BoardSurfers: What’s New in Allegro X Layout Editors in Release 23.1

Release 23.1 introduces several new features and enhancements in the two layout editors, Allegro X PCB Editor and Allegro X Advanced Package Designer. These changes are geared to make the design process smoother and smarter for you with condensed timelines and superior workflows. This post discusses some of the key changes.

Design Review and Markup

The new design review and markup feature provides a robust system to review and track your designs using markups.

This feature offers several benefits to the PCB design process, including the following:

• Improved accuracy
• Early detection of errors using a rigorous review system
• Compliance with industry and design standards
• Collaboration and communication between team members
• Optimization of design through review and feedback

Counterbore and Countersink Secondary Side Definition and Reporting

There are several enhancements in the Padstack Editor, the most notable being the ability to drill counterbores and countersinks from the secondary side of a board design. You can now define counterbore or countersink from either the primary or the secondary side, and they are not bound to the side on which the component is placed.

You no longer need to inform the fabricator about secondary drill requirements separately because the NC Drill and Drill Legend features now report when drilling is required from the secondary side.

Rigid-Flex Enhancements

The rigid-flex feature in Allegro X PCB Editor includes significant enhancements to address user feedback and provide a productive experience.

Zone Updates

You can now nest a zone entirely within another without using shape-creation commands.

Essentially, you can have an area within a zone with special mask, plating, or stack-up requirements different from the rest of the zone. A separate stack-up is specified for such zones to drive the fabrication process to produce the desired design results.

Also, you can now use standard shape commands on zones and edit zone shapes even outside the Shape Edit application mode.

Fill-In Material

In Release 23.1, you can specify the fill-in material for the layers in your design in Cross-Section Editor and achieve a more realistic simulation. The option to specify fill-in material is available only for the Conductor or Plane layers by default.

The option to specify Fill-In Material is available when exporting and importing the IPC-2581 or cross-section files. Additionally, materials defined in this column are read by Sigrity products for simulation.

Freeze Dynamic Shapes

When dynamic shapes interact with other objects, they automatically update. You can now freeze the shapes without changing them to static. It is essential to maintain design intent by protecting critical circuitry drawn using shapes.

Once a dynamic shape is frozen, new objects entering the dynamic shape area will not void or generate a DRC error similar to a static shape. You can manually modify shape boundaries on frozen dynamic shapes to maintain current voiding while avoiding new voids.

Creepage and Clearance Checking

This release also introduces new High Voltage Constraint checks to verify creepage and clearance values. Note that this feature is available only with selective licenses.

Managing creepage and clearance values is crucial to ensure the electrical safety of PCBs and prevent unwanted electrical discharge between conductive elements on a board. It is also essential to adhere to compliance and safety standards.

Enhancements in Allegro X Advanced Package Designer

Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (APD) has also seen major updates in Release 23.1. Some of the features for improved package design flows include:

Dynamic Advanced Fillets

Fillets are now dynamically updated while routing to meet silicon fillet rules. Tapered trace fillets are also added dynamically as you route using Advanced Fillet Tapered Trace Options.

Power Delivery Generator Enhancements

The Power Plane Generator feature enables you to create efficient and reliable power distribution networks. You can review power plane escape and adjust placement or constraints to improve power connections.

Transmission Line Calculators in APD

You can now use Transmission Line Calculators in APD to calculate the correct stack-up material and width or spacing to meet any requirements that may be later entered in a constraint.

This invaluable application helps optimize trace characteristics, achieve the desired performance, and ensure signal integrity.

Conclusion

Release 23.1 is packed with enhancements to help you create optimized and reliable PCB designs much faster and more efficiently than before. To know about changes and enhancements across products in this release, read Cadence OrCAD X and Allegro X 23.1 is Now Available.

Contact Us

For any feedback or any topics you want us to include in our blogs, write to us at pcbbloggers@cadence.com.

Subscribe to stay updated about our upcoming blogs.

About BoardSurfers

The BoardSurfers series provides solutions to the various tasks related to the creation and management of PCB design using the Allegro platform products. The name and logo of this series are designed to resonate with the vision of making the design and manufacturing tasks enjoyable, just like surfing the waves. Regular, new blog posts by experts cover every aspect of the PCB design process, such as library management, schematic design, constraint management, stackup design, placement, routing, artwork, verification, and more.