DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine – Novarm Ltd. has launched DipTrace 1.30, which is bundled with four of Novarm's front-end modules: schematic, PCB layout, pattern editor and component editor.
Among the software’s new features are improved color settings, part rotation by a desired angle, static vias placement, Electra autorouter support and enhanced manual routing tools.
With DipTrace 1.30 you can select a white or black background for your design area, or create your own preference templates. User-defined additional fields are now available in the pattern and component editors. A series of hotkeys have been added, and static vias are available as well. This new version has a new lock/unlock feature and includes netlist support of widely used formats.
MARLBOROUGH, MA – DownStream Technologies LLC announced a new configuration and price structure for their PCB documentation product, BluePrint for PCBs. Named BluePrint Foundations, it is built from the same core technology as BluePrint-PCB, allowing users to quickly create comprehensive, electronic PCB fabrication and assembly instructions. It is more closely aligned in price to appeal to PCB designers who currently use PADS, OrCAD and CADStar PCB layout products.
“The market demand for BluePrint has so far surpassed our wildest expectations,” said Rick Almeida, a founder of DownStream Technologies. “BluePrint Foundations will allow us to further expand the market by providing a solution to PCB layout designers who may be on a more restricted budget but still require comprehensive documentation to build their products.”
BluePrint Foundations is 100% compatible with BluePrint-PCB and allows users to mix and match configurations to meet their needs. Reported features include unlimited PCB views, hyperlinking, automatic ECO updates, full word processing with spell check, exotic file importation and Web publisher.
AUSTIN, TX – 3M has a new polyimide film tape designed for high-temperature applications requiring a tough, thin backing that resists solvents. 3M polyimide film tape 1218 is UL recognized for use at temperatures up to 130˚C (formerly known as Class H). Unlike most such tapes, the new 3M polyimide film tape has an acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive.
It can be used as insulation on coils, transformers, capacitors and wire harnesses, and also as a cover layer material for many types of flexible printed circuits.
3M polyimide film tape 1218 is available in standard and custom widths on a 3-inch polyester core. The standard length is 33 meters.
WILSONVILLE, OR – Mentor Graphics Corp. has released HyperLynx 7.7, the latest version of its tool suite for pre- and post-layout signal integrity (SI) simulation and analysis. HyperLynx 7.7 is said to include significant productivity and technology enhancements targeted at high-speed bus technologies, as well as SERDES (SERialization/DE-Serialization) interconnect standards for connecting serial drivers and receivers.
"I use HyperLynx because it is one of the few accurate circuit simulators with coupled lossy-line models and an integrated 2D field solver," said Dr. Eric Bogatin, industry expert and author of Signal Integrity Simplified. "Plus, it is far and away the quickest tool on the market to learn with a five minute learning curve. With the release of HyperLynx 7.7, its value for high-speed serial link analysis has more than doubled."
HyperLynx 7.7 is said to provide several enhancements, including:
-The integration of Mentor's mixed-signal simulation engine -A Touchstone model viewer -Mentor's complex-pole fitting algorithms -A pre-layout tool offering complete padstack editing -A new "fast eye diagram" capability for SERDES design that incorporates Bit Error Rate (BER) prediction and bathtub curves -The unique ability to predict the worst-case bit stimulus sequence that would produce a maximally closed eye diagram
HyperLynx is compatible with each of Mentor's PCB design flows, including the Board Station Series, Expedition Enterprise, and PADS PCB design environments, along with PCB layout systems from Cadence, Altium and Zuken.
TEMECULA, CA – CWAV announced the addition of the USBee DX Test Pod (DX) to its product family of PC based test pods that verify analog voltage levels and digital logic used in electronics. The DX builds on USBee AX Pro Test Pod and offers a digital voltmeter, data logger, digital signal generator, pulse width modulator, frequency counter, frequency generator, I2C Controller and pulse counter.
The DX is a compact device that attaches to a PC using a USB cable. Depending on the PC application used, the DX becomes a collection of various electronics test tools. The oscilloscope/logic analyzer has two analog and 16 digital signals sampling 100 million samples at up to 24Msps and dual 8-bit ADCs for the /-10v inputs. Users can reportedly also click-and-drag to instantly decode embedded bus transactions (I2C, SPI, ASYNC, CAN, USB low and full speed, I2S, SM Bus, 1-Wire and PS/2).
"The ability to create an RF system, rearrange system blocks quickly to improve performance, and then implement some of the circuits straight from the simulator makes the communications system design process faster and more efficient than ever before," said Daren McClearnon, product marketing manager with Agilent's EEsof EDA division. "By building bridges from these RF architect tools to ADS, we've given ADS users access to new technology without disrupting their established design flow. Some key customers are already adding RF Architect for ADS to their license pools, so clearly they agree."
Agilent received the RF system architecture capabilities in Genesys when it acquired Eagleware in August 2005. The company is retaining the Eagleware platform while integrating key technology into the ADS design flow to increase designers' speed and efficiency. The integrated capabilities in ADS 2006A include:
·WhatIF - an intermediate frequency (IF) planning tool for RF system architects ·Spectrasys - a continuous-spectrum RF system simulator with root-cause analysis ·Synthesis - eight design assistants that implement manufacture-ready circuit-level designs, such as image-reject filters for RF boards
The ADS release also contains links to the Agilent Knowledge Center for real-time application help and problem solving. The Agilent Knowledge Center is an online technical support forum and support data archive that is accessed by more than 10,000 registered users worldwide. The ADS 2006A user documentation is similarly linked.
