software for electronics

Electronics Work-
bench Layout
simulation program starts to
design PCB layouts

Electronics Work-
bench (EWB), the
user-friendly simula-
tion program, has
been extended with a
new, powerful, pro-
gram for the design
of printed circuit
boards. The new pro-
gram, like the basic
Many electronics enthusiasts will agree one extend a program for simulation
simulation software, that by virtue of its simple user inter- of electronic circuits? Well, the most
is marked by ease of face and clearly structured menus, likely candidate is a circuit board lay-
‘Electronics Workbench’ paved the out utility. The new program ‘EWB
control. Circuit dia- way towards simulation of analogue Layout’ we received for reviewing is
grams from EWB and digital circuits using the computer.
Despite their user-friendly setup, the
the result of close co-operation
between Interactive and Ultimate
may be exported to current versions of EWB offer the Technology. Users of ‘Ultiboard’ soft-
same functionality as many simulation ware will not fail to notice lots of sim-
the PCB layout pro- programs aimed at the professional ilarities between their program and the
gram without any market. These days, a clear trend fledgling from Interactive.
becomes visible of suppliers of simula- Interactive has succeeded in inte-
trouble whatsoever. tion software and PCB layout pro- grating its new PCB layout program
grams extending the functionality of into the EWB suite. Having drawn the
Next, the compo- their products. The Canadian com- circuit diagram and put it through the
nents are simply pany Interactive Image Technologies, circuit simulation phase, you are ready
too, has been looking for ways to to export the lot to the PCB design
dragged to the ‘widen’ its product in an attempt to program. You are instantly presented
desired positions on enable designers to cover the largest
possible range from circuit design to
with a board. Beside it appear all com-
ponents that make up the simulated
the board. the final PCB layout phase, all using circuit, and their interconnections. All
the computer, of course. But how does you have to do is drag these compo-

60 Elektor Electronics 10/98

nents to the desired position on the
board, and then leave the real work to
the autorouter. In this way, even inex-
perienced users can make a PCB lay-
out in no time at all. We put EWB Lay-
out through its paces by presenting it
to an unsuspecting person without
any previous experience in PCB
designing. In less than half an hour, he
came up with a circuit diagram and a
matching PCB design!
Of course, the layout program has
much more to offer than the rather
simple operations mentioned above.
The program contains a library with
over 4,000 footprints, and recognises
the right footprint for all 10,000 com-
ponents stored by EWB. With the aid
of the internal editor, the user is capa-
ble of creating new component shapes,
or modify existing shapes. Multilayers
are possible up to 32 layers. Two inter-
active autorouters provide formidable
assistance when it comes to dividing
the PCB tracks. All sorts of PCB shapes
are allowed, up to a size of 50x50”. of RAM as a minimum requirement, it version has slightly reduced function-
Some other features that may be men- would seem unwise to use anything ality (fewer footprints, max. 500 pins,
tioned here: interactive editing, real older or slower than a 200 MHz Pen- and only one autorouter). These three
time design rule check, track density tium, if only to be able to work com- versions are shortly to be comple-
histograms, blind and buried via’s, re- fortably. mented with an Educational version.
route while move, and user-defined EWB Layout comes in three ver- All prices are exclusive of VAT.
pads. sions: EWB Layout Professional with a (985065-1)
The program supports a number of maximum of 2,000 pins (price £995); In the UK and Ireland, contact Adept
plotters and printers, and is capable of EWB Layout Power Professional sup- Scientific plc, 6 Business Centre West,
saving files in foreign formats like DXF, porting unlimited pins (price £1995) — Avenue One, Letchworth, Hertford-
Gerber and Excellon. both intended to complement EWB shire SG6 2HB. Tel: (01462) 480055, fax:
EWB Layout only runs on Win- EDA or PRO — and the low-cost ver- (01462) 480213. Email:
dows 95 or NT PCs. Although Interac- sion for private use called EWB Layout ewb@adeptscience.co.uk. Internet:
tive indicates a 486 PC with 8 Mbytes Personal Edition (price £299). The latter http://www. adeptscience.co.uk.

Elektor Electronics 10/98 61

62 Elektor Electronics 10/98