ALTIUM VALUATION UIDE OR AGLE® SERSMOVING O …...ALTIUM VALUATION UIDE OR AGLE® SERSMOVING O RCUITSTUDIO® RO EAGLE TM DESIGN RULES Main articles: PCB Design Rules Reference CircuitStudio’s

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ALTIUM EVALUATION GUIDE FOR EAGLE® USERSMOVING TO CIRCUITSTUDIO® FROM EAGLETM

CIRCUITSTUDIO’S PLATFORM APPROACHMany other PCB Design Tools treat board-level design, simulation (SPICE), generating Production data, Library Management

and managing Design rules as independent processes or tool-chains. Moving into the future, this point tool approach will

increasingly present a barrier to efficient electronic product development. An alternative approach is a unified design platform

that allows you to combine all those tasks into a single executable. This next generation solution to electronic design has shown

to significantly boost productivity when compared to the tool-chain approach.

The diagram to the right illustrates the architecture of the software

platform. The foundation is a unified data model adjacent to a

data management layer. This combination brings significant data

management capabilities to the design process. A hierarchical

project combines all disciplines of PCB Design into a single view.

Another advantage of the platform architecture is the inclusion of

IP which is fully integrated into the design process. The platform

approach eliminates all the tool integration and data management

headaches creating more time for product innovation.

This document guides you through the process of moving from

Eagle to CircutiStudio.

THE CIRCUITSTUDIO ENVIRONMENT Main article: Exploring CircuitStudio, Design Environment

The CircuitStudio environment offers a complete electronic product development environment for all areas of design - from

schematic capture, simulation within that same schematic, to the generation of PCB and production Data. The environment

has a ribbon based user interface, making it familiar and comfortable to any windows user. Consistent selection and editing

paradigms across the different editors allow you to easily switch between various designs tasks all within the CircuitStudio

environment.

CircuitStudio is based on a single executable allowing you to start one application and only change the active view to create

and edit all design files, regardless of the type of file - schematics, PCB, library, text, and so on. No longer will you have to switch

between different windows when you want to move from viewing the schematic to the PCB. All the files (also referred to as

documents) open in the same executable, each appearing on a separate Document Tab within CircuitStudio. As you move from

one type of document to another the menus and toolbars automatically switch, giving you the right editing environment for

that document.

GETTING HELP

Main article: CircuitStudio Documentation

The best way to learn is through doing, CircuitStudio provides a number of ways to help you do that:

Clicking F1 over any object, editor, panel, menu entry or button to open a brief description in the online CircuitStudio

documentation.

Clicking F1 while running a command for a list of shortcuts you can use in that command.

Share ideas and get help from other CircuitStudio users: CircuitStudio Forums

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CIRCUITSTUDIO.COM

The CircuitStudio website allows you to access the forums where you can share all your thoughts with your industry peers. It

is the central place for users of CircuitStudio. This includes a complete Ecosystem to deliver content, knowledge and shared

experiences with tool users like you. Also, it is a place where you can provide feedback on software bugs or feature requests.

Software: You can download CircuitStudio together with a 1 month trial version

Resources: Search the technical documentation or discuss your topics with Element14 staff and users on the forum.

Blogs: What’s new, technical and commercial topics around CircuitStudio.

Getting Started: a series of getting started videos and product FAQ

PROJECT-BASED DESIGNMain article: Driving A PCB Design Through CircuitStudio

The starting point for every design created in CircuitStudio is a project file. There are two project types supported, each

targeting a different final implementation, PCB project and Integrated Library project. The project file stores links to the actual

design documents that are part of the project, as well as project-specific settings. This acts as a central storage place for your

complete design.

PREFERENCES

Main article: CircuitStudio Preferences

Global Preferences are accessed by selecting File>>System Preferences from the menus. The preferences configured here are stored as part of your installation, they do not travel with the design files. File-specific settings, such as schematic document

options and printed circuit board options are accessed via the Project>>Content>>Document Options menu or inside the design document - Right Click>>Options>>Document Options(Schematic) or Board Options(PCB) in each editor.

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PCB LAYOUT AND DESIGNSuccessful board layouts rely on design systems that unify the design definition with the physical layout and routing. CircuitStudio

offers such a PCB system which includes a number of familiar features to help you place and route your board. When the PCB

Editor is active (i.e. a PCB document (*.CSPcbDoc) is open and active) the main application window will contain:

A main design window in which you can start designing, capable of display in both 2D and 3D (shortcut: 2, 3)

Menus and toolbars that are specific to the PCB Editor

Workspace panels that are either global or editor-specific

VIEW CONFIGURATION AND THE LAYER STACK MANAGER

View Configurations are settings that control many PCB workspace display options for both 2D and 3D environments, and apply

to the PCB and PCB Library Editors. The view configuration last used when saving any PCB document is also saved with the file.

Select View>>Switch to 3D>>View Configurations>>View Configuration from the main menu to open the View Configurations dialog.

PCB BOARD OPTIONS - DOCUMENT SETTINGS

All options for the placement grid, measurement units, sheet position, and designator display mode are set in the Board Options

dialog. With a PCB document active in the main design window (for this and all of the following context-sensitive dialogs), inside

the design document - Right Click>>Options>>Board Options to open the Board Options dialog.

For multi-channel designs, you can select between logical and physical designator display on the PCB in the Board Options

dialog.

INTERACTIVE ROUTING

Main article: Interactive Routing

CircuitStudio has different interactive routing modes for interactive routing for single tracks, differential pairs and busses.

There are a number of different routing obstacle avoidance modes:

Ignore obstacles

Push obstacles

Stop at first obstacle

AutoRoute on current layer

Additionally routing also supports width driven impedance routing based on the width rule.

To open the Layer Stack Manager select

Home>>Board>>Layer Stack Manager from the menus. The Layer Stack Manager dialog shows the

current layer stack up of the board (Shown in Figure

6). Signal and plane layers can be added, removed,

or their order changed. Double-click on an electric

or insulation layer to configure layer properties,

such as: thickness, net association (plane layers),

or the dielectric constant.

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DESIGN RULES

Main articles: PCB Design Rules Reference

CircuitStudio’s PCB Editor is a rules-driven design environment. You can also transfer your favorite design rules from another

board. Design rules can be exported from, and imported to, the PCB Rules and Constraints Editor dialog.

SEE ALSO FOR PCB DESIGN

A great place to start learning about PCB Design is Tutorial - Driving a PCB Design Through CircuitStudio

PCB Inspector Panel which displays the common properties of different objects and lets you filter and edit them

PCB Filter Panel to learn more about filtering objects in the PCB Environment

Autorouting Tools covers the configuration and setup of autorouting features in CircuitStudio

MIXED-SIGNAL CIRCUIT SIMULATIONMixed-signal circuit simulation is a unified part of the capture process, and is fully integrated with the schematic editing

environment. Before you launch the Mixed-signal circuit simulation, make sure that any schematic sheet within the project is

open. Simulation models need to be associated with every component in the schematic document before simulation can be

launched from the command Design»Simulate»Mixed Sim. Simulation is done for the entire project.

You can use the same Schematic for both Simulation and PCB because of CircuitStudio’s unified data model. This integrated

simulation environment is fully SPICE compatible and additionally supports some PSPICE models.

COMPILATION - A CORNERSTONE OF CIRCUITSTUDIOCompilation is a cornerstone concept of the CircuitStudio environment. Compilation is a process that allows you to harness

many powerful design features.

When you complete your Eagle schematic design, you are used to generating a netlist and importing this information into your

PCB tool. With CircuitStudio you do a compilation instead. With that you transfer any available information into the unified

database for your project. From here, it is available to any other domain available inside this powerful toolset. For the transfer

of data from one domain to the other CircuitStudio will offer you an engineering change order process (ECO). With that ECO,

you have full control over what can be transferred.

When you select Home>>Project>>Compile the compilation process works out the structural relationships between the source schematic documents in the project, then determines the net-level connectivity within each sheet, and finally the

connectivity between the sheets. All this component and connective intelligence from your schematics design is written into

CircuitStudio’s unified internal data structure that can then be used for many post-compilation activities, such as comparing

and showing differences between schematics, cross probing back and forth between the schematics and PCB, and much more.

CONFIGURING DESIGN CONNECTIVITY

CircuitStudio supports different types of design connectivity, and this must be set to suit the structure of the design. The type of

sheet-to-sheet connectivity is called the Net Identifier Scope. This is defined in the Options tab of the Options for Project dialog

and saved with the project. From the Project menu go to the Content section and select the Project Options menu command,

and go to the Options tab.

In the Net Identifier Scope dropdown you can select from the following connectivity options:

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Automatic (Based on project contents)

Flat (Only ports global)

Hierarchical (Sheet entry port connections)

Global (Net labels and ports global)

You can import Eagle design content using the File>>Import menu. The Import process handles connectivity automatically through the translation process and will give you the Automatic (Based on project contents) configuration by default. Hierarchical

blocks are mapped as sheet symbols, and they will translate to sheet symbols in CircuitStudio. In Automatic mode, the design

compiler then looks at the sheet symbols on the top sheet. If there are sheet entries (hierarchical pins) in them, it will assume

vertical connectivity, and internally use the Hierarchical option. If there are no sheet symbols on the top sheet, or if there are

sheet symbols but they do not include any sheet entries, it will assume horizontal connectivity for which there are two ways

that CircuitStudio supports this: Flat and Global. In order to determine which of these two options to use, the design compiler

looks for ports or off-sheet connectors on the sub-sheets. If there are any it uses the Flat option, if there are no ports it uses

the Global option.

You can easily go back and change the configuration after translation through the Project Options dialog from the Projects

menu.

VERIFYING YOUR DESIGN - EXPANDED ERROR CHECKING

Main articles: Project Compiler Error Reference

Another benefit that results from compiling a project in CircuitStudio is built-in error reporting. This is completely configurable

for your needs and can be done before your project is compiled. Right-click either on the project file and invoke the Project

Options command, or also through the Project menu.

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DESIGN SYNCHRONIZATION

Main article: Engineering Change Order

Design synchronization is fully integrated in CircuitStudio without the need for passing a net list. Synchronization in CircuitStudio

is also bi-directional, allowing you to make annotation changes and component property updates in both directions between

your schematic and PCB, in a single operation.

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COMPONENTS AND LIBRARIESMain article: Component Libraries

CircuitStudio supports working directly from the source symbol or

model libraries, an ideal approach when the schematic and PCB

are designed by separate organizations.

The logical symbol is assumed to be the essential starting point of

a component. It can be initially defined, at a minimum, as a name

in a schematic library to which pins and any graphical symbols

or alternative display options needed for implementation may be

added. This flexibility allows a component to be represented in

different ways during the design and capture process. This may

not only be as a logical symbol on the schematic, but also be a

footprint on the PCB or even as a SPICE definition for simulation.

WHERE ARE MY LIBRARIES? SOME BASICS ON LIBRARY MANAGEMENT

You’ll be able to view your source schematic and PCB library

files immediately after translation through the Projects panel.

Your translated libraries are automatically grouped into one PCB

project.

To make their components available in all open projects, Libraries

are installed (added) to the CircuitStudio environment through the

Libraries Panel.

Display the Libraries panel, from there you can install and remove

libraries. Libraries can also be linked to any project, and you can

also define project search paths, useful for referencing simulation

models.

See Component Management in CircuitStudio for a further discussion on using Integrated Libraries.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

Generating documentation has always been an essential part of your work. Generating all of the necessary files with all of the

necessary settings is just a few mouse-clicks away. The Output Generator allows you to select, configure, and generate all the

required files to build your design. To access the Output Generator go to the Project>>Generate Outputs menu.

To learn about generating manufacturing output see Generate Output Files.

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STEP-BY-STEP IMPORT INSTRUCTIONSWith the change to the XML data Format in eagle, CircuitStudio provides a native Importer to support you in data migration.

Start the Import process with File»Import

Select Types of Files to import g EAGLE Files(*.SCH,*.BRD,*.LBR)

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Ctrl select or group select (with the mouse) the EAGLE Design and library files you would like to import.

Now you’ve finished and can work with your imported files.

SEE ALSOBelow are references to other articles and tutorials in the CircuitStudio Documentation Library that talk more about the

conceptual information as well as walking you through specific tasks. Remember, you can also browse through the Help

contents, and use F1.

For quick reference design steps, refer to the tutorial, Tutorial Steps.

Driving a PCB Design Through CircuitStudio for a detailed guide.

For help on component management read, Component Management.

For help on the different CircuitStudio design panels, Panels.

To explore how to use Design Variants read, Variants.

A great place to start your journey through all of the new possibilities with your CircuitStudio installation. On the View tab of the

CircuitStudio Ribbon you can find the Start button.

From here, you can easily access the CIrcuitStudio

homepage. Under Explore Documentation you can get more information about “Creating Your First PCB Design

with CircuitStudio”.

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MULTIPLE MONITOR SUPPORT

CircuitStudio has full support for multiple monitors. If you have multiple monitors on your PC you can easily drag a document

or Workspace panel out of CircuitStudio and drop it on the second monitor, greatly enhancing your design productivity. Multi-

monitor support is configured in Windows.

COMPONENT LINKING THROUGH UNIQUE IDS

CircuitStudio uses several methods to connect and synchronize data between the schematic and the PCB. With components in

particular, rather than relying strictly on matching designators, CircuitStudio employs a UniqueID for each component in your

design, allowing your SCH and PCB to be linked together at a lower level, which allows a more simplified forward and backwards

annotation. This is essentially a serial number that is given to a component when it is placed on the schematic, which is then

transferred with a hierarchical path to its corresponding footprint when the schematic data is brought over to the PCB forming

the Component Link.

Unique ID in Schematic Symbol

During a “normal” design process starting at the schematic then going to PCB, the Unique IDs are automatically passed so it’s

a transparent process for the user. For translated files, however, the Unique IDs do not automatically get synchronized. Not to

worry – CircuitStudio has a tool to help you quickly generate these links by matching designator!

In the PCB editor, select Tools>>PCB Links>>Component Links. The dialog will show (on the right side) the components that currently have matching Unique IDs. Those in the left and center columns are unmatched:

Matched Components Un-Matched Components

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CONCLUSION

With its unified approach to electronics design, the modern professional interface, and the ability to read in your existing work

and continue with it, CircuitStudio is a great alternative if you are looking for a way to continue Electronics Design and PCB

Layout without being forced into a subscription only plan. Visit CircuitStudio.com to start your free trial and see for yourself

that there is a better way forward.

Clicking the Add Pairs Matched By>> button will link the Unique IDs using various methods – the simplest and default being reference designator matching. Components whose reference designators match will then be placed in the Matched

Components column. Clicking Perform Update will change the Unique IDs in the PCB to match those found in the schematic.
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Documents

ALTIUM VALUATION UIDE OR AGLE® SERSMOVING O …...ALTIUM VALUATION UIDE OR AGLE® SERSMOVING O RCUITSTUDIO® RO EAGLE TM DESIGN RULES Main articles: PCB Design Rules Reference CircuitStudio’s