pac

IC Packagers: Workflows That Work for You

New IC packaging workflows in Cadence Allegro X layout tools allow you to follow a guided path from starting a design through final manufacturing. The path is there to ensure that you don’t miss steps and perform actions in the optimal order. W...(read more)




pac

Relative delay analysis is impacted by pbar

Does anyone know how to not include a pbar in a constraint manager analysis? I have some relative delay constraints applied on a group of differential nets. When I analyze the design these all show an error. If I delete the plating bar from the design they are all passing. The plating bar gets generated on the Substrate Geometry / Plating_Bar class. I understand that I could just delete the plating bar to verify the constraint but the issue is when I archive this design I would like it to be clean meaning it is in the final state for manufacturing AND passing all constraints according to design reviews.

Anyone have an idea? 

Thank you!




pac

What is Allegro X Advanced Package Designer and why do I not see Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) in 23.1?

Starting SPB 23.1, Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) has been rebranded as Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD).

The splash screen for Allegro X APD will appear as shown below, instead of showing APD+ 2023:

For the Windows Start menu in 23.1, it will display as Allegro X APD 2023 instead of APD+ 2023, as shown below

23.1 Start menu 

In the Product Choices window for 23.1, you will see Allegro X Advanced Package Designer in the place of Allegro Package Designer +, as shown below: 

23.1 product title




pac

Introducing new 3DX Canvas in Allegro X Advanced Package Designer

Have you heard that starting SPB 23.1, Allegro Package Designer Plus (APD+) will be renamed as Allegro X Advanced Package Designer (Allegro X APD)? 

Allegro X APD offers multiple new features and enhancements on topics like Via Structures, Wirebond, Etchback, Text Wizards, 3D Canvas, and more. 

This post presents the new 3DX Canvas introduced in SPB 23.1. This can be invoked from Allegro X APD (from the menu item View > 3DX Canvas). 

Some of the key benefits of the new canvas: 

  • This canvas addresses the scale and complexity in large modern package designs. It provides highly efficient visual representation and implementation of packages. 
  • The new architecture enables high-performance 3D incremental updates by utilizing GPU for fast rendering. 

  • Real-time 3D incremental updates are supported, which means that the 3D view is in sync with all changes to the database. 

  • The new canvas provides 3D visualization support for packaging objects such as wire bonds, ball, die bump/pillar geometries, die stacks, etch back, and plating bar. 

  • This release also introduces the interactive measurement tool for a 3D view of packages. Once you open 3DX Canvas, press the Alt key and you can select the objects you want to measure. 
  • 3DX Canvas provides new 3D DRC Bond Wire Clearances with Real 3D DRC Checks. True 3D DRC in Constraint Manager has been introduced. If you open Constraint Manager, there will be a new worksheet added. Following DRC checks are supported: 
    Wire to Wire 
    Wire to Finger 
    Wire to Shape 
    Wire to Cline 
    Wire to Component




pac

DFA check space of compont to BGA ball or BGA PAD in APD

Hi,

There are mang components in BGA ball side of flipchip package.

Are there DFA check space of compont body or pin soldermask to BGA ball or BGA PAD or bga  soldermask in allegro APD?

I only find space of compont to compont in APD DFA. 




pac

Creating Power and Ground rings in Allegro X Package Designer Plus

Power and Ground rings are exposed rings of metal surrounding a die that supply power/ground to the die and create a low-impedance path for the current flow. These rings ensure stable power distribution and reduce noise. Allegro X Package Designer Plus has a utility called Power/Ground Ring Generator which lets you define and place one or more shapes in the form of a ring around a die.

 To run the PWR/GND Generator Wizard, go to Route > Power/Ground Ring Generator or type "pring wizard" in the APD command window to invoke the Wizard.

   

This Wizard lets you define and place one or more shapes in the form of a ring around a die. The Power/Ground Ring Wizard creates up to 12 rings (shapes) at a time. If you require more rings, you can run the Power/Ground Ring Wizard as many times as needed. This command displays a wizard in which you can specify:

  • The number of rings to be generated
  • The creation of the first ring as a die flag (Die flag is the boundary of the die like the power ring.)
    • If you create a die flag and the first ring is the same net as the flag, you can enter a negative distance to overlap the ring and the die flag.
  • Multiple options for placement of the rings with respect to:
    • Origination point
    • Distance from the edge of the die
    • Distance from the nearest die pin on each die side
  • The reference designator of the die with which the rings will be used
  • The distance between rings
  • The width of each ring
  • The corner types on each ring (arc, chamfer, and right-angle)
  • An assigned net name for each ring
  • A label for each ring

The rings are basic in nature. For other shape geometries or split rings, choose Shape > Polygon or Shape > Compose/Decompose Shape from the menu in the design window.

Depending on the options selected, the Power/Ground Ring Wizard UI changes, representing how the rings will be created. Verify the Wizard settings to ensure that the rings are created as intended.

  1. When the Power/Ground Ring Wizard appears, set the number of rings to 2, accept the other defaults, and click Next. You can set Create first ring as die flag to create a basic die flag.

         2. Define Ring 1 and the net associated with it.

              a) Browse and choose Vss in the Net Names dialog box.

            b) Click OK.

            c) Specify the label as VSS.

            d) Click Next.

             The first ring should appear in your design. It is associated with the proper net; in this case, VSS.

  1. For the second ring, choose the net as Vdd and specify the label as VDD.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Click Finish in the Result Verification screen to complete the process.

The completed rings appear as shown below.

Now, when you click on Power and Ground Die Pin and add wirebonds, you will see that the wirebonds are placed directly on the Power and Ground rings.




pac

Package Design Integrity Checks

When things go wrong with your package design flow, it can sometimes be difficult to understand the cause of the issue. This can be something like a die component is wrongly identified as a BGA, a via stack has an alignment issue, or there are duplicate bondwires. These are just a few examples of issues; there can be many more. When interactive messages and log files do not help determine the problem, the Package Design Integrity Check tool becomes very handy. This feature lets you run integrity checks, which ensures that the database is configured correctly. 

To invoke the command from Allegro X Advanced Package Designer, use the Tools > Package Design Integrity menu. 

Or type package integrity at the Command  prompt. 

The Package Design Integrity Checks dialog box includes all categories and checks currently registered for the currently running product. You can enable all these categories and checks or only the one that you want to run. This utility can fix errors automatically (where possible). Errors and warnings are written to the “package_design_check.log” file.  

The utility can also be extended with your own custom rules based on your specific flows and needs. 




pac

How to transfer etch/conductor delays from Allegro Package Designer (APD) to pin delays in Allegro PCB Editor

The packaging group has finished their design in Allegro Package Designer (APD) and I want to use the etch/conductor delay information from the mcm file in the board design in Allegro PCB Designer. Is there a method to do this?

This can be done by exporting the etch/conductor data from APD and importing it as PIN_DELAY information into Allegro PCB Editor.

If you are generating a length report for use in Allegro Pin Delay, you should consider changing the APD units to Mils and uncheck the Time Delay Report.

In Allegro Package Designer:

  1. Select File > Export > Board Level Component.
  2. Select HDL for the Output format and select OK.

       3. Choose a padstack for use when generating the component and select OK.

This will create a file, package_pin_delay.rpt, in the component subdirectory of the current working directory. This file will contain the etch/conductor delay information that can be imported into Allegro.

In Allegro PCB Editor:

  1. Make sure that the device you want to import delays to is placed in your board design and is visible.
  2. Select File > Import > Pin delay.
  3. Browse to the component directory and select package_pin_delay.rpt. The browser defaults to look for *.csv files so you will need to change the Files of type to *.* to select the file.
  4. You may be prompted with an error message stating that the component cannot be found and you should select one. If so, select the appropriate component.
  5. Select Import.
  6. Once the import is completed, select Close.

Note: It is important that all non-trace shapes have a VOLTAGE property so they will not be processed by the the 2D field solver. You should run Reports > Net Delay Report in APD prior to generating the board-level component. This will display the net name of each net as it is processed. If you miss a VOLTAGE property on a net, the net name will show in the report processing window, and you will know which net needs the property.




pac

SPB17.4 installation package build defect

1, Some components in the installation package cannot choose to install; even if they do not choose them, they will still be installed; just less shortcut icons, the documents are still released to the installation directory.

2, "Catia Application Frame" repeat the problem?
       “x:CadenceSPB_17.4 oolsin“
       ”x:CadenceSPB_17.4 oolsspatial“
       "Catia Application Frame" shouldn't you use the latest version?

3,Follow-up update patch cleaning the useless files and extra empty folder action !!!

The SPB17.4 installation package is currently the worst installation package I have seen for large-scale software packaging.




pac

Sense line and decoupling capacitors

Hello,

A mybe silly question came to my mind: When routing sense lines, is it better to hav them as close as possible to DUT or afer the decoupling capacitors ?

Force in red, sense in purple.

Best way is 1 or 2 ?

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas to everybody !




pac

latest Specman-Matlab package


Attached is the latest revision of the venerable Specman-Matlab package (Lead Application Engineer Jangook Lee is the latest to have refreshed it for a customer in Asia to support 64 bit mode.  Look for a guest blog post from him on this package shortly.)

There is a README file inside the package that gives a detailed overview, shows how to run a demo and/or validate it’s installed correctly, and explains the general test flow.  The test file included in the package called "test_get_cmp_mdim.e" shows all the capabilities of the package, including:

* Using Specman to initialize and tear down the Matlab engine in batch mode

* Issuing Matlab commands from e-code, using the Specman command prompt to load .m files, initializing variables, and other operational tasks.

* Transfering data to and from the Matlab engine to Specman / an e language test bench

* Comparing data of previously retrieved Matlab arrays

* Accessing Matlab arrays from e-code without converting them to e list data structure

* Convert Matlab arrays into e-lists

Happy coding!

Team Specman

 




pac

How to set thru via hole to thru via hole spacing constraint?

Is there a way to set a thru via hole to thru via hole spacing constraint?

I need the hole to hole spacing, nit pad to pad spacing.

I can calculate the spacing using the via pad diameter, but this won't work for multiple via pad sizes.




pac

AllegroX SPACING rule precedence

Hi

the signal SPI_SCLK belongs to TWO Spacing CLASSES: CLS_SP_SPI and CLS_SP_SPI_CLOCK

I then assign TWO different SPACING RULES to each class : CLS_SP_SPI  > 2H and CLS_SP_SPI_CLOCK > 3.5H

Which SPACING RULE will inherit the signal SPI_SCLK ??

Is it possible to manually define the PRIORITY on Design Rules ??




pac

AllegroX. ConstraintManager: how to define an exemption inside a SPACING RULE ?

Hi

I have fixed a SPACING RULE (SP1) for a CLASS_DIFF_PAIR whereas for via associated to the net (DP_VIA), the DISTANCE > 60mils respect to ANY other vias (PTH, BB, TEST vias)

Now my problem is that this rules should NOT be applied for GND VIAS (STICHING VIA) which must be placed at a distance < 40mils respect to DP_VIA

How to create an exemption to the SPACING RULE (SP1)?




pac

Update Package_Height_Max from Orcad Capture

I am using OrCAD PCB Designer Standard version 17.4-2019. I want to force update the Package_Height_Max property on the place bound top shape. The footprint library that we've created has that property set in the dra file, but I'd like to override that from capture so I can be certain that the height is correct.

This is coming from a place where we have created a very large footprint library over that past ++ years. Everyone who creates a new footprint is supposed to make sure that we add Package_Height_Max to the footprint, but of course footprints get reused for various parts, not all of which will have the same package height. What I want to do is export a list of package heights from our part database and then import the package heights into Capture and override the package height in the footprint.

I have found a post here  Using Height Property from Orcad Capture which says its not possible, but it also says its from 15 years ago, so maybe things have changed?




pac

Smd pin to smd pin spacing

Hello,

Trying to figure out why this situation does not generate a DRC error.

A resistor was accidently placed so the pad was on top of another pad. See picture:

I have checked the CM and both Spacing Constraint Set and Same Net Spacing Constraint Set have Smd pin to Smd pin set to 0.1 mm.

I'm using Allegro PCB designer 22.1.

If someone has an idea why this does not give a DRC i would appreciate it. Thanks.

Regards,

Filip




pac

How to store the workspace designs and projects in local directory

Dear Community,

In OrCAD X Profession, the workspace feature enables the users to store the libraries (Schematic Symbol, Footprint and PSpice Models) and Designs (Schematic and PCB layout) in the cloud workspace.

But storing these libraries and design are stored in servers in the USA, Europe, Asia and Japan Servers.

I don't want to store my designs in any of these servers instead I want to create the workspace in my local PC and store all my libraries and designs in the local workspace.

Is this possible, if possible then can anyone provide the steps/procedure or videos of how to do it?

Regards,

Rohit Rohan




pac

Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2019/20 – the winners

Singapore has retained its place at the top of fDi's Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future ranking, with Shanghai and Tokyo completing the top three list. 




pac

View from the Middle East & Africa: small steps can have a big impact on tourism

Poor infrastructure and political instability deter tourism, but small and manageable steps to avoid chaos and promote hospitality can work wonders.




pac

Nokia Bell Labs looks to make maximum impact from minimum sites

Marcus Weldon, chief technology officer of Nokia and president of its research arm Nokia Bell Labs, talks about what guided the decision to set up a new global R&D centre and the company’s strategy for driving innovation




pac

Starware sets up Asia-Pacific HQ in Australia

Dutch company Starware has defied the challenges of COVID-19 and established a subsidiary in Melbourne, Victoria.




pac

Australian space industry set to rocket to new heights

Australia’s space industry is ready for lift-off, after granting the first-ever launch facility licence to Australian company Southern Launch.




pac

Create Angular NPM Package and Publish

Are you interested to create and publish NPM packages/libraries to enrich Angular functionality? Take a quick look at this post. You can share solutions with other developers. A simple package can solve many problems and resolve the issue quickly. If you are working with multiple applications? Package approach will help you to solve the components problems easily. In this post I have created the Bootstrap confirm functionality package with control options and published it on NPM repository for global use.





pac

Environment Variables in Apache and Xampp

Few days back one of my friend's project database credentials got exposed. After some investigation, we realized that it is because of the .git config commit. I would recommend configuring your sensitive credentials with operating system environment variables. This way you can protect information from the code base. This post will explain how to set up an environment variable for an Apache web server.





pac

Pocketbase Hosting on Apache or XAMPP

Pocketbase is an open-source application and alternative to Google Firebase. This is offering realtime database, authentication(including social), and file storage for your next web and mobile application. This article is about how to host the Pocketbase application server which usually runs at 8090 port with your existing application server. If you are using Linux and Apache based server, the following steps will help you to virtual host different ports host to the default 80 port.





pac

Insight – The impact of recent South American free trade agreements on Australian agriculture

Recent South American free trade agreements will have implications for Australian agricultural exports.




pac

Insight – Kuwait extends the shelf-life limit for chilled vacuum-packed beef

Kuwait has extended the shelf-life limit of chilled vacuum-packed beef from 90 days to 120 days.




pac

Take 30% off a 4-pack of Apple AirTags with this Best Buy deal and never lose your keys again

The Apple AirTag (4-Pack) is available for $69.99 at Best Buy; buy now for 30% off its original price of $99.99.




pac

Packaging for 'Wicked' dolls includes porn URL

The package for Mattel's 'Wicked' dolls has a shocking error.




pac

Hydroflux finds sustainable success in the Pacific

Australian environmental services company Hydroflux is providing sustainable water solutions and services to Pacific nations.




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Insight – Building resilient infrastructure in the Pacific Islands

There are opportunities for Australian companies to build sustainable resilient infrastructure in the Pacific and contribute to the region’s economic prosperity.




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Duke Energy aims to double renewable energy capacity by 2030

The utility's five-year capital plan totals $63 billion, 80% of which will support investments in grid modernization and zero or lower-carbon emitting generation.




pac

US Indo-Pacific Relations on the Eve of US Elections 2024

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East-West Center to Extend Collaboration in Pacific Islands Climate Resiliency Program

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EWC Announces Rejuvenation Plan for Pacific Islands Development Program

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Pacific Leaders Address Key Regional Issues at the 12th Pacific Islands Conference Of Leaders

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East-West Center Alum David Stilwell Confirmed as Top U.S. Diplomat for Asia Pacific

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Southeast Asia and US Delegations Meet at Jakarta Conference on US Indo-Pacific Strategy

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East-West Center Welcomes First Cohort of PROJECT Governance Graduate Degree Fellows from the Pacific Islands

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Civil Rights Champion Amy Agbayani to Receive East-West Center’s Women of Impact Award

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East-West Center and Japan Foundation Launch New ‘Indo-Pacific Leadership Lab’ Program

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Senator Brian Schatz Receives East-West Center’s Asia Pacific Community Building Award

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East-West Center, Report for the World Launch New Reporting Initiative for Pacific Islands

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Pacific Confronting Growing Climate Change Impacts, Official US Assessment Finds

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EWC to Oversee Close to $500,000 in NOAA Funding to Study Climate, Health, and Migration in Pacific Islands

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Blue Pacific Alliance Launches $19.8 Million ‘PROJECT Governance’ Initiative

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