Today Autodesk released a new extension for Fusion 360, the Signal Integrity Extension. Announced at Autodesk University in September, the Signal Integrity Extension is the first Fusion 360 extension for printed circuit board (PCB) design. Developed with Ansys simulation technology, it’s also Fusion 360’s first third-party extension.
Autodesk says the Signal Integrity Extension will help PCB designers create better circuits in less time, thanks to visual indicators of issues like impedance mismatches and signal delays.
“With this simulation extension, we want to make sure that design insights are readily available for engineers just at the time when they’re doing the design,” said Srinath Jonnalagadda, Autodesk’s VP of Design and Manufacturing Strategy, in an Autodesk video announcing the new extension. “The extension is able to give real-time insights so designers can figure out how to optimize their printed circuit board design.”
The Signal Integrity Extension provides four main features, according to Autodesk:
- Impedance matching: A color-coded overlay shows users the impedance values of critical transmission lines, and the effect of changes to trace width, dielectric constant, and layer thickness.
- Signal insights: Users can see properties of high-speed transmission lines such as time delays, trace lengths, capacitance, resistance, and inductance values.
- On-demand analysis: By inputting target parameters such as frequency and tolerance, users can quickly analyze signals of interest.
- Visual violation flagging: The Signal Integrity Extension provides a color-coded overlay on the 2D PCB design to reveal impedance or coupling issues at a glance.
Jonnalagadda hinted that this extension could be the first of many that leverage Ansys technology.
“It’s about bringing simulation insight into the design process, so that the designers have the necessary knowledge at the time of design to get it right as quickly as possible. And that’s about getting all kinds of physics and simulation into the Fusion 360 design process. We started with signal integrity, but the possibilities are endless,” Jonnalagadda said.
The Signal Integrity Extension is available within Fusion 360 for $200 per month or $1,600 per year. Autodesk is also offering a 14-day free trial.