Nultisim Virtual World

8/19/2019 Nultisim Virtual World

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FromImaginatio

nRamos / Christ


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ToInventionBasics of Electronics

FabricationFall 2009 ELEC 61 Mt

SAC

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Introduction

The fabrication of a Printed Circuit Board or “PCB” involves few but very in-depth steps. Being

failiar with the entire process provides very iportant s!ills for use in the electronics industry. The

goal of the lessons provided is to help understand the process fro the drawing of a scheatic to

building a Bill of "aterials or “B#"” to ordering parts and creation of the PCB itself by utili$ing

%ational Instruents& "ultisi and 'ltiboard software.

What is MultiSim?

"ultisi is a scheatic capture and siulation progra designed to be easy to use for the

electronics industry and is a wonderful learning tool for students interested in electronics. (ith

interactive siulation) "ultisi helps students grasp scheatic and design concepts with ore ease.

Capturing) analy$ing) and siulating circuits are ade easy with "ultisi. The software even includes a

virtual *+ breadboard to siulate the real circuit without the necessity of coponents or the breadboard

itself which in the long run can save tie) oney) and the stress of obtaining and connecting

coponents.

Why learn Multisim?

"ultisi is one of any progras used to create scheatics and designs for use in the

electronics industry. "ost scheatic and design progras are very siilar being separated by sall

features or even ,ust the layout of the user interface. (ith its user-friendly design and ultiple tools for

siulation "ultisi provides an ecellent tool for learning core s!ills reuired in the fabrication

process.

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What is a schematic?

/ scheatic is the base diagra in the design of a circuit. 0cheatics display which coponents

will be used) how they are connected) and specific inforation regarding cople coponents such as

integrated circuits 1ICs. 3earning to read and draw scheatics is a crucial s!ill when going into the

electronics industry. 4very ,ourney begins with a first step and with electronic circuits it begins at the

scheatic.

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Getting familiar with Multisim

The first step in learning any new software whether it&s for personal) educational) or professional

use is to failiari$e with the software and the features that will be needed. This section covers ,ust that6

iportant drop down enus) toolbar icons) and brief eplanations of their contents.

This is the 7ile enu6 it is used to open and save files and is also the starting

point of creating a new scheatic. The enu functions alost eactly li!e

every other application used in a PC environent with a few eceptions8

Open Samples: 0electing this option opens a enu that contains a list of pre-

built circuits that can be used as eaples on how scheatics ight loo!.

Close/Close All: %orally applications will only have “Close” which will

close the pro,ect you&re wor!ing on but not close the application itself. “Close

/ll” is a coand that will close all "ultisi pro,ects that are currently

open. /ny pro,ect open that has been odified will propt an option to save

when the “Close /ll” coand is trying to close it.

Save/Save As…/Save all: "uch li!e other applications “0ave” will save the

pro,ect with the current nae and “0ave /s9” will give an option to save the

pro,ect under a different nae. “0ave /ll” wor!s siilar to “Close /ll” ecept

that instead of trying to close all open pro,ects) it will save the all under their current nae. 4ercise

caution when using this coand because it will save all changes to all pro,ects that are open.

ew/Open/Save/Close !ro"ect: (or!s the sae as their counterparts with the eception that instead of

wor!ing with a single scheatic) a pro,ect can contain ultiple scheatics) designs) and uch ore.

!rint/!rint !review/!rint Options: This area is to cover ,ust what it says) printing. #nce again) alost

identical functions as any other application. #ne thing to note is that in engineering and electronics

printing is often referred to as “Plotting.”

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#ecent $esigns/!ro"ects: Inside these enu strips you&ll find files that have recently been opened for

fast and easy access to scheatics or pro,ects that you ight have been wor!ing on fro day to day.

%&it: ;ust li!e every application in the world. 4it will close the entire progra. /ny unsaved changes

will propt a save window before "ultisi copletely closes down.

"uch li!e the “7ile” enu) the “4dit” enu functions very siilar to edit

enus in other applications.

'n(o/#e(o: 'ndo is used to undo a change that was ,ust ade. Conversely)

if the 'ndo coand was used and the change turns out to be acceptable)

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+ayer settings: 'sed to add and reove necessary or unwanted layers. 3ayers are drawing planes that

are used to separate portions of a drawing or in this case) a scheatic. Typically) layers are separated to

a!e viewing specific parts easier. 7or eaple) coponents ay be on one layer of a scheatic and

the nets that connect the ay be on another. If both of these types of parts are on separate layers we

can choose to view the drawing as a whole) coponents only) or nets only.

Orientation: This enu strip contains coands to rotate or flip selected parts of your scheatic.

,itle -loc. !osition/%(it Symol/,itle -loc.: / title bloc! is a teplate used for an individual or a

copany to a!e printed scheatics unifor to each other in respects to naing) nubering) etc. These

coands are used to anipulate the scheatic&s title bloc!.

*ont…: ;ust li!e in word processor progras) allows selecting desired fonts for tet.

Comment: If there are any coents on the scheatic this option is used to edit those coents.

*orms/0uestions: / very handy tool in "ultisi is the 7ors>?uestions coand. This coand

allows scheatics to be e-ailed through the progra and also contains a tet bo in which essages

ay be attached to the scheatic enabling students to send a scheatic to a teacher or an eployee to a

supervisor with any necessary uestions or coents.

!roperties: The properties coand is used to display the selected ite&s characteristics ranging fro

labels to things li!e individual coponent inforation in the “'ser 7ields” section.

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The Aiew drop down enu is very siple and alost self-eplanatory.

/gain) ost coands in this enu wor! siilar to other

applications.

*ull Screen: 4pands a scheatic view to fit the entire screen.

!arent Sheet: (hen dealing with subcircuits this coand will go to

the top of the circuit hierarchy. (hen dealing with subcircuits of a

subcircuit) it will go up one step in the hierarchy.

1ooming options: 'se these to $oo in) out) to a selected area) or to

have the scheatic fit the page.

1oom to Magnification…: 'sed to $oo to a specific ratio. 7or

eaple D or even **D

1oom Selection: (hen an ite is selected) this coand will $oo

in on that ite to fit the entire window.

Show Gri(/-or(er/!age -oun(s: These coands are toggled to

either show or hide the scheatic&s grid) its borders) and the page boundaries) respectively.

#uler -ars: 'sed to toggle the showing or hiding of the ruler bars.

Status -ar: 'sed to show or hide the status bar at the botto of the screen.

$esign ,oolo&: 0hows or hides the design toolbo which is used to anage eleents of the scheatic.

Sprea(sheet 2iew: 0hows or hides the spreadsheet view which allows fast viewing and editing of

properties including coponent details such as footprints) labeling) attributes and ore.

Circuit $escription -o&: 'se this coand to enter coents about the scheatic.

,oolars: This enu strip allows control over which toolbars are shown or hidden a!ing the user

interface copletely custoi$able.

Show Comment/!roe: 0hows or hides inforation about selected coents.

Grapher: 0hows or hides a graph with info on a siulation of your circuit.

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The Place enu is where ost of the scheatic will coe

fro. Coands fro this enu are used to insert

coponents) wiring) and ore.

Component…: Clic!ing here will bring up the coponent

dialogue bo) where a specific part can be found and

selected to add into the circuit.

3unction/Wire: 'sed to place wires or wire ,unctions. %ot

uite necessary as placing wires can be done by clic!ing

one pin on a coponent then clic!ing on another pin of a

coponent. #ne way of adding a ,unction is to clic! the

pin of a coponent then clic!ing on an eisting wire.

-us: 'sed to place a bus. Buses are used to siplify

wiring by carrying ultiple nets.

Connectors: 'sed to place various connectors such as

“#ff-page” connectors into the scheatic which are used for ulti-page scheatics.

4ierarchical -loc. comman(s: /llows creating or loading circuits fro a file in order to be displayed

in a condensed) siplified for.

Sucircuits: 0iilar to Fierarchical bloc!s with the eception of showing only the ost necessary pins.

Multi)!age…: /dds a new blan! page to the scheatic allowing ore roo for circuitry.

Merge -us…: 'sed to erge two buses together.

-us 2ector Connect…: 'sed to connect a ulti-pin coponent to a bus.

Comment/,e&t/Graphics: 'sed to add in coents) various tet li!e notes) or siple graphics such as

lines or rectangles onto a scheatic.

,itle -loc.…: 'sed to add in a title bloc! to the scheatic. Generally electronics copanies have a set

teplate for title bloc!s to a!e all scheatics unifor in displaying the copany nae) designer) etc.

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!lace +a((er #ungs: 'sed to create and siulate Prograable 3ogic Controllers or “P3Cs”

#ne of the very useful features of "ultisi is the ability for the

progra to siulate a circuit. The 0iulate drop down enu is where

to find the controls for this feature.

#un/!ause/Stop: In other words) controls starting) pausing) and

stopping of the circuit&s siulation.

5nstruments: 'nder the Instruents enu strip is where siulated

devices can be placed onto the scheatic6 devices such as +igital

"ulti-"eters 1+""s) #scilloscopes) etc.

5nteractive Simulation Settings: 'sed to change the settings of

instruents that are based on transient analysis. I.4. oscilloscopes.

$igital Simulation Settings: /llows choosing between accuracy and

speed of a digital circuit&s siulation.

Analyses: The large group of different types of analyses that "ultisi

can provide based on siulation of a circuit.

!ostprocessor: #nce one or ore siulations have been run on a

circuit the postprocessor can be used to cobine the analysis results of those siulations.

Simulation %rror +og: 'sed to show or hide the log of events that occurred during circuit siulations

6S!5C% Comman( +ine 5nterface: #pens a terinal in which 0pice Coands can be inputted.

+oa(/Save Simulation Settings…: If specific settings can be used for ultiple circuit pro,ects) they can

be saved and loaded for reuse later using these coands.

Auto *ault Option…: The auto fault option is also a handy feature in "ultisi as you can set rando

coponents in a circuit to fail in order to siulate how the circuit ight wor! if soething were to fail.

24$+ Simulation:


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#everse !roe $irection:


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+epending on the purpose of a scheatic the “Tools” enu ight be

used as uch as the “Place” enu. 'nder this enu is where

coponents are created and the database anaged. /n established

copany will generally have a database set up with coponents that

they use but an individual user will have to create their own database of

coponents.

Component Wiar(: The coponent wi$ard is where part odels are

created for siulation and>or footprints.

$ataase: The database enu strip is where coponents that have

already been created can be reviewed and edited or even to add a new

coponent that is on an eisting scheatic.

Circuit Wiar(s: This enu strip contains wi$ards to help create

specific circuits such as aplifiers) band re,ect filters) etc.

#ename/#enumer Components: /llows coponents& reference designators to be renubered.

#eplace Components…: 'sed to replace a selected coponent with another.

'p(ate Circuit Components: Coponents on circuit scheatics drawn on earlier versions of "ultisi

can be updated using this coand.

'p(ate 4-/SC Symols: 'sed to update FB>0C sybols fro older versions of "ultisi.

%lectrical #ules Chec.…: 'sed to create reports of electrical connection errors6 siilar to the spell-

chec! coand available on ost word processors.

Clear %#C Mar.ers…: Clears previous “4lectrical


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,itle -loc. %(itor: Creating or editing title bloc!s is done here. This can also be accessed by right

clic!ing an eisting title bloc! and clic!ing on “4dit 0ybol>Title Bloc!.”

$escription -o& %(itor: #pens a tet editor to create or edit the description of a circuit.

Capture Screen Area: 0iilar to using the “Print 0creen” button on a !eyboard) this coand will

capture a scheatic into the syste&s clipboard then anipulated using any picture editing software.

Show -rea(oar(: #pens the *+ virtual breadboard. Coponents and devices placed in the scheatic

will be copied and will be available to place on the breadboard.

Online $esign #esources: #pens a web browser to eplore various coponents available online.

%(ucation We !age: #pens a web browser to %ational Instruents& education web page.

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The #ptions enu set is where to go to custoi$e the loo!) settings) and

other various options of the "ultisi interface.

Gloal !references…: 'sed to change the settings of things such as where

the databases are saved) auto-save tiing) and other various options.

Sheet !roperties: 'sed to change options specific to the sheet. Aarious

options such as which font1s to use) sheet si$e) and other properties relevant to the sheet are edited here.

The options set here ay also be set to be the default settings for all future scheatic sheets.

Gloal #estrictions: 'sed to restrict the functionality of "ultisi such as liiting if coponents can

be edited) instruents placed) or even database access for all users.

Circuit #estrictions: 'sed to restrict options on the current sheet only. Circuit restriction settings are

siilar to global restrictions but will only affect that specific sheet and have a few added options such as

a!ing the sheet read-only or hiding coponent values.

Simplifie( 2ersion: 0iplifies the interface by hiding cople functions) instruents) analyses) etc.

Customie 'ser 5nterface: /llows the interface to be custoi$ed by changing settings such as toolbars)

windows) and even !eyboard shortcuts based on personal preferences.

Inputting coands isn&t liited to ,ust the drop down enus6 alost all coands can be

found on the toolbars. Coands not shown on the standard toolbars ay be available but hidden.

'nderstanding the toolbar syste is crucial for saving tie and understanding !eyboard hot!eys can

save even ore tie. 0hown here is an eaple of a toolbar8

%otice that any of the icons contained in the toolbar are siilar to those found in the drop

down enus. In this particular case) coands fro the “7ile” and “4dit” enus are shown. Fovering

the ouse over a specific icon will show which coand will be eecuted by clic!ing it. The essage

bo ay also show the !eyboard shortcut associated with the coand) in this case “Ctrl” and “%.”

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Wiring an( "unctions

The red lines strewn about the scheatic are called “%ets.” %ets are the display of how

coponents are connected to each other. They can be long) short) have ultiple turns) etc. that ay

change with the actual PCB layout. The iportant thing about the nets is that they connect the correct

pins fro one coponent to another. #ccasionally two or ore nets ay eet and for what is called a

“;unction.” ;unctions are used when ultiple coponents can share the sae net) such as a net going to

a grounding pin. 7oring ,unctions can save space when designing a PCB and therefore save oney and

a!e the board saller.

#ecogniing a "unction

The vast a,ority) if not all) scheatic drawing software represents a

net ,unction with a sall dot on the line representing the net. %otice in

the picture to the left above the “


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#eference (esignators an( component values


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(Left to right) Schematic Symbols for GND, DC, AC

Components with an( without a mo(el or footprint;

Coponents that do not have a odel or footprint are blac!. Coponents that do have a footprint are

blue.

Fas a odel. +oes not have a odel

Multi)page schematics

It is very coon for cople circuits to contain any coponents and be drawn on ultiple

sheets reuiring what are called “#ff-page” connections. #ff-page connections are ,ust what they sound

li!e) connections that go fro one coponent) off that coponent&s page) then to another coponent on

another page. They ay be displayed as an arrow or soe other ar!er with a labeled net to note which

off page connector is connected to which coponents.

,itle -loc.s

0iply put) title bloc!s are teplates that a!e scheatic sheets confor to each other. The

inforation given varies depending on the individual or copany using the title bloc!. Generally they

display the nae of who drew the scheatic) the copany&s nae) and the circuit&s nae. The eaple

shown below displays a typical title bloc! that states the title of the circuit) a brief description) the naes

of those who designed) chec!) and approved the scheatic and ore. Please place a title bloc! in your

scheatic) place K title bloc!) and double clic! on it to change inforation to a!e it your own. Then

place it in the botto right corner of your page by right clic!ing on it an pressing “ove to.”

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Placing coponents in "ultisi

There are ultiple ways to place and anipulate coponents in "ultisi. The ethods in this

lesson eplain usage of the drop down enus) toolbars) and a few !eyboard shortcuts. 3earning to

correctly place and connect coponents is crucial. / scheatic without coponents isn&t uch ore

than a blan! page.

!lacing a asic component

Basic coponents are parts that are siple in design and generally only serve one purpose. In

"ultisi) things such as resistors) capacitors) and inductors are eaples of basic coponents. There

are four ways of placing a basic coponent8

Using the mouse:


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Using the toolbars: /s entioned in a previous lesson) there are toolbars that contain buttons for

coands. In the picture below the toolbar button for “Place Basic” is circled in red. Clic!ing this

button is once again) the eact sae as the previous ethods.

/fter choosing a ethod to place a coponent a dialogue bo will appear in which the needed

coponent can be found and chosen.

This is the coponent selection dialogue bo. 0everal options are available for selecting a

coponent. In the top left of the bo) a database can be chosen to narrow a search or broaden the

nuber of parts available. 'nderneath the database pull down enu) there is another pull down enu to

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select a “Group”. This enu is used to change between types of coponents such as basic coponents)

diodes) etc. Below that enu is the “7aily” selection. 0hown in the eaple with the basic group

selected) basic coponent choices appear such as connectors) resistors) capacitors) etc.

#nce the database) group) and faily have all been selected the specific coponent can be

selected. (hen dealing with a database that contains large nubers of parts) finding a specific

coponent can be very tedious. %otice at the top center of the dialogue bo there is an area where the

nae of a part can be entered. If the nae or type of a coponent is being entered) "ultisi will

attept to filter choices with every !eystro!e. 'sing the eaple above) if an “F” were to be entered in)

the +0'B choices would no longer be shown. If a part nae or type is entered and a satisfactory result

is not available) the tet can be cleared to show all available parts in the faily and searched for

anually by using the slider bar to the right of the list.

In the window labeled “0ybol)” the highlighted coponent&s scheatic sybol appears. This

picture ay be displayed in /%0I 1/erican %ational 0tandards Institute or +I% 1+eutsches Institut

fMr %orung which is a Geran national organi$ation for standardi$ation. (hich sybol is displayed

is custoi$able under the #ptionsNGlobal Preferences dialogue bo under the Parts tab. /vailable

pins>connections on the coponent are ar!ed with a red “” loo!ing sybol. (hen placing a resistor)

inductor) or capacitor an option labeled “0ave uniue coponent on placeent” appears. (hen the bo

is chec!ed) coponents with a uniue cobination of values in the various fields of the dialog bo are

saved.

Below the sybol window are the 7unction) "odel I+) 7ootprint) and Fyperlin! areas. /ny

available inforation about the highlighted coponent will be displayed in the 7unction area. Certain

coponents such as resistors ay replace the function area with pull down enus to choose coponent

types and>or tolerance percentages. If ultiple anufacturer odels are saved in the currently selected

database) they can be chosen in the "odel anufacturer portion of the dialogue bo. The sae is true

for the footprint area. / footprint contains inforation of a coponent&s pac!aging such as diensions)

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pin si$es) pac!age types) etc. If a hyperlin! is available for the highlighted coponent) it will appear in

the hyperlin! area and can be used to open a web browser to a anufacturer&s web page by holding the

Ctrl !ey and left clic!ing the lin! with the ouse.

To the top right of the dialogue bo several options are available. Clic!ing “#J” will accept the

choices for the coponent and will return to the scheatic sheet with the selected coponent attached

to the ouse cursor. Clic! “Close” on the other hand will discard all selections and return to the

scheatic sheet. +epending on the si$e of the database) the “0earch9” button ight be necessary.

Clic!ing it will bring up a new dialogue bo in which a ore advanced search for specific coponents

can be eecuted. (ith the “+etail


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net will be discussed. (hen the ouse cursor is placed over a ,unction or unconnected pin) the ouse

icon changes into a crosshair with a circle in the iddle8 This icon eans that a net is ready to be

created between that ,unction or pin and another ,unction) pin) or eisting net. 0iply clic! on the

starting destination and clic! the ending destination and "ultisi will attept to draw the net in the

ost efficient path.

#ften ties wires need to go around coponents or other wires to a!e a scheatic loo! neat.

(henever specific paths ust be ta!en) a net ust “turn” while being drawn. (hile drawing a net) left

clic!ing the ouse button on the sheet will “anchor” the current path of the net allowing control over

when the net will change directions.

Changing a net’s direction

#nce a net has been placed it can be odified. %ets ay be stretched) rerouted) and deleted.

Clic! the net to select it. #nce selected blue suares will appear on all corners and endpoints of the net.

Pressing the “+elete” !ey on the !eyboard will delete the selected net. If the net is to be odified)

siply clic! and hold the left ouse button on the net. 7ro there) the net can be stretched.

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"ultisi will autoatically stretch parts of the net where appropriate. #nce a net has been odified) it

can be further odified.

4ach tie a net is odified the blue selection ar!ers will be added where appropriate and ore

odifications can be ade. The selection ar!ers ay also be dragged to odify a net to a!e

diagonal type net drawings.

/lthough it can be done) diagonal type nets are generally not acceptable in professional scheatics.

Moving an( #otating Components

"ore often than not) coponents in a scheatic ust be oved) rotated) or otherwise

anipulated to a!e the scheatic easier to read or to ,ust a!e it loo! neat and professional. "oving

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coponents is a siple clic! and drag process. 0iply left clic! on the coponent to be oved and

while holding the left ouse button) use the ouse to ove it to a desired spot. #nce the a new space on

the scheatic is satisfactory) siply release the left ouse button and the coponent will ove.

Coponents can be rotated or before or after they have been placed. (hen a coponent is

“hovering” with the ouse cursor before it&s placed) it can be rotated H degrees at a tie by pressing

“Ctrl” and “


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(hen coponents are oved) rotated) or flipped "ultisi will attept to autoatically ove

any nets they are connected to as best it can. 4diting those nets is generally the best thing to do to a!e

the scheatic loo! neat after changing the placeent of a coponent.

Copying/!asting an( $eleting Components

"any ties when creating a scheatic for a circuit the sae coponents will be repeatedly used

and soeties ore copies of coponents already used will need to be added. Copying and pasting of

these coponents saves tie by not having to identify the coponent then having to search for it again

with the “0elect a Coponent” dialogue bo. Copying and pasting of coponents in "ultisi is alost

no different than copying and pasting anything in the a,ority of applications. In ost progras when

an ite is copied then pasted) the pasted copy will be inserted where the cursor or ouse is positioned

at. In "ultisi) when a coponent is copied then pasted) the pasted copy will “hover” with the ouse

pointer as if it were a new part being placed. /gain) li!e any coands) there are ultiple ways to

copy and paste coponents.

Using the mouse:


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Using the toolbars: By default) there are toolbar buttons for copying and pasting ,ust li!e there are

buttons for placing coponents. Clic!ing one has the sae effect as the previous three ethods.

(hen coponents are no longer necessary in a scheatic they ust be deleted. +eleting can be

achieved in the sae ways as copying and pasting coponents with the eception of using the toolbars.

4ercise caution when deleting coponents as (eleting a component will (elete all of the imme(iate

nets that it

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Nultisim Virtual World