Planner adds simulation speed, ease of use and accuracy.  Provides impedance control for rigid-flex design in the Altium environment, from concept to fabrication. Includes 8,800 part dielectric materials library for simulation of actual fabricator materials. Unique field solver computation of multiple differential pair definitions per layer. Automatically creates high-speed design rules in Altium Designer. Capacitor library of 5,000 parts permits simulation and optimization of actual capacitors extracted from manufacturer’s SPICE models. ICD PDN Planner has a frequency range up to 100GHz, for analyzing AC impedance of each on-board PDN, including capacitor selection, to ensure a broad spectrum of noise reduction, giving a concise graphical view of the entire network including plane resonance peaks.

Altium, www.altium.com

Altium Vault 2.0 enterprise data management and collaboration platform aids in centralizing, managing and formalizing component libraries, design data and team collaboration. Manages product versions and releases, design reuse and design library management, provides a platform for real-time collaboration, and manages installation deployment and configuration. Provides centralized, shared location to manage components and supply chain data; managed copies of all templates, reference designs and current designs, with precise change information, version and revision history;  ability to collaborate on projects across all design domains and co-design in real-time on the same printed circuit board, and design environment infrastructure management tools for IT departments.

Altium Ltd., www.altium.com