19 October 2012

PADS 9.5 Now Available!

PADS 9.5 includes the following new features:

Virtual pin support
Bottom View (Mentor Idea D254)
Automation interface enhancements (Mentor Ideas D2749, D3246, D3247, D3248)
Placement Keepouts in Decals (Mentor Ideas D258, D383)
Plane Connect in PADS Viewer (Mentor Idea D8539)
Chinese translation of DxDesigner and PADS

PADS 9.5 includes the latest release of DxDesigner (EE 7.9.4) which includes:

New Start-up Screen
Graphics Improvements
New Grid
Navigation View Window
Layered Graphics
In-line and multi-line editing
Dynamic Graphic Violation Highlight
Consistent Windows-like Layout Across Platforms
Tool Tip Hierarchical Preview and Navigation
Connectivity Advisor
DxPDF™ Now Included in the PADS ES Suite

PADS 9.5 is now available for download on SupportNet.

Virtual Pins now in PADS

DDR routing with virtual pins are now supported.

PADS 9.5 now allows creation of virtual pins or star points. This is a great new feature which makes DDR routing much easier. It allows you to define a star point which branches out to multiple receivers. High-speed rules such as length matching can be defined to tune the different branches to the correct length.

Virtual Pin

Associated nets support was added in PADS 9.4 and allows design rules to be assigned to several nets that are connected by components such as a series resistor or a resistor pack. Design rules that can be set include length and differential pair rules. Associated Nets may be defined automatically through a number of different methods, or manually. The length of the discrete component that associates or “combines” the nets can be included in the associated net length calculation.
The Associated Net and Virtual Pin features are tied to the Advanced Rule Set option.

Associated nets with a combined length of A+B

Dongle discontinuations

As Mentor Graphics upgrades licensing to MSL v2012_1 the old parallel dongles will no longer be supported. Over time this will affect all Mentor Graphics software. If you are still using an old parallel dongle you need to replace it with a new USB dongle

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ERP and PLM: Defining their roles and creating a collaborative environment for success

Manufacturers’ business needs have changed significantly over the past several years, evolving the roles that technology plays within the manufacturing process. Two key technologies, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), have developed into critical success factors for manufacturers. Each technology brings unique value to the enterprise, and when combined, ERP and PLM provide a wholly collaborative environment that has a major impact on successful product development performance and the ability to maintain a competitive advantage.