Zuken makes CADSTAR, a design software used by engineers and small to midsize design teams to conceptualize, define, visualize, test and produce printed circuit boards (PCB). If you’re not familiar with the process of defining and testing PCB designs, you’re not alone. It’s a fascinating process that dates back to the early 1900s and a 1925 patent filed by Charles Ducas that included the novel idea of creating an electrical path on an insulated surface. The idea of a “printed wire” was born.
Revolutionizing electronics, the PCB went through many stages of evolution, but a patent filed in 1956 by the U.S. Army on behalf of a small group of scientists illustrates the basic idea of how a PCB works. The patent covered a process of manually drawing the wiring pattern and taking a photo of it on a zinc plate. This became the printing plate for an offset printing press. An acid-resistant ink was printed onto the copper foil side of the board. After printing, the board was etched to remove the exposed copper, leaving the "printed wire" behind.
There’s a lot more to the evolution of the PCB, involving advances in soldering, computing and miniaturization of components, which continues today with software like CADSTAR from Zuken. PCB desktop software can be complicated, as modern electronics require PCBs to continuously work more efficiently and with more miniaturized components.
Other productivity enhancements include improved routing patterns for differential pairs and Etch Factor support.
The new version is called CADSTAR 17, and it really tries to enhance and simplify the user experience with some powerful and interesting features. This post is primarily for readers who have had some experience using CADSTAR already. If you are just starting out and want to try CADSTAR, Zuken offers a free version complete with access to a library of over 20,000 components to use in your design and learning process.
Highlights of CADSTAR 17
Fewer Clicks for Placing and Routing with Perfect Springback Technology
Perfect Springback technology is now integrated with moving tracks while in Activ-45 mode for Activ-45 pushing. This increases the speed and responsiveness of routing because it eliminates the need to review return positions when trying out different routing positions (or undoing routing options). 3D modeling can be click-intensive, and what Perfect Springback basically does is allow users to place and route with fewer clicks than traditional routing technology.
Support for Etch Factor Definition
There are more support options in the Configuration Editor and Constraint Manager. Users can etch for half-planes, and the Configuration Editor and Constraint Manager are compatible with former trapezoidal conductor support. It’s important for impedance results to match reality as closely as possible , leading to faster designs and the ability to manufacture PCBs with a higher degree of signal integrity.
Ease of Use
There are two big improvements that make designing PCBs a bit easier in CADSTAR 17: Users can now specify an origin used as a reference for operations like rotation, for example, when dealing with a particular selection. And dimensions can now be added directly to PCB component footprints. A third feature that improves the user experience is that after a design is loaded, the version checks against the parts database are faster and more accurate.
For interested parties, CADSTAR currently has an offer on the table for customers to buy any product and get another one (of the same value or less) for free.