PCB Design Blogs

The HotFix 013 (QIR 2, indicated as 2021 in the application splash screens) update for OrCAD^® and Allegro^® is now available at Cadence Downloads. This blog post contains important links for accessing this update and introduces some of the main changes that have been made and new features that you can look forward to.

OrCAD/Allegro 17.4 (SPB174) 

Here is a representative list with brief overviews. For details of the changes and enhancements introduced in this release, see What’s New in Release 17.4-2019 HotFix 013. 

Allegro PCB Editor and Allegro Package Designer Plus

• If your designs have dynamic shapes, you will appreciate the performance improvements in this release and the ability to specify shape parameters for each layer. You can now quickly define layer-specific shape parameters at the hierarchical level as well as an individual layer level. Thus avoiding having to manually update parameters for each instance of a shape.   
• For those using DesignTrue DFM, this release has many interesting enhancements, such as the ability to disable online DFM checks, the addition of the Global Manufacturing tolerance, new list entries for defining the vias padstacks that do not require soldermask layers on top or bottom mask layers, and so on.
• A DesignTrue DFM Rule Aggregator is also introduced in this release that helps you, the PCB Designer, create a common denominator ruleset that applies to all fabricators. Eliminating the dependence on one fabricator, having to do this manually, or using an in-house software solution.
• In this release, a prototype solution is also available for high-speed structures. On the design canvas, a reusable structure is created that has all the required objects, that are sometimes across multiple layers, that gets imported into Sigrity for analysis.

Allegro Pulse

• The Pulse server infrastructure has been enhanced in this release in the areas of server administration, role assignment, library management, and test case generation for diagnostics.
• Allegro PCB Editor and APD Plus designs are now supported in the Pulse platform. You can share a board design with a team through Pulse and maintain its version history.
• The Windchill PLM Connector has been enhanced and now enables the synchronization of Windchill part data with the Pulse-managed library. This helps ensure engineers make informed part selections and adequate risk and compliance insight within Live BOM. 

Allegro System Capture

• You can now create and edit parts and libraries within System Capture in addition to creating logical schematic designs that use parts from DE-HDL and OrCAD Capture libraries. System Capture now supports a new native library format.
• Support for OrCAD Capture has been extended and you can create System Capture designs that are based on OrCAD Capture designs as well as import OrCAD Capture designs as blocks into a System Capture design.
• The design integrity analysis has enhancements in device categories, improved custom model support, additional schematic audit checks, and so on.
• Working with shared designs now has improved sharing options with support for different levels of access and locking, such as complete access, can only modify, or just read with no editing abilities.
• Many features have been added in this release that will speed up routine designer tasks, such as defining connectivity between power symbols, nets, and components. Or, placing and connecting large pin-count symbols.

OrCAD Capture CIS

• OrCAD Capture now has new features for PCB Flows. These are mostly related to enhanced usability and include new design synchronization options. To efficiently and easily synchronize changes between schematic and layout, two new user interfaces (UIs) have been introduced in QIR 2. 
• The PCB Design review environment is now more efficient with the integration of Allegro PCB Viewer and enabled cross-probing.

PSpice A/D 

• The PSpice A/D flow has usability enhancements related to viewing the PSpice A/D model, dynamically checking the design readiness for simulation, and two new PSpice A/D modeling applications, namely Power MOSFET and Power Diode.
• You can now configure model libraries at the simulation profile level, design-level, and custom-global level and even define the order of precedence for these models.

In case you have questions or feedback, send them to pcbbloggers@cadence.com.

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Allegro Release Team