GARDENA, CA – Intusoft released its ICAP/4 8.x.11 Build 2817 SPICE-simulation tool suite for analog, mixed-signal and mixed-system design. According to Tim Ghazaleh, director of marketing for Intusoft, several product enhancements were installed across the SpiceNet design entry system, IsSpice4 simulation output file, automated electrical measurements readout and waveform viewing.
8.x.11 Build 2817 also reportedly has enhanced SpiceNet’s display of DC operating points, component properties, user-specified custom part bins and waveform graphs displayed on the schematic. Following a simulation run, the display of automatically charted electrical measurements has also been enhanced. Management functions for Monte Carlo statistical analysis are said to run much faster.
With component sweeps, multiple components can be assigned the same sweep variable and swept as a group through a prescribed range of values. Since many designers are interested in key data collected from a SPICE simulation output file, ICAP/4 has added operability enhancements for the IsSpice4 simulator’s output file. Other features with Build 2817 include waveform management and importing of data in IntuScope more powerful.
Tong-Tai noted it will display an automatic-sensoring PCB drilling machine. The company indicated that the machine features high revolves per minute (rpm) compared to previous machines. Tong-Tai will introduce a new model of high-speed PCB drilling machine featuring spindle speed reaching 250,000 rpm.
Taiwan Takisawa will introduce a new model of a PCB drilling machine with drilling speed 30 percent higher than their old models. This new-generation PCB drilling machine has a 200,000 rpm spindle speed.
Ta Liang will showcase a five-spindle PCB drilling machine equipped with a CCD (charge-coupled device) sensor. Chang Ming-yi, marketing manager of Ta Liang, noted his company will begin marketing the five-spindle PCB drilling machine in the middle of 2007. The company estimated the machine will compete with similar models developed by the Japan-based Hitachi. The new drilling machine targets PCB makers in the domestic BGA market.
MUNICH, Germany and WESTFORD, MA – Zuken will launch its revision 9.0 of CR-5000 at Z-DAC 06, the European Annual Customer to Customer Technology conference on October 24-26th in Ulm, Germany. This release includes the latest version of the integrated high-speed design and analysis environment, CR-5000 Lightning.
Advances in the core CR-5000 environment are said to include system to board level design, analysis and verification. The core CR-5000 tools also reportedly feature enhanced high-speed capability with deeper harmonization of constraints. One example of this is the unification of topology constraints between CR-5000 Board Designer and CR-5000 Lightning.
Via modeling within CR-5000 Lightning now features the option of complex modeling, including resistance, capacitance and inductance, with both automatic extraction from PCB layout and pre-layout what-if analysis. More intelligence has been added for Trunk routing of busses and differential pairs, including multi-layer editing functionality with action preview, obstacle avoidance with reroute and advanced via pattern support.
According to Zuken, increasing harmonization of the CR-5000 design environment to reduce cost of product design and thus to enhance productivity and quality continues to be at the top of the agenda for the future, as does the ability to adopt new technologies and manufacturing processes as easily as possible.
NORCROSS, GA – T-Tech Inc. has introduced its Quick Vac Table, a vacuum table system for quick circuit prototyping systems. The Quick Vac Table is designed to meet the demanding needs of the RF and Microwave industry, allowing users to create prototypes on more flexible materials with a greater precision.
The technology allows the quick circuit to hold material down flatter by creating an even plane of suction and eliminating the need for backing material, thus providing an even and accurate depth of cut. The Quick Vac Table also decreases setup time, thus increasing the speed to which users can test their designs.
The Quick Vac Table is designed to work with all models of quick circuit prototyping systems and is said to be simple to operate. According to the company, the likelihood of damaged traces on small and fragile prototypes is reduced.
MARLBOROUGH, MA – DownStream Technologies announced BluePrint for PCBs Version 1.5. This release is said to include a variety of updates and functionality enhancements including full integration to Mentor’s Boardstation and Expedition, as well as Zuken’s Visula and CADStar PCB layout tools.
“Until now, BluePrint integrated only to Cadence’s products Allegro and OrCAD plus Mentor’s PADS Layout,” said Rick Almeida, one of DownStream’s founders. “We did this to ensure the product’s stability and acceptance in the mainstream market before we committed to expanding the integration. With this new release, the product now integrates with all of the most widely used PCB layout tools on the market and allows them access to a solution that was designed specifically to address the unique issues associated with creating PCB fabrication and assembly documentation.”
BluePrint uses the available PCB design intelligence to automatically create and link unlimited PCB views and details resulting in a more detailed and accurate documentation package in a much shorter timeframe.
- Improved ECO support - BluePrint now retains PCB view formatting, ref des placement, user defined process steps, user defined variants, drill chart formatting and other template table formatting upon the re-import of a CAD design file ECO.
- Auto-sequencing text box tool - Can be used to place procedural text box nomenclature used for wire bond ordering or cut and jumper re-work instructions.
- Add a suffix to a measurement and dual dimensions - Displays a measurement suffix (mm, in, mil, etc.) as well as dual dimensions.
- Create new drill symbols - Allows users to create their own drill symbols using BluePrint’s drafting tools or by importing the new symbol(s) through DXF.
- AutoSave
- Search - Search and find any text in a document and locate any component in a document by searching by part name or reference designator.
- Drill chart automatic tolerancing and tool type definition - Define a tool type for drill charts by grouping drill attributes imported with CAD design data. Also allows the user to set up tolerances to be automatically applied to plated, non-plated holes and vias.
- Improved keyboard bindings – Includes drafting and dimensioning tools.
BluePrint for PCBs Version 1.5 is available immediately. DownStream is offering 13 months of free maintenance for any purchase before December 31, 2006.
SAN JOSE – DEK has released the Horizon 02i, the first of the next generation Instinctiv machines. The printer includes a position-adjustable 15-inch touchscreen LCD of the Micron range to enhance ease of use and rapid operation on the factory floor. Micron-class low friction gullwing machine covers are also now fitted as standard, allowing deployment in clean environments as well as granting easier access to the machine during product changeovers and consumable replenishment.
The Horizon 02i is said to achieve 1.6 Cpk at ±25µm full paste on pad process capability, at12 seconds cycle time. It has a wide board size range, up to 508mm x 508mm, and is fitted with ESD safe transport rails as standard. Other standard features include DEK’s Intelligent Scalable Controller Area Network (ISCAN) technology, which reportedly enhances diagnostics and supports predictive maintenance in conjunction with DEK’s Internet-based support services.
Options include the DEK Gold camera machine vision package, which is said to accelerate fiducial capture and 2D inspection by leveraging wider 8.5mm x 11mm field of view, faster image recognition algorithms and optimized lighting.
