BoardSurfers: Installation Know-How: Using Third-Party Tools with Cadence OrCAD and Allegro Products

The add-on model is applicable everywhere! You can choose a basic version of the car and add-on products make it faster, nicer, or more special. Air travel add-on includes seat reservation, food, priority check-in, and extra baggage. When you purchase any household appliance, an extended warranty is an add-on service that you can opt for. The basic product offering fulfills the essential needs. However, the add-on services are important too as you get additional features into your existing product at relatively low prices. If this threshold is overlooked the product is simply incomplete. The beauty of add-on products is to keep your product innovative without changing the core product itself and can be installed at any time depending on your requirement.

Cadence OrCAD Capture and Allegro PCB Add-On Products

Cadence^® OrCAD^® Capture and Allegro^® PCB products are the core products that are used for schematic and layout designing. Cadence also offers various plugins for additional modules that provide the most advanced features, such as:

Powerful DFM checker
Efficient documentation process
Intelligent panel design
PDF datasheet extraction
Schematic symbol automation
Data management environment for the OrCAD^® PCB Design solution
OrCAD^® CIS Database management

These add-on product modules are developed by Cadence Channel Partners. You can download and install third-party applications to integrate them with Cadence OrCAD and Allegro product solutions. Following is a list of major add-on products:

OrCAD Engineering Data Management (EDM)	OrCAD Component Information Portal (CIP)	OrCAD Library Builder (OLB)	Manufacturing Option (MO)	Library Creator (LC)
Fully integrated within the OrCAD environment Lets your engineering design team take advantage of the time-to-market benefits gained from effective design data management Eliminates the challenges associated with managing files across multiple users, locations, and disciplines	A comprehensive OrCAD CIS database management and on-line component research environment The portal enables design teams to quickly and cost-effectively realize the full benefits of a shared component database and effective component management process	An automated solution for part creation Advanced PDF datasheet extraction drives schematic symbol and PCB footprint/land pattern creation Eliminates traditional error-prone manual processes Creates accurate component libraries in a fraction of the time	A comprehensive, powerful, easy-to-use suite of tools that makes it efficient for PCB designers to streamline the development of a release-to-manufacturing package for their products Includes 3 modules: Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Checker, Documentation Editor, and Panel Editor	Create new standards-compliant libraries in a fraction of the time Realize the dream of a unified component library by synchronizing your ECAD and MCAD libraries Quickly and easily retarget your libraries for different technologies

OrCAD Engineering Data Management

(EDM)

OrCAD Component Information Portal

(CIP)

OrCAD Library Builder

(OLB)

Manufacturing Option

(MO)

Library Creator

(LC)

Fully integrated within the OrCAD environment
Lets your engineering design team take advantage of the time-to-market benefits gained from effective design data management
Eliminates the challenges associated with managing files across multiple users, locations, and disciplines

A comprehensive OrCAD CIS database management and on-line component research environment
The portal enables design teams to quickly and cost-effectively realize the full benefits of a shared component database and effective component management process

An automated solution for part creation
Advanced PDF datasheet extraction drives schematic symbol and PCB footprint/land pattern creation
Eliminates traditional error-prone manual processes
Creates accurate component libraries in a fraction of the time

A comprehensive, powerful, easy-to-use suite of tools that makes it efficient for PCB designers to streamline the development of a release-to-manufacturing package for their products
Includes 3 modules: Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Checker, Documentation Editor, and Panel Editor

Create new standards-compliant libraries in a fraction of the time
Realize the dream of a unified component library by synchronizing your ECAD and MCAD libraries
Quickly and easily retarget your libraries for different technologies

Installing Third-Party Products from Cadence Installer

When installing a release for the first time, you can choose to install third-party or add-on products directly from the Cadence installer. Right before the setup completion, you would be asked to enable a checkbox to start the installation of add-on products. You need to know that add-on products can be installed at any time using Cadence Download Manager.

If you already installed a Cadence product on your system, just launch Cadence Download Manager to install add-on products. The Cadence Download Manager is available in the Start menu under the Cadence folder.

The Download Manager lists all the product releases and the most recent version of add-on products. So, you need not look for the latest HF when installing any product first-time from the Download Manager. Select the add-on product that is compatible with Cadence OrCAD or Allegro products you have already installed.

The Status column displays the status of a release; not installed (Get), update available (Update), or installed (Up to Date).

Once you click the Get status for any product (or package ─ installer terminology), the Download manager first downloads the relevant files and launches the installer to install the selected add-on product. If you want to check system requirements or have questions on specific install instructions, I would suggest you refer to the install guide for that product. This document is shipped as a part of the download media and is accessible through View Installation Guide pop-up option.

There are a few more options that may help you with the installation. One of them and the last in the list is Verify Media Integrity. You can choose this option to verify the download files before starting the installation. It can be used when you download the files and choose to install the product later.

Upgrading Add-on Products Versions from Download Manager

Updates (commonly referred to as patches) are bug fixes, offer small and frequent improvements rather than major changes. Cadence Download Manager keeps a track of all the products for which updates are available. Whenever the latest version is available, the Status column turns red and displays the status as Update. If you hover the mouse over the Status field, you can see the Installed Version. The Details column shows the latest available version. To upgrade your installation, click Update.

To help you decide whether you should take the update, or what specific features/fixes are available in an update, select a package and choose What’s new in this release from the pop-up options. This PDF document lists all the new features added, issues resolved, and improvements made in a product for a particular version.

In one of our previous blogs, the complete process of installing the Allegro^® ECAD-MCAD Library Creator server was explained. It would be a good read and an example of the process I described here.

In a NutShell

Cadence offers various add-on products for Allegro and OrCAD product lines. You can choose to install one or more of these additional packages on top of your actual product installation. These third-party applications work seamlessly with core product features to ensure a shorter design cycle and faster time to market.

For sales, technical support, or for any guidance on add-on products, you can contact your local Cadence Channel Partner.

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