Stats

  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 6
  • Subscribers 166
  • Views 5783
  • Members are here 0
More Content
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

General Capture Questions - Symbol Rotation & Creation

excellon1

Hi all, so some silly capture questions perhaps someone has insight they can share.

So my first question pertains to associating a PCB Footprint "aka .dra" to a capture symbol. How to do this without cutting and pasting the physical location and name of the dra file ? There is no browse button in the symbol editor..Cant seem to view the pcb footprint either... One other thing, how does one go about protecting the symbol so an engineer cant willy nilly change the footprint assignment. Basically I am trying to develop a standard library and once that library is created it's hands off for engineer edits.

Any clues ?

Next up is symbol rotation at the schematic level. When I rotate a symbol through 90 degrees the symbols attributes go all over the place. This thing cant even put the attributes back in the correct place going right through 360 degrees. I was wondering is there a switch or something to keep things lined up. I don't relish the idea of having to create both horizontal and vertical symbols, perhaps there is an easier way ?

Thanks

Paul..

  • steve

    SelectFootprint.zipSo the best thing to look at is the CIS option. All the properties are stored in a Windows Compliant ODBC database (like MS Access or SQL) and so no manual editing to add properties. If you consider this I would also consider CIP to help you manage this. If engineers make changes to properties on parts there is Part Manager which can compare the schematic contents with the database contents to ensure they are using the approved properties and not user defined ones. For the rotation you can consider the Convert Part option so you have a 2 symbols defined with properties placed where you want them if you to control the property location "tighter" than the defaults. 

    Edit - I do also have a tcl app (credit EDAis) that will allow you to select a part in the schematic then right click - More - Select Footprint which brings up a browser window. save the attached into %HOME%\cdssetup\OrCAD_Capture\17.2.0\tclscripts\CapAutoLoad, then restart Capture which may help.

  • joma

    If you look in the Accessories menu the Cadence Toolkit > Utilities brings up the Tcl/Tk Dashboard. The last choice on the list is Help on Scripting and that opens the OrCAD_Capture_TclTk_Extensions.pdf file.
    Page 66 seems to describe a solution to your rotation problem.
    Jim O'Mahony

  • excellon1
    in reply to joma

    Hi Steve & Joma thanks for the help and advice on my questions. Per Joma's suggestion I took a look at the TCL command and indeed the following TCL command resolves the rotation issue.
    SetOptionBool RotateInstPropInContext TRUE

    It works good, better than default in capture.

    Steve ODBC database seems like a stretch just to be able to do common things like protect a library from edits. I was wondering if I was to move to CIS would the physical footprints aka .dra's be also contained in the database too ? or is it just a symbolic link to a flat folder on your drive for the .dra's

    All the best, Paul.

  • redwire

    OrCAD has always allowed maximum flexibility for designers which means the "lockdown" you want is not part of the tool.  However, as mentioned, CIS allows the design to pass a design gate where parts are compared to a company database.  If a mismatch is found the part is flagged.  Any red flags would be a reason not to move into layout.

    I personally recommend CIS and use the "derive database part" feature which will put an entry into the database for the librarian to create a new symbol.  It is still a bit loosey-goosey but better than nothing at all.

    A lot is going to depend on your in-house culture and how many "rules" people are willing to follow Slight smile

  • excellon1
    in reply to redwire

    Hi Red, in passing the gate whats actually getting compared, are we just talking about schematic symbols that are contained in the database that may be modified at the schematic level ?

    I certainly agree on the rules people are willing to follow .... Ha ! Slight smile

Cadence Guidelines

Community Guidelines

The Cadence Design Communities support Cadence users and technologists interacting to exchange ideas, news, technical information, and best practices to solve problems and get the most from Cadence technology. The community is open to everyone, and to provide the most value, we require participants to follow our Community Guidelines that facilitate a quality exchange of ideas and information. By accessing, contributing, using or downloading any materials from the site, you agree to be bound by the full Community Guidelines.