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SAN JOSE — Cadence Design Systems today unveiled an online applications store accessible within the latest rev (16.5) of its signature OrCAD Capture schematic design tool.
OrCAD Capture Marketplace “fundamentally changes the way PCB designers can access design data, stay informed and discover new resources, including apps to customize and extend the OrCAD environment,” the EDA software company said.
The company says the new tool provides printed circuit board designers “productivity through convenience,” or one-click, on-demand access to information, design data, and resources from across the Web. Users remain in their familiar design environment – OrCAD – yet can conduct research and locate materials, and access design- or OrCAD-centric white papers, data sheets and other documentation. Moreover, it offers an extensible, customizable design environment. The online store contains downloadable applications (apps) from Cadence and its channel partners, enabling enhanced control of their design processes and flows through new and enhanced features or capabilities.
By bringing content and resources directly to OrCAD Capture users, and pointing them to OrCAD-centric product and design information--including application notes, whitepapers, product tips and videos--ramp up time on new product features or design technologies can be minimized. Through apps or scripting customization, designers can apply automation to manual processes and complete design tasks faster. Difficult operations can be streamlined, and custom features that do not exist natively can be created or downloaded, further enhancing and extending the Capture environment.
"The OrCAD Capture Marketplace was designed with one goal in mind – advancing the capabilities of PCB designers by enabling access to the resources engineers need in a faster, more convenient and efficient manner,” said Josh Moore, senior product manager at Cadence. “We will continue building and evolving the marketplace, with more apps and more content, to help ensure engineers can quickly find what they need, when they need it.”
The printed circuit board and semiconductor design software company says OrCAD Capture Marketplace is closely aligned with its EDA360 strategy.
In a conversation with PCD&F editor in chief Mike Buetow, Moore explained the new concept.
PCD&F: What was the thinking behind OrCAD Capture Marketplace?
JM: The idea was to enable greater PCB design functionality – to provide all the apps and apps methodology on the site. It enables a level of unprecedented interaction with customer. It literally takes more than the individual user and individual tool to get a design done today. In the PCB space, as a designer, I can’t just design off the top of my head. I need parametric info, models, etc.
In fact, the tools haven’t kept up with the online databases. A user has to leave the tool to get that info. We want to provide users with purposeful information without leaving the tool. We embedded OrCAD-centric content within the Capture tool. This content can be accessed directly within Capture; users don’t need to fire up Explorer. We call this “productivity through convenience.”
In doing so, users can find components, discover new content. We often find that customers don’t know what they don’t know. Perhaps a customer in Germany has written an app note that the designer in Taiwan doesn’t know.
PCD&F: How will the online store work?
JM: The way the online store works is similar to an apps market on a mobile device. You go into the online store for apps, can read descriptions, view and submit feedback star ratings, watch movies, download items, etc. The environment allows users to customize and create new features and functions, and with the apps themselves, they can get them directly. These often might be one-off things. It allows full access to the architecture, GUI, etc. Users have been customizing using Skill for Capture, but it was incompatible, so we made [the apps] Tcl based.
PCD&F: The store includes links to printed circuit board fabricators and design service bureaus around the world. Will you charge for inclusion?
JM: No, we’re not charging for anything in this.
PCD&F: Who will maintain those listings?
JM: We have software to monitor to ensure there are no dead links. We will keep up with the relevancy of the content. If we find that an app is up and no getting traffic, we’ll take it down and replace it. For models or other PCB service or component info, it’s really just URLs or links included in the tools. We expect customers will start telling us which ones are most valuable to them.
