Designing With OrCAD
Chapter 2: OrCAD PCB Editor
Introduction
Just downloaded OrCAD® trial? New to OrCAD? These videos are for you! This guide will take you step by step, through starting your design with OrCAD, from schematic to PCB layout.
What You Will Need
Download File Sample file to practice with (ZIP)
Get OrCAD Trial Download OrCAD Trial for free
1. Using this Tutorial
Quick video to show you how to get started with PCB Editor and use this tutorial.
1. Assigning Footprints to Your Components
Find components’ footprints in OrCAD PCB Editor’s footprint libraries and assign the footprint names to properties spreadsheet in OrCAD Capture, or simply find a pre-built component footprints from Ultra Librarian.
2. Generate a PCB Editor Netlist in OrCAD Capture
Once the schematic design is complete, the next step is to create a PCB Editor netlist and generate a new PCB board file.
3. Set Up PCB Design and Draw a Board Outline
Set up design parameters and grid spacing to get ready for your PCB design, draw the board outline and add layers to your design.
4. Create and Place Mechanical Symbols
Mechanical symbols represent physical objects that you can place in your board design and are not part of the netlist. One of the important mechanical symbols is the mounting hole. Create and define a new mounting hole symbol and place the mounting holes to your design.
5. Place Components
You can place your components manually or automatically in OrCAD. Seamless integration between OrCAD Capture and OrCAD PCB Editor allow you to cross place components and cross-probe between your schematic and PCB design.
7. Set Up Differential Pairs and Constraint Manager
Set up the differential pairs and assign electrical, physical and spacing constraints to get ready for routing.
6. Create Copper Plane and Shapes
Create shapes and add copper pours to the plane layers, add dynamic healing for copper pouring and add void after creating copper plane.
8. Routing
Pre-route the board by creating fanout for all the power and ground traces, route differential pairs and the rest of the entire board, then finalize the design by running a post- routing inspection.
9. DRC checking and Manufacturing
Check the status of your board with DRC checking. Once completed, the DRC will then highlight design rule violations. When errors are corrected, prepare your files for manufacturing by placing title blocks, formatting symbols, adding reference designators, exporting artwork, etc.
10. Prepare for Manufacturing
Set your design up for fabrication and assembly. Setup fab drawings, dimensioning, title block, drill tables, cross section, and more.
11. Manufacturing Export
Produce and export manufacturing data, including drill information, gerber output, assembly drawings, solder and paste masks, and other essential documentation. PCB Editor has the ability to export to IPC356, ODB++, and MCAD Data.
12. 3D Modeling and Collision Detection
View and design in 3D. Learn how to map 3D STEP models to your parts, use the 3D canvas and check for collisions in 3D.
You Have Completed the OrCAD PCB Editor Tutorial
Please feel free to use this as a reference going forward