CircuiTree - August 2008 - (Page 31)

time within the ECAD domain. Such an approach would signiﬁcantly reduce the complexity and number of MCAD-ECAD design iterations that are required by traditional systems. In an ideal world the iterations might be eliminated by a single, huge design environment that caters to both MCAD and ECAD design, the ultimate uniﬁed design system. But while this is not a practical reality with current technology, ﬁle exchange processes can be reduced or even eliminated by introducing a further reﬁnement: linking to 3D data ﬁles, rather than embedding that data within the ECAD design ﬁles. With a linked setup, the ECAD application would simply load data from an external 3D STEP ﬁle that has been generated by the MCAD application. The PCB editor can then alert the user when that external ﬁle changes, in response to an update from the MCAD domain, then refresh the object in the PCB work space and ECAD design ﬁles. This would occur in a real-time 3D design environment, allowing mechanical clearance errors to be resolved on the ﬂy rather than through a protracted series of MCADECAD design iterations. Ultimately, the increasing importance of the physical properties of today’s designs means that the interdependency of the ECAD and MCAD design environments needs to be catered for by systems that deal with the core problem directly. Most existing systems that attempt to provide an MCADECAD solution take a piecemeal or add-on approach and in the process fall short of the mark or, at worst, create counterproductive and error-prone workﬂow. As a result, intermittent design concurrency between the domains is the best possible result. What’s needed is a more unified view of the overall product development process where the entire design is treated as a single entity, with a single design data model. In this way, the solutions to the growing need to imitate MCAD-ECAD connectivity come from a higher level view that considers the final aim, rather than a closely focused approach of dealing with the file exchange systems alone. By implementing the groundwork of a robust 3D data exchange format (STEP) and direct data transfer, the process is simpliﬁed and can even be transferred to the ECAD domain where it needs to be solved. In this way, designers from both domains can interact in a highly connected product development environment that promotes concurrent MCAD-ECAD design. As the electronics design industry continues to evolve and design disciplines converge, it’s now crucial that all of the design domains interconnect to a level where cooperative, concurrent design is a reality. When previously disconnected worlds join and work together, the beneﬁts are invariably profound and far reaching—the world of electronics design is no exception. ■ Rob Evans is in technical marketing at Altium. Email: evans@altium.com.au circuitree.com • August 2008 CT11064WiseSoftware.indd 1 31 10/2/06 9:55:10 AM http://www.wssi.com/ct http://www.wssi.com/ct http://circuitree.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CircuiTree - August 2008

CirciuTree - August 2008 Contents My Line Industry Review Tech Talk Flexible Thinking Creating Connections Between Electronics Design and Manufacturing Happy Thoughts View From the Middle Market Outlook Fein Lines IPCA Showcase Technical Product Spotlights Classified Ads Upcoming Events Ad Index Buyers Guide

CircuiTree - August 2008

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