auto-interactive routing · auto-interactive router routes cleaner traces •broken up bus routing...

Auto-Interactive Routing

AUTO-INTERACTIVE ROUTING

HAND ROUTING VS USING AN AUTOMATED ROUTER AND THE PCB DESIGN SOLUTION1.

PCB DESIGN AUTO-INTERACTIVE ROUTING AND THE PCB AUTOROUTER2.

AUTO-INTERACTIVE ROUTER ROUTES CLEANER TRACES AND THE AUTO ROUTER3.

BENEFITS TO THE PCB ROUTING FROM INTERACTIVE PCB AUTO ROUTING4.

TOP REASONS HOW PCB DESIGN SOFTWARE WITH AUTO ROUTING CAN SAVE TIME5.

INTELLIGENT ROUTING FEATURES IN PCB DESIGN SOFTWARE6.

Hand Routing Vs Using An Automated Router


1

Hand Routing Vs Using An Automated RouterPCB designers avoid using automation and stick to manual hand-routing. The designers opt for hand routing and balance them with the benefits of auto-interactive routing technology.


• Short connecting traces – Hand Routing takes a lot of time and ensures that each connection is 100% accurate.

• Complex circuits - There are the more complex areas of the board to route, which can be very fulfilling to route design rules checker.

Benefits of Auto-interactive Routing

•It saves time. Auto-interactive router guides the path and routes in the same manner .

•Select the nets and engage the auto-interactive router with the short point-to-point connections.

•For more complex routing there is an option to select the nets and then draw in a path for the routes to take.

Auto-interactive routers are not the solution for every situation. More manual control is needed over the critical routing. Auto-interactive routing, however, can save a lot of time and effort in manually routing the traces.


See original content here

https://resources.altium.com/pcb-design-blog/hand-routing-vs-using-an-automated-router-why-auto-interactive-routing-is-the-ideal-pcb-design-solution

PCB Design Auto-Interactive Routing


2

Difference Between Auto-interactive Routers and PCB Autorouters

•The autorouter does the thinking whereas the auto-interactive router helps become in charge.•The auto-interactive router is integral to the layout application, it uses the existing design rules.•An autorouter requires a lot of setup to work correctly, it needs to be loaded with design rules and routing strategies.•The auto-interactive router gives an ability to direct the path of the routing without the cumbersome strategy setup steps•Auto-interactive routing does not make the design autorouted..•The auto-interactive router only routes the selected nets for routing instead of trying to route the entire board.

Auto-interactive routing technology has made it possible to take the power of automatic routing and put it into the hands of the designer.



https://resources.altium.com/pcb-design-blog/why-pcb-design-auto-interactive-routing-is-not-a-pcb-autorouter

Auto-Interactive Router routes cleaner traces


3

Auto-Interactive Router routes cleaner traces

•Broken up bus routing - An auto router considers each net in the bus individually instead of routing the bus as a group. In order to route each net, the auto router may push and shove the other routes in the bus out of the way. An auto-interactive router operates on the selected nets instead of all the nets in the design.

• Long and meandering traces - An auto-interactive router will route the selected nets from their starting point to their finishing point without considering every other net in the design as an auto router would. This keeps the routed traces as short as possible .

• Traces with undesirable corners and stubs - An auto-interactive router avoids this problem because it is not ripping up traces to do its work. Instead, it will route the selected nets in a single pass using the shortest path possible.

Auto routers are known for producing disorganized routes that are unaesthetic. This undesirable routing usually falls into one or more of the following three categories:



https://resources.altium.com/pcb-design-blog/why-an-auto-interactive-router-routes-cleaner-traces-than-an-auto-router

Benefits from Interactive PCB Auto Routing


4

Considerations for Designing a High Voltage PCB

• Point-to-point trace routing - An auto-interactive router is incredibly fast when routing these same nets. It will use the shortest possible path to route the traces

• BGA trace routing - Auto-interactive router can quickly order the BGA connections . It route the traces to connect the BGAs together in clean and precise routing patterns.

• Bus trace routing - Manually routing a clean bus pattern takes a lot of time. An auto-interactive router will route the nets of a bus very quickly, and the results are a very clean bus routing pattern.

Auto-interactive routing is not a batch auto router and is not designed to route the entire board. Instead, it is interactive PCB auto routing where there is control and the router does the work.



https://resources.altium.com/pcb-design-blog/the-pcb-routing-that-benefits-the-most-from-interactive-pcb-auto-routing

PCB Design software with Auto Routing can save time


5

PCB DESIGN SOFTWARE WITH AUTO ROUTING

• Point-to-point auto routing- Auto routers can be used to connect simple point-to-point nets. The router will automatically route the traces according to the design rules on selected nets.

• Batch auto routing- Modern batch routers are much more configurable. Since it is contained within the PCB design software, it uses the design rules that are already set , giving a better control.

Today’s auto routers function in different modes that can target specific areas of design to work on. Here are a couple of examples-


Benefits Of PCB Design Software with Auto Routing

• Short or long point-to-point nets. Nets used to take a long time to route manually. Now, whether they are short nets from pin to pin or long nets that cross the entire board, the router puts them in much faster than I ever could.

• Non-critical miscellaneous routing. At the end of a design when there is a bunch of non-critical nets left to route, the batch router is a great tool.

• Routing cleanup. The auto routers also have a lot of trace routing cleanup routines built into them. These greatly reduce the amount of time spent on manual cleanup.



https://resources.altium.com/pcb-design-blog/the-top-reasons-why-pcb-design-software-with-auto-routing-can-save-you-time

Intelligent Routing features in PCB Design software


6

4 key tools in PCB design software

• Component Auto-Place - The component auto-placer is a great tool that arranges all components systematically.

• Auto Router - One of the best way to use auto-routing is to apply it alongside manual and interactive routing. Begin by placing the power supply, high-speed communication, and analog signals manually. Then route the differential pairs before completing the remaining signals with the auto-routing tool.

• Multiple Pair and Differential Pair Routing - The multiple pair and differential pair routing are great tools in maintaining equal copper length and ensuring they are running in parallel. It saves time by routing a set of signals simultaneously.

• Design Rule Check - Design rule check (DRC) is probably the best tool that helps engineers to eliminate human errors. It highlights routing errors and zooms into the exact location on the PCB for immediate remedial work.



https://resources.altium.com/pcb-design-blog/intelligent-routing-features-in-pcb-design-software-let-you-work-smarter-not-harder


Altium Designer 18New to Altium Designer?

Don’t be!

Try the latest release and get time saving workflows and enhanced team collaboration options today at

www.Altium.com/free-trials

http://www.altium.com/free-trials

Thanks for your attention!

auto-interactive routing · auto-interactive router routes cleaner traces •broken up bus routing...

Documents