From: Kim Flint ([email protected])
Date: Fri Nov 24 2000 - 23:57:15 PST
Hi Tadashi-
thank you for your advice!
I agree, I would very much like to see better support for OrCAD in the
various SI tools. (like ePlanner...) OrCAD has such a huge installed
base, they are crazy to ignore it. Twice now I've been part of
semiconductor companies where we had to do all of our boards in OrCAD
because all of our customers demanded reference designs in OrCAD format!
They also wanted PADs layouts, so we used PADs. In the past few years these
two packages have matured quite a bit, so that worked out ok. Now those
customers are demanding more and more SI support, but the lack of support
in SI tools for this OrCAD/PADs combo makes it frustrating. It is certainly
a big opportunity for the EDA companies....
kim
At 4:59 PM -0800 11/23/00, Tadashi Arai wrote:
>Hi Kim,
>
>I have same problem with ePlanner, using with OrCAD as schematic entry.
>
>OrCAD - ePlanner;
>
>The only way from OrCAD to ePlanner is...
>- Export schematics as "EDIF Schematic View" format from OrCAD
>- Convert EDIF to ViewDraw with View's EDIF I/F (xtra lic. required)
>- Clean-up schematics in ViewDraw (again you should have ViewDraw lic.)
>
>In our case, there are many problems with converting OrCAD to ViewDraw.
>So that currently we've gave up to use floor plan features of ePlanner.
>I hope Innoveda would recognize this problem and will make ePlanner
>change to manage OrCAD schematics.
>I know that it will be changed to use with Concept and DesignArchtect.
>
>ePlanner can interface with PADS only for importing as old tradition.
>
>OrCAD - SPECCTRAQuest;
>
>OrCAD can export netlists with "device file" for Allegro, which are
>needed for both Allegro and SPECCTRAQuest. SPECCTRAQuest can easyly
>manage netlist, you can change, delete, add, modify in the tool.
>
>SPECCTRAQuest has only a interface with Allegro, however, Allegro has
>PADS importing capability (optional lic.).
>If you want to use full features of SPECCTRAQuest, you should have
>Allegro. I have had many problem using SPECCTRAQuest with thw absence of
>Allegro for a few years :)
>
>I don't know much about Hyperlynx, but there may be no interface with
>any schematic tool, while it can import PADS board datas. Hyperlynx has
>no "floorplan" feature in my understandings.
>
>How about ICX ? It has many variations of interfaces.
>
>Again,
>
>** I HOPE INNOVEDA WOULD REMEDY ePlanner TO BE ABLE TO USE WITH OrCAD.
>
>You too ?
>
>Regards,
>//// /// // / / / / / / / / / /
>Tadashi Arai//Platform Developing Dept.,Desktop Prd Div. Fujitsu Limited
>[email protected] TEL:+81-42-370-7624 Inagi-shi, Tokyo, Japan
>/ / / / / / / / / / / // ///
>On Wed, 22 Nov 2000 00:57:02 -0800
>Mail from [email protected] described as below:
>
>> Hi-
>>
>> I'm putting together a board design tool environment for my company. I'm
>> wondering if some of you could share experiences with how well various SI
>> tools work with the schematic/layout packages I would like to use?
>>
>> I'm not looking for a comparison of the SI tools themselves, I think that
>> has been discussed enough. I'm more interested in what problems I might
>> face as I try to mix and match different tools. It seems to me that no
>> environment is really ideal, so I'm trying to figure out which set of
>> tradeoffs are the least painful. :-)
>>
>> For a variety of non-SI reasons, I would like to use Orcad CIS for
>> schematics, and PADs for PCB layout. So let's start from there. I'm not
>> much interested in the pros/cons of these two, I know those already.
>>
>> Methodology-wise, I want a heavy emphasis on simulation up front as a
>> pre-layout process used to constrain layout. during/after layout I would
>> like simulation to serve as more a verification step.
>>
>> The combinations that come to mind are:
>>
>> OrCAD - Innoveda eplanner/XTK - PADs
>>
>> OrCAD - Cadence specctraquest - PADs
>>
>> OrCAD - Innoveda hyperlynx - PADs
>>
>>
>> So does anybody have experiences with those combinations and the current
>> tool versions? Any opinions of which will work and which won't? Any other
>> SI tools I should be considering in there?
>>
>> The various acquisitions in the EDA industry of course play a big part in
>> this for the future. There are big open questions in my mind about the
>> development directions of some of these tools and how well they might work
>> together in the future. Cadence now owns OrCAD, so can I expect better
>> interaction between OrCAD and Specctraquest in the future? PADs bought
>> Hyperlynx some time ago. Then Innoveda bought PADs. Will eplanner/XTK
>> eventually have a user-friendly hyperlynx interface and tight integration
>> with PADs? Will I be retired before any of that happens?
>>
>> It does scare me anyway that OrCAD and PADs - probably the most common
>> schematic/layout combo out there - are now split across the
>> Cadence/Innoveda line.
>>
>> I already had one bad experience with eplanner. We liked the features and
>> were using XTK already, but only after purchasing it did we discover that
>> most of the eplanner features could not be used unless you used viewdraw
>> schematics. Our salesperson conveniently forgot to mention that. We had
>> somewhere over 700 existing designs in OrCAD and PADs, dozens more in
>> progress, a large number of OrCAD licenses, and the whole company's part
>> management system in CIS. Switching over to viewdraw was not going to
>> happen. We were able to use the scratchpad part of eplanner and that was
>> it. So can any of you help me avoid that sort of frustration this time
>> around, or at least help me understand what I'm walking into before we put
>> the money down?
>>
>> thanks for any ideas!
>>
>> kim
>>
>> _______________________________________________________
>> Kim Flint http://www.kimflint.org
>> [email protected]
>>
>>
>>
>> **** To unsubscribe from si-list or si-list-digest: send e-mail to
>> [email protected]. In the BODY of message put: UNSUBSCRIBE
>> si-list or UNSUBSCRIBE si-list-digest, for more help, put HELP.
>> si-list archives are accessible at http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu
>> ****
>>
>>
>
>
>**** To unsubscribe from si-list or si-list-digest: send e-mail to
>[email protected]. In the BODY of message put: UNSUBSCRIBE
>si-list or UNSUBSCRIBE si-list-digest, for more help, put HELP.
>si-list archives are accessible at http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu
>****
_______________________________________________________
Kim Flint http://www.kimflint.org
[email protected]
**** To unsubscribe from si-list or si-list-digest: send e-mail to
[email protected]. In the BODY of message put: UNSUBSCRIBE
si-list or UNSUBSCRIBE si-list-digest, for more help, put HELP.
si-list archives are accessible at http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu
****
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue May 08 2001 - 14:30:14 PDT