There is a wide range of PCB design software available. PCB designers integrate this software during PCB layout and PCB design process. The Allegro Designer is one of the best PCB design software you can use. It has sophisticated features and PCB design tools for making PCB layout and PCB design process successful. Also, this software is ideal for both professionals and beginners. In this article, our primary focus is on Allegro PCB design software.
What is Allegro PCB Designer?
Allegro PCB Designer is one of the most popular PCB design software. It has great features and offers great benefits to PCB designers. It transforms both complex and simple designs from basic ideas to real production. Also, this software has a constraint-driven design system which offers a high level of manufacturability.
Furthermore, Allegro offers a scalable technology that enables designers to meet all their technological and methodological demands for projects of various complexities and sizes. This software allows you to perform very high-speed design, DFM (design for manufacturing), flex-circuitry, and RF antenna. This software has a PCBlayouter that enhances a simulation in the background with the help of Indesign Analysis capabilities.
The designer can obtain a result and then make comparison with the previous simulation. Then, the layouter can optimize signal integrity situations. Also, the simulation will make use of simulation models, default models or parameters of the datasheet. The indesign analysis can solve a good percentage of the critical cases even if it doesn’t get to the accuracy of flagship tools. However, a simulation expert can identify and check critical areas.
Since the creation of Cadence Design Systems in 1988, Cadence as a company has acquired several companies involved in particular issues in the design industry. Therefore, cadence Allegro is a combination of several utilities designed originally by several companies.
Allegro designer has an advanced design environment that enables you to enjoy great PCB Design experience. With this PCB design software, you can achieve complex designs. Features like advanced routing technologies, team collaboration, and in-design analysis help you achieve great PCB design.
With Allegro PCB design software, you can transform your innovative ideas to real design. Regardless of what you are designing for, this software enables you to meet your design requirements.
What are the Tools Offered by Allegro?
Allegro offers a lot of advanced PCB design tools which makes PCB design and manufacturability an easy task. These tools include:
Intuitive PCB Editor
The allegro PCB editor addresses various PCB design and production issues like routing, floorplanning, placement, and etch creation. PCB designer adds placement replication to enhance the placement of the design. Its etch creation and editing capabilities creates a productive interconnect platform and offers real-time, displays of timing margins. The dynamic shape capability is another features offered by the PCB editor in Allegro. It provides healing functionality and copper pour plowing when placing components and during routing iterations.
Sophisticated routing Tools
The routing tools are ideal for use for both professionals and beginners. The designers can easily have a view of a graphical display of the amount of timing slack left for interconnect having high-speed constraints. Allegro features interactive routing tools.
High-speed design
Allegro PCB design software features timing vision, rules-based auto routing, and auto-interactive delay and phase tune. All of these offer unmatched insight into your routes and boards. Also, you can create very powerful and compact designs with high-speed design tools offered by Allegro. These tools help you achieve a successful HDI project by allowing a rules-driven HDI design flow. There are more manufacturing rules and capabilities for embedded package components. This ensures overall design reliability and success.
Other tools include the Allegro system capture and the FPGA system planner.
Features of Allegro PCB Designer
Design for manufacturing
One of the advanced features of Allegro is that it enables design for manufacturing. With this, you can create reliable circuit boards and as well reduce post-production rework. You can easily track designs and get notifications for any violations on design. Also, users can easily detect possible field failures and resolve them during the design process. This software allows you to detect issues like power and signal integrity as well as overly-stressed components.
Collaboration and reuse of IP
Improve your design and enhance productivity by simply replicating circuitry and reusing approved IP and constraints in the PCB and its schematic. Allegro PCB designer offers solutions to collaboration challenges.
Unified Libraries
Allegro PCB designer comes with a unified environment. Therefore, this helps you to manage component easily and effectively. With this software, you can choose any PCB components from libraries or managed vendors. The unified libraries allow users to interact with the members of their team and as well track any changes in design.
High-speed miniaturization
Allegro comes with sophisticated features like auto-interactive delay and timing vision. These features give you ultimate PCB design experience. Also, Allegro has some set down reusable electrical rules. These rules give you an insight about your PCB and routes. Additionally, users are allowed to design compact designs.
Integrated analysis workflows
This software allows users to shorten design cycles and increase productivity. This is achieved by ensuring you connect with the manufacturing and design rules.
Constraint-driven design
A constraint-driven environment helps to easily design simple and complex PCBs. Also, a constraint management system offers spacing rules. There is a spreadsheet interface for every worksheet. This allows users to manage and define the various rules. The constraint management system is fully embedded in the PCB editor.
Allegro PCB Capabilities
Allegro Miniaturization Option
Allegro Miniaturization Option embeds components into the circuit board. This option cuts out the required cavity such as extra spacing. Also, it creates extra layers for the embedded components and as well evaluates any component height against stackup. The miniaturization option in Allegro offers another crucial feature. This feature deals with design rules for HDI like more µ-via rules.
Allegro Manufacturing
There are three different tools in the Allegro manufacturing option. These tools are ideal for manufacturing output. The first tool is the Documentation Editor which automatically designs documentation of manufacturing and assembly data while the Automation provides a well-defined documentation flow that result in consistent documentation. Update documentation is very easy to carry out. Users can also create special views associated the Allegro database. There is a Panel Editor that puts together production panels. Also, there is a DFM Checker that helps to create manufacturing related checks.
Allegro team design
The team design option in Allegro PCB designer enables users to work as a team during PCB layout. This feature offers the possibility to divide the design in various sections. With this, each user can own a section. Another importance of the team design option is users can work simultaneously in the same database. You can achieve this by starting a Symphony server. Then, other users can now log into the session directly. There is an alternative method, this involves starting the server on a network machine.
PCB Library creation
With the library creator, you and your team can do well to improve the PCB library’s accuracy. Also, you can build 3D models and 2D footprints complete. Designers can select from a wide range of detailed 3D package models and then design new packages from several parametric templates.
Advantages of Allegro PCB Designer
- It offers a PCB design solution that is full-featured
- Allegro is a constraint-driven design flow that helps to reduce or prevent any design iterations
- This software offers a front-to-back constraint management platform
- It offers features like component placement and interactive floorplanning
- It can partition design for dispersed development teams
- Allegro allows users to have access to interactive push/shove etch editing
- It manages features like geometric constraints, net scheduling, layer set routing, timing, and crosstalk
- Allegro offers advanced PCB Router technology which helps to auto-route random signals
- This PCB design software allows hierarchical Route Planning which helps to enhance design completion
- Allegro minimizes the time spent on interconnect planning and routing.
- The Outputs design data of Allegro design is in various manufacturing formats
- Allegro FPGA system planner helps you plan your FPGA design
Disadvantages of Allegro Designer
This robust PCB design software comes with a price. The wide range of tools in this design suite can create confusion. This could sometimes result in spending unnecessary time to switch between tools. In addition, the menus and keyboard shortcuts are not consistent enough. The design process is complex due to the inclusion of another utility to perform design sync. Therefore, this requires users to close both applications in order to carry out synchronization.
Conclusion
Allegro offers a scalable technology that enables designers to match all their technological and methodological demands for projects of various complexities and sizes. This software allows you to perform very high-speed design, DFM (design for manufacturing), flex-circuitry, and RF antenna. This software has a PCB layouter that enhances a simulation in the background with the help of Indesign Analysis capabilities. Also, the allegro FPGA system planner is a good feature.
