Protel 99se Schematic PCB - Ziggomembers.home.nl/j.vreuls/downloads/proteltraining_public.pdf · Protel 99Se in a nutshell Protel 99se Schematic & PCB Vincent Himpe In A Nutshell

Protel 99Se in a nutshell

Protel 99se

Schematic & PCB

Vincent Himpe

In A Nutshell


1/11/2006 Vincent Himpe

The Working environment

The Main Work SurfaceThis is your working area. It shows schematics, Layout, Simulation waveforms etc.

The area can be split to show multiple parts of a design.

The Side PanelThis panel shows different information depending on the task at hand.

The Status BarsThis shows you coordinates, object properties, and hints.

Keep an eye on this when learning to know the tool. It gives you hints on the things you can do

Protel 99Se in a nutshell : The environment


Starting a project

Creating a new design is straightforward. Just click on File - New design .

You can now set the location, name and design type.

Design types:

MS Access Database.This stores everything in one file.Pro: one file = one project. Easily transferable.Con: Giant file. File corruption = design lost.

Windows File systemStores all related documents in one directory.Pro: No problems with ODBC driver.Con: Lots of files.

Note: Protel DXP no longer supports the MS Access database. When opening a design it will be converted to the windows file system.

ODBC problems and How to Fix Them

ODBC is the database engine used by MS Access. Protel uses this engine to store and retrieve documents in the DDB file.

Some programs install New versions of the ODBC drivers. Protel sometimes doesn’t like that. Especially if the new drivers have replaced some functions with new ones using a different format.

Solution : Reinstall Protel. A local copy of the drivers will beplaced Protel’s install directory.

Protel 99Se in a nutshell : Starting a project


Adding files to your designTo add a document: simply right click on the white

are of the project and select New. A wizard will pop up and show you the possible files you can create.

Importing documents or folders: Right click and select either import, import folder or import project.

Note : Keep in mind that Protel can only show the documents it recognizes. While you can import things like PDF files, Protel might not be able to open them.

Document types: Schematic and PCB are pretty obvious. Idem for the library documents. CAM files are the definitions to create manufacturing output for your project. These are created form inside the PCB layout tool. Spread sheets are excel 95 format files and can be edited using the built in spreadsheet program. PCB printers are definitions to create layer views. These are created from with in the PCB module. And finally waveform files are created by the simulator.

TIP: The project manager and most popup boxes have a windows like view option. Right click on them and you can change between icons, lists , details etc.

Protel 99Se in a nutshell: Adding files


Commands and Menu’sProtel uses the standard windows approach of menus. Simply

click and select. Underlined letters on menus can be activate by holding down the ALT key and pressing that letter. However, There are additional hotkeys that follow the Protel way and do not conform to the standard windows way. Most of these are easy to pick up and you will find them very valuable.

The rule here is: think what you want to do and type the 2 letters of that action.

Place Part = P PPlace Wire = P WPlace Net = P NZoom WindowAnd so on.

The status bar gives you information about the commands and their shortcuts at your disposal during almost every step you are taking. Keep an eye on it.

Re-entrant commands. Almost all commands are re-entrant. This means you can invoke a command while already in the process of executing a different one. You can ‘stack’ up to 3 commands like this. Upon completion you return to the previous command and continue where you left off there.

Example Place Part, move cursor and do Zoom Window : draw the zoom area. The zoom function will execute and you will find yourself in that area with the part of choice still attached. You can now complete the placement.

Protel 99Se in a nutshell : Basic commands


Schematic CaptureDrawing a schematic. In its purest form this is a matter of placing schematic

symbols and wiring them up. Protel has all the tools to do just that and more.

The side panel shows you the currently loaded parts libraries and their contents. You can simply browse these and place parts as you go using the buttons on this panel.

To pull in the schematic information make sure that Browse SCH is selected.You can also switch between the library browser and schematic browse.

Browsing the library and placing parts:Select the library of choice in the library listSelect part from the listHit the Place button

The part will be taken to the currently active schematic. You can modify part parameters by pressing the TAB button

A preview of the part symbol is shown. If the part consists of multiple sub parts you can browse these using the part buttons.

Protel 99Se in a nutshell : schematic capture


Schematic CaptureOver time you will know the parts by heart. To place parts directly simply

invoke Place Parts : (P-P) and key in the part reference.

Part attributes:

Designator: This is the label by which the part is known. Ending the designator in a question mark allows the annotator to assign a unique number automatically.

Part Type: This is the parts ‘Value’. Like 1K or 74Hc00Footprint: This is the assigned footprint for the PCB layout

To place a part simply point the cursor crosshairs to the desired location and click left mouse button to place. A part stays attached to the cursor to make life easy.

Part Placement Hotkeys: During placement you can invoke these commands

Spacebar allows you to rotate a part before placing. X : flips part along X axisY : flips part along Y axisTAB : allows you to edit part parametersIns: Pick up parameters from already placed part. This allows you to ‘clone’ and existing part. Very handy to speed up the placement process.ESC : end task.



Schematic CaptureOnce parts have been placed its time to wire them together.

Place Wire (PW) allows you to interconnect individual pins.

Only Wires have an electrical property. You can assign a net name to a wire ply placing a net identifier (P N) or a power object (P O)

Any wire not having a net name will be assigned one by the netlister. These are invisible but guaranteed to be unique. Any electrical pin that touches the wire will be connected.

Any electrical connection that has the same net name will be connected. Net names are NOT case sensitive.

TIP: There is an option to automatically insert the junction symbols ( the little black dot that show where an electrical junction is made ). LEAVE THIS ON ( it is by default ). This way you will catch drawing errors you might not spot otherwise.

The little cross on the left is made from two horizontal pieces of wire and a big vertical piece of wire. The auto junction adds the dot on the left. The right cross was made with the auto junction off. No dot appears but there is still an electrical connection and the netlister will pick it up.

To avoid this problem wires should only butt together on corners. Never in the middle of a wire. Such hidden butting points are traps for short circuits.



Schematic CaptureMoving and dragging Stuff around

Protel has a number of commands that allow you to move stuff aroundincluding the rubberbanding of connections. As always commands are re-entrant.

Objects are selected if they are shown in Yellow.An object is in focus is a dashed rectangle is encompassing it, or in case of a wire it has the hotspots shown in itDeleting Stuff: DEL : deletes the component in focus.. Single click on a part to put it in focus. CTRL-DEL:

deletes a group of selected objects. To add to a selection use Select Inside Select Outside or simply hold down the SHIFT key and click on an object.

Copying Stuff: Hit Edit Copy and click on a location to copy to the clipboard. Hit Edit Paste and move the selection around. Only objects that are selected ( in yellow ) will be copied.

Moving Stuff: Single objects can be moved by simply holding down the left mouse button over them and dragging them around. Electrical connections are NOT maintained. Selected objects ( the yellow colored ones ) can be moved as a group by executing Move Selection.

Dragging stuff: Select Move Drag to move a part while maintaining electrical connections. The connections will rubber-band as you go. Equally groups of objects can be dragged by executing Move dRag Selection

Flipping Stuff: while moving or dragging stuff around you can re-orient it by hitting spacebar to rotate in steps of 90 degrees counterclockwise , or X and Y to flip around X and Y axis.



Schematic CaptureGlobal edits: You can set parameters for individual objects by hitting the tab key during placement or by

double clicking on the object after placement. It is equally possible to apply parameters to multiple objects. The Global button at the bottom of the popup window opens the advanced editing dialog.

This sets the filter for the components that will be affected by the changes.

This sets values that have to be applied when the change is performed



Schematic CaptureOff – sheet connections.:To interconnect multiple sheets ( see next page for more information ) you will have to provide a means of

connection that can be wired up on a higher level.

If you pull the netlist using the ‘Ports and Net Names global’ setting there is no need to do this ( more on the netlister settings later on.

However for completeness I will give a detail on the usage of port objects although I advise against the usage unless in case of multichannel designs.

Place poRt (PR) allows you to place a port object. A port is characterized by its name. As usual double click on an al ready placed port, or simply hit tab during placement, to edit the properties. If you want to do a strong electrical rule check you can also set up the electrical properties of a port.

On a higher level the port will be visible in the sheet symbol.

The port is an electrical connection point just as a pin on a component. So you can wire it up just like a normal pin.



Schematic CaptureHierarchical designs:

A design can be split over multiple sheets. A Top level schematic glues the individual parts together. Protel indicates this in the project browser by indenting the sub sheets under the top sheet. Multiple levels are possible.

To instantiate a sheet as building block simply execute the Design –Create Symbol from Sheet command( D Y ).

There are multiple ways to hook up sub sheets. Normally ports ( P R ) are used. On the next higher level these ports are visible The ports are electrical objects and need to be wired together. Other possibilities are to tie in to the net names and ports , or only use the port names without the requirement for wire-up. More about this in the netlist creation.



Schematic CaptureLibrariesDuring the capture phase you can fall back on predefined

libraries of components. To use these you have to add them in the library browser. Protel searches the libraries in that list when looking for a particular component.

Local CacheProtel also keeps a local cache in the design of any part you are

using. So even though you might not have a particular part in your local database you can instantiate it if it has been used in the design before.

Creating your own libraryA library is a project like any other. Instead of adding schematics

you add schematics libraries.

‘Stealing parts’One neat feature is that you can ‘steal’ parts form an existing

design to add to your local library. Simply select all the parts you want from the schematic sheet. ( the yellow selection ) and do Edit Copy

Now in the library editor click on the parts browser, right click and select paste.



Schematic CaptureCreating new partsThe manipulations on screen are the same as for drawing a

schematic. Of course the set of objects is more limited and now you have access to place pins.

It is easiest if the part is drawn in quadrant four. That way it will dangle from the mouse cursor during placement. Have one pin touch the 0:0 reference.

Attention : If, when editing an existing part, you move the part relative to this 0:0 ; the part fill ‘jump’ on the schematic when you update. It is important not to change the origin.

TIP : When drawing parts with polarized pins ( transistors, diodes, electrolytic caps etc.) don’t use numbers for the pins. Give them their true names. E.g.: + and – for caps, BCE or GDS for transistors and A/K for diodes. When matching up with the PCB footprints you will thus avoid wrong polarities..

You can have duplicate pin numbers to show for instance power and ground on all parts of a multipart component. Check and recheck before you use the final symbol that you do not have short circuits. Normally duplicate pin numbers should also carry the same name.



Schematic CaptureCreating Multipart componentsComponents can have multiple parts. Example a 7400:

Quad Nand gate. There are four identical gates in the package but the pin numbers change. In order to allow easy manipulation on the schematic you can ‘break’ the part in 4 pieces.

You can or remove, and brose trough the parts using the Tools menu.

Other usage for this could be to split an mixed mode chip in its digital, analog and power section.

Component DescriptionYou can set default parameters that will be taken to the

schematic. Default designator, PCB footprint and a description of the part can be added.

The Library Fields tab allows you to enter read-only information in up to 8 text fields. This is commonly used for linking with the simulator. It cannot be edited from the schematic.

The Part Field Names tab allows you to define the names of up to 16 user-editable text entry fields that appear in the component's properties dialog. These fields could be used to enter manufacture information.



Schematic CaptureAnnotating processNow that we have created a schematic it is time to start

preparing for the link to the Layout part.

The First step is to make sure that all parts in the design are known by a unique number. The easiest way is to annotate all parts automatically.

You can set the tool so it annotates all parts , only the new parts ( parts which have the ? still dangling at the end of their annotation ) or simple clear all annotations to the library presets.

In the advanced options you can force suffixes to be added depending on page or numerical boundaries. This is useful for multi-sheet or multi-channel designs.

TIP: When a design has not been turned into a board yet it is good to re-annotate everything. This will avoid problems. Especially if the design includes sheets that were used before and already had annotations on them.

Attention: In a multi-sheet design you do not want to turn ‘Current sheet only’ on unless you know exactly what you are doing. ( you need to use this in combination with the advanced options to avoid duplicate designators. )



Schematic CaptureThe 10 Commandments of ERC:1 : Thou shalt not touch the default rule matrix

unlest thou knoweth what thou are doing.2 : Thinking thou knoweth is not enough. Thou

hast to be absolutely sure thou knoweth.3 : Re-read rules 1 and 2.4 :Check for multiple net names. This is not a real

problem since the netlister can resolve it bit it is not ‘clean’

5: Check unconnected labels. This will find typo’s in net names

6: Check unconnected power pins7: Check for duplicate sheet numbers. Important

for a multi-channel design that was flattened from complex to simple hierarchy.

8: Check for duplicate component designators. Those are deadly for the layout.

9: Run on the active project and set the scope to ‘Net labels and Ports global’. This way all sub-files are processed, and all nets are probed.

10: The ERC checker will preserve you only from shorts, ‘floaters’ and duplicates. There are many other mistakes it can not detect. Check and re-check your schematic.

Electrical Rule Check ( ERC )A check that is all too much overlooked, but very

important. It will find shorts, duplicate parts, duplicate nets, single pin ( floating nets). You absolutely want to run it and make sure you understand what it tells you.

Of course the ERC only works correctly if your schematic symbols have been drawn correctly and set up properly in the schematic library.



Schematic CaptureNetlist generationNow its time to pull a netlist and prepare for transfer to the PCB tool. Most commonly you want to

specify the Protel format since that is what the PCB engine can read.The Scope is commonly set to ‘NET labels and Ports global’. This will connect any ports that have

been connected on an outer level ( read top level ) using wires and or net names. It will also tie anything carrying the same net-label , or connected via wire (which is a form of net labeling: Protel assigns a label automatically) together.

Of course you wan to run on the ‘active project’ and descend into sheet parts so all files are parsed.Including unnamed single pin nets can help you trap footprint mismatches.In the reporter ( Trace options) you might want to switch on the merging information.

That way you can see what got renamed to what, in case you deliberately use multiple net names.

Unnamed single pin nets:When the netlist is loaded in the

PCB editor all pins on the schematic will carry a net name. If, on the layout, you see a pad that has NO net assigned this means the PCB footprint has a pin that does not exist in the schematic. Check it.



Schematic CaptureThe ‘Update Design’ feature.In the PCB course we will see how to load and process the netlist step by step.But Protel has an interesting command that lets you ‘synchronize’ a board layout with the latest

schematic. It will analyze all changes and push them toward the PCB. While this is a very easy one-click operation it can also be very deceptive and can cause trouble.

You have similar settings as in the netlist creator. Use preferably ‘net labels and ports global’. You might want to forward footprint updates and delete no longer used components.

If you have used layout directives ( see next slide ) now is the time to push them to the layout and into the DRC rule set.

The Classes can help you route buses ( equidistant, parallel etc )

You ALWAYS want to preview the change and make sure you UNDERSTAND what will happen to the PCB after the push has happened. Especially if you are working under stress and against time. Remember this can cause unexpected trouble.

Pro: Easy one click. Rules are pushed. Single shot approach.

Con: Dangerous if you don’t understand the changes it will do. No ‘fine’ or step by step control.



Advanced Schematic CaptureLayout directivesDuring capture of the schematic directives can be

set that can be forwarded automatically to the PCB as Design rules.

To place such a directive launch the PIP command ( Place directive Pcb )

The directive is a small red circle with a hook attached. Set it on a wire.

To edit the properties simply hit TAB during placement or double click on at as with any other object after placement.

You can set properties like line width, via size , the desired routing topology, routing priority, preferred layer and more.

For interactive routing the topology and priority are useless. The interactive ( manual ) router does not control this, nor does the DRC trap this. Only the Auto router can process this information. Also the Protel 99 router does not handle this. You need an external router like SPECCTRA,MassTek or SituS in order to process this.

Protel DXP has the SituS router and can handle this.

Protel 99Se in a nutshell: Advanced capture


Advanced Schematic CaptureAbusing Protel as drawing tool / Importing to Word documents

The schematic editor in Protel allows you to easily draw schematics but you can equally draw mechanical drawings, block diagrams or flowcharts with it.

You can copy and paste directly to Word and other programs that can handle WMF data. ( Windows Meta File ).

Select all items you want to copy. In case you want everything do a Select All (SA). Hit Edit Copy (EC) and click on a location. It doesn’t matter where since the ‘snap’ location is not sent outside of Protel.

Now in your MS Word (or other tool) document simply do a Paste operation ( CTRL-V). Everything selected will appear as embedded picture. Done.

Protel copies the template (sheet border ) by default

You can turn this off in the Options Document menu (OD). Go to the Graphical editing tab and simply deselect the ‘Add template to clipboard’ option.



Advanced Schematic CaptureExplorations using the sidebar

Normally in the sidebar you have the library browser. By changing the browse selector from Libraries to Primitives you can ‘surf’ your schematic.

You now get easy access to groups of objects in the panel below.

The last panel shows you the elements belonging to the selected group.

You can now pick an element and jump to it, edit it and more.

If you select the ‘All in hierarchy’ the explorer will show you also the parts belonging to other schematics in the tree, and not only the currently selected sheet, if they are open.

To open all documents in the tree just click the open All button.

This is interesting if you are looking for problems with net names, part types or part values.



PCB LayoutA New PCB design

In the project database add a new document of the type PCB and give it an appropriate name for the project.

Double click to open the drawing canvas. Again on the left side note the side panel has taken on a new form specifically tuned for the PCB layout editor.

The browser has a lot of possible entries now.

The second pane still shows you information based on the selection in the browser.

A view port is used to show you various elements of the layout such as parts form the library. It can also be used as a handy magnifier tool

And lastly we get the Layer browser

Protel 99Se in a nutshell: PCB Layout


PCB LayoutSetting up your work frame

In the Preferences (OP) you can control the look and feel of Protel. Important things to look at it that the On-Line DRC is switched on ( More on DRC later ).

The rotation step specifies the parts rotation grid. It allows you to rotate parts by using the spacebar in the specified step.

The other tabs all control the visual appearance and the editing behavior. You might want to experiment what works best for you.

The Working GridsProtel Distinguishes between 3 grid types. There is a snap grid that is used to position tracks.The component grid is used to position the

components. They will snap to this grid.The electrical grid allows you to ‘deviate form the

snap grid. This is used if you have metric and imperial pitch components. Protel will first place an object on the snap grid. It then looks around this point using the range specified in the electrical grid. If it finds an electrical object with the same NET it will snap to that point.



PCB LayoutThe Layer stack manager

Normally before you start designing a board you will have an idea of the number of layers required or specified. So the first thing to do would be to set up the layer assignment (DK) and properties. You can insert layers and planes and give them a, for you, meaningful name.

Layers : This is where you and the auto router will interconnect, according to the netlist the individual pins of the components.

Planes : These are Computer generated layers that consist of a massive slab of copper with Via’s plugged. A plane is assigned at least one Net , or multiple if you create a split plane. Nets can only be assigned once the netlist has been loaded. So you will have to return here.

To change the parameters simply double click on a layer or plane name.



PCB LayoutLoading Netlists

Now you can load the netlist, or push the design using the ‘Update PCB’ function from the schematic for the first time. I will focus on the step by step function.

The Design – load Netlist (DN) command allows you to pull in or update the netlist for the board. If multiple netlists exist you can pick the one relevant to your layout.

Flags allow you to delete no longer used components and also update footprints.Don’t be amazed, when loading the netlist for the first time, to see hundreds or even thousands of

errors pop up. Simple things like a wrong footprint name on a 208 pin TQFP package will generate maybe over 400 errors. ( 208 missing pins, 208 broken nets plus the footprint error )

The easiest way to weed out the problems is to go ahead end execute the load anyway. Protel will give a warning, but go ahead and load the netlist.

All recognized parts will be loaded and scattered over the drawing area.

Now open the netlist loader again (DN). Protel will re-analyze the netlist against what is already on the board. The errors will be sorted and you can look at the error description to find out what is wrong. First step is to fix all the missing footprints. You might have to go back tot schematic to assign these, or you might have to create new PCB library symbols



PCB LayoutLoading Netlists (continued)

When those problems have been fixed you can attempt to re-load the netlist. Best is to do this in an iterative step-by-step process.

Once the netlist loads completely you will see at the bottom –All macro’s verified -. Then you have a 100% match between board and schematic.

TIP: The ultimate test for a design layout is to erase the netlist and reload it. If all macro’s execute correctly you can be sure to have a 100% match between what is on the board and what is on the schematic..

Navigating the layers.

A board layout is essentially a 3d structure where the 3rd dimension is your layer stack.

You can control what layers you want to see by opening the Layer control panel Options Layers (OL).

TIP: Don’t switch off the DRC error layer. You definitely want to see the violations you are creating.



PCB LayoutCreating the Board Outline

The board outline defines the room in which all parts and wiring will be placed. It is equally the boundary where the board will be cut once it leaves the factory.

To draw the boundary go to the Keepout layer. Using either the layer browser on the sidebar or on the left or the layer tabs below the drawing canvas.

Drawing the board outline is like drawing any other track. Run the Place Track (PT) command and draw the outline of the board. Keep an eye on the status bar as it tells you the length of the trace you are putting down. The board boundary needs to be a completely closed area.

If you need cut-outs inside the board you can simply add a keep-out inside the other area. The process works in an Xor like manner. You can actually make boards-in boards.



PCB LayoutParts placement

Parts placement can be a very complex process. An optimum balance needs to be found between accessibility of components (connectors) electrical connectivity ( decoupling close to chip, noise sources far away from sensitive signals) and manufacturability of a board( clearances and also soldering technology wise )

A good flow is to place the connectors first , layout the power supply area and supply ‘feed lines’, then layout the sensitive blocks, possibly on the opposite corner of the board, and then stuff all other remaining parts in between as you go, keeping in mind the manufacturability rules and electrical rules for decoupling. Try to keep noise sources as far away from analog inputs and sensitive nodes.

Autoplacer assist.

One tool you might want to use is the parts arranger feature : Tools – Interactive placement – Outside board (TIO).

Parts belonging to a selection will be arranged in neat piles just outside of your board outline. That way your work area is condensed and you can zoom out to maximum scale by doing a Zoom-All (ZA)



PCB LayoutPre-placement cleanup

Now that all parts have been loaded we can clean up the silkscreen, or in other words the text overlay of the board, to make our life a bit easier.

To edit a component just double click on it like you do with any other object.

You’d want to set the size for the Designators to an acceptable size and width and autoposition it in the center of the component. That way everything stays neatly together.

You can do the same for the Comments but here you should switch the Hide flag on as well. After all you don’t really want to seethose.

Hit the global button and click OK to apply these parameters to all components.



PCB LayoutInitial Placement

The first step is to place the components of which the position is dictated by the mechanical properties of the layout. Elements such as Fiducials, connectors, switches, mounting holes and certain specific big components might require a specific location.

The next step is place the layout sensitive components such as analog sections or noise sensitive, or producing, parts of the layout.

Making a full placement before routing is a bad idea. You want to start working on a part of the design an pull in parts as you start routing.

Part manipulations during placement

When juggling parts you can use the X and Y key to flip them over but keep in mind that the board is a 3D entity. They will end up on the other side. Protel will warn you that this will happen. If changing them from top to bottom that was your goal you can use the L key.

The spacebar allows you to rotate a part on the angular grid.The Jump Component (JC) command lets you pan to a specific part by

entering its designator.The Move Component (MC) command lets you move a component by

designator. An interesting option there is to toggle the mode to‘Move component to cursor’. This will always ‘pull in’ the part without changing your viewpoint or zoom scale. The part ‘snaps’ to the cursor



PCB LayoutUntangling the rats nest

The rats nest is the collection of fly-lines that show you the electrical interconnections. When you grab a component and move it only the relevant fly lines will be visible. This helps you during the placement.

TIP: You can change the color of the fly lines by pulling up the Nets on the sidebar browser and double clicking on a net name.

The rats nest is a visual aid that you can use as guidance during placement of components. When routing a net the fly line for the net you are routing will change to white. Relevant component pads will become highlighted with a white bounding box so you get an immediate overview of what goes where, and what needs to be interconnected.

The fly line will rubberband as you place your track and disappear once the track is in place.



PCB LayoutDesign rules (DR)Probably the most important properties

of a board are the Design rules. This rules set specifies the things you

can do an not do in the layout. You can make this set as elaborate, or small as you want.

Some of these rules will be set by the board manufacturing company. Especially the rules pertaining to smallest clearance, track width and drill size are important. This information should be obtained from the board house and set up correctly.

Other important rules are the placement rules. No components should be allowed to overlap and a minimum clearance should be guaranteed so the placement machines will be able to assemble the board. Normally the clearance gap should be specified in the library.

Keeping in mind the rule : Smaller geometries = more expensive board the following is a basic rule set:Routing – width constraint – Minimum = 6 MilsRouting – routing via style – minimum via hole = 12 mils / Minimum via pad size = 25 mils.Manufacturing – Polygon connect style – 45 degree angle



PCB LayoutMaking New PartsIn order to create new footprints a library need to be created.

Just like with creating a schematic library you can do this in the current project, or in a general ‘library project’. By adding the library project to the library list in the PCB library browser (on the sidebar in the same spot as with the schematic browser ) those parts will be available too.

Drawing a PCB part is the same as drawing a PCB. You place a combination of pads and draw tracks on the top overlay.

You need to draw exactly the information given in the datasheet of a component. Sometimes this information is in millimeter, sometimes in inch. By default Protel works in Mils. (1000Mil = 1 Inch.) To toggle to millimeter just hit Q.

Just like in the schematic a component should have unique pins. No duplicate pads are allowed. Having two pads, even if they are connected in the schematic, with the same pin number is cause for trouble during the Design rule check. If you want to create dualfootprint components you have to give them a unique pin number and create a custom schematic symbol.

You can place pads by running the PP command. Pad number, size, shape and drill holes, if any, can be set here.

Tip: you can enter data in both measurement systems. Mils or MM is assumed depending on the base. (Remember Q? ) If you don’t wan to toggle just add MM or Mil to the number. Protel will convert for you.



PCB Layout

Making New Parts (continued)Create your footprints with the true name of the package. That way they will become more universal. If

the footprint if for a really specific part that has no ‘universal’ denominator you could give it the part number as name.

For parts with polarized pins (transistors, diodes electrolytic capacitors) you can use GDS BCE or +- or AK as pad names.

Advantage : no mismatch possible No rotation errors.Disadvantage: If for a certain package there are possible pinouts you need to create ‘flavors’. E.G.: an

SOT23 package could be a diode, a bipolar or a MOS transistor.

In that case just make copies of a part and add a suffix to the part. E.G.: sot23-gds, sot23-ak, sot23-bce.

Just as in the schematic you can steal parts from existing layouts and add them to your library. You can also create a library from a complete design.

To make a quick footprint flavor, click on the existing part in the library, now right-click on the name and select copy. Now right click again and select paste. A duplicate will be created. The suffix _duplicate will be added. Just edit the part and then rename it. Presto.



PCB LayoutDesign Rules (continued)

Design rule definition is extremely flexible and powerful. You can define rules for the board, individual or groups of objects or nets, combinations of objects and even perform logical and mathematical operations on rules sets.

You can for instance specify that a certain net is:

- only allowed to be routed on the top layer- in a certain specific line width- has to be kept away a specific distance

from other nets.

During interactive routing Protel will prevent you from creating a violation, during auto routing the rule set is followed, provided you switched it on. Click on the ‘Run DRC’ button to control the settings



PCB LayoutDesign Rules (continued)

You can have as many, or as little design rules as you want. You have to be careful however not to create conflicting rules. Protel can trap some of these conflicting rules but not all.

You can import and export design rules to a file by clicking on the menu button of the design rule manager.

Net classes

A small blurb is in order about net classes. You will see in the DRC setup that you can specify net classes. You can make groups of nets and apply rules to those groups. To setup the classes you need to open the netlist manager (DE)

For instance a class can be made that holds all Low voltage power signals. In the DRC rules I could set up a rule for the width of this group of nets, and a rule that keeps them away from sensitive signals, like the ones in the group of ‘U2 signal pins’ I defined as well.



PCB LayoutInteractive RoutingMost mixed mode designs need to be manually routed.

Especially the power sections and analog circuitry.The rats nest is the visual guide to perform this job.

Protel offers lots of possibilities when routing.To commence the routing run the Place track (PT)

command.Pick up a net by clicking on a piece of track or a pad.

When multiple elements are stacked on top of each other ( remember a board is a 3D entity ) Protel will show a list of what is underneath your cursor. Just pick the element of choice.

The interactive router uses a look-forward principle. You are always dragging 2 vertexes ( track pieces ) on 2 angles of the allowed routing angles.

The crosshairs are attached to the second piece. You are actually drawing the first piece. This looks strange on paper but when you do it on the tool you will pick this up very quickly.

A couple of interesting hotkeys you can run while placing a track:

Space : Swaps the routing angles of the vertexesShift-Space : changes the routing style and angles. You can draw fluid lines,

90 degree angular grid, 45/90 angular grid, or free angle tracks. Shift-space cycles you trough the possibilities.



PCB LayoutInteractive Routing (continued)

During interactive routing Protel keeps the Design rules in mind, if they are turned on. Errors are shown in green on the DRC layer. You might need to switch that layer on in the Options-Layers menu (OL).

To control the on-line DRC you need to open the design rule manager (DR).

Click on the bottom left button ‘Run DRC”.

This screen shows you what DRC sets are run during a full DRC and on-line.

You need to make sure that at least the Short circuit and placement rules switched on in the on-line DRC engine.

You can select the configuration of the on-line DRC engine by clicking on the On-Line TAB at the top of the window.

Shown on the left is the minimum configuration for a good On-Line DRC that will reduce the Full DRC flags to a minimum.



PCB LayoutInteractive routing (continued)

During routing, besides the DRC, you have a number of other elements that can assist you.

The electrical grid will make sure you always snap to the center of an object. There are few instances where you would want to turn this off.

You can change the grids during routing by hitting G.

Probably the two most powerful functions is the automatic loop removal and the ‘Moses’ function.

The interactive router has a configuration on the document options (OD)

The Moses Function allows you to part existing traces, while automatically keeping all rules in mind, to insert a trace in between. Change the Mode to Push Obstacle to engage this function.

Automatically remove loops, will remove loops you might create while repositioning a track. Instead of deleting and rewiring you now just put the new path in place and the old path will automatically be removed



PCB LayoutThe Big DRCNow it’s time to launch the big DRC check.

(DR) click on ‘Run DRC’, a new window open that has also a ‘run DRC’ button. Click Again

The only acceptable output is what you see on the left.

All rules checked and no violations.

DRC error solvingIf the Design Rule checker finds problems a report is generated. Don’t get scared if

you get hundreds or thousands of problems. In fact you don’t even want to read the report if you see errors in it. Just close the report and go back to the PCB layout.

On the sidebar you can brose the violations. Just pick them off one by one. Select a violation and hit the Jump button. This will take the view port to the offending elements. Clicking the Highlight button will make them blink to draw your attention to them. If you double click on the violation you will get detailed information.

Fix the violation. The on-line DRC engine keeps monitoring you. If the violation is fixed it will disappear for the list. Keep picking them off until they are gone. Now you can re-launch.

Keep in mind that, if the on-line and full DRC settings are different, you still need to run the DRC once more until it gives you no more errors.



PCB LayoutPrintingOnce layout is completed and ‘Clean’ you might want to

create check plots, or output for your documentation.Protel has a printing engine that lets you automate this

task. Keep in mind that a board can have multiple layers, and you might want specific views.

Pull up the Print/Preview (FP). The Default view is a multilayer composite print.

A number of preset jobs is available under the Tools menu. The most important are Create Final, Create Assembly drawing and Create Composite. Pretty obvious who does what.

Protel will create the plot jobs In the sidebar. You can modify each or sheet by right clicking on it and selecting properties.

A sheet can be mirrored, layer order can be changed , color preferences changed and more.

The same can be done for every layer on a sheet. You can specifythe plot style of each element on that layer.

Finally you can set the printer settings in the same way. Just right click and select properties.

This preview can be saved under a filename in the design. Whenever you need to re-create the same plot just pull up the job and hit the Process PCB button. The jobs will be updated.

You can have as many different jobs as you want for any given board.



PCB LayoutIf Protel gets stuck… it might be machine trouble.

Protel rarely gets stuck if you have a clean machine. The definition of a clean machine is : Only Windows 98SE, 2000 or XP and an Antivirus tool (preferably Norton although Sophos doesn’t seem to cause trouble either . McAfee is known to cause trouble ) running. You can have plenty of other tools installed but they shouldn’t be open. Netscape is deadly for Protel as hogs resources.

An ideal layout machine should have a minimum of PIII-800 with 256 Megs of Ram. Preferably a PIV-2GHz with 512meg of ram.

Tip: Under no circumstance open two or more sessions of Protel. While this works it causes a tremendous impact on memory and resource usage of the computer. You can open multiple databases in the same session without problems.

Controlling Protel services.Protel is a client server architecture. The entire work frame is the

client. The real operations like drawing, file management, routing , DRC and other things are server engines. These run in completely different threads on the computer. Protel starts these servers only when a document that needs them is open. Should such a server misbehave you can shut it down.

Suppose the PCB layout block is causing strange behavior: - Close all open PCB documents in all open databases.- Open the system menu (The arrow left of File) and click on

servers.



PCB LayoutIf Protel gets stuck… it might be machine trouble. (Continued)The Server control panel shows you the active servers and allows you to stop and restart them.

Servers should normally be configured to be ‘On Call’. This means they will only be started when a document of the relevant type is opened.

Unfortunately Servers do not get stopped automatically. If you experience that your machine is running slow (especially on sub 1 GHz machines) and you have had Protel open for several days and manipulated lots of different documents, then it might be time to ‘release’ the servers.

The browser shows you all installed services on your machine and allows you to shut them down. Select the server of choice and click on the Menu Button. Then simply Select Stop and the server will be stopped.

Compacting Databases.Databases using the Ms Access format can reach huge proportions. You need to compact them from

time to time. In the database you need to empty the trashcan just as you would do under windows. Again under this arrow menu go to Design utilities and make sure that the box ‘Perform compact after closing design’ is checked. In this window you also have the possibility to repair a corrupted database. Before you do that better make a copy of it though.


Documents

Protel 99se Schematic PCB - Ziggomembers.home.nl/j.vreuls/downloads/proteltraining_public.pdf · Protel 99Se in a nutshell Protel 99se Schematic & PCB Vincent Himpe In A Nutshell