Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Graphical User Interface Ultiboard National Instruments
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NI Ultiboard TM User Manual NI Ultiboard User Manual May 2008 374488C-01.
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Conventions The follo wing con ve ntions are used in this manual: » The » symbol leads you through nested menu items and dialog box options to a final action. The sequence File»Page Setup»Options directs yo u to pull down the File menu, select the Page Setup item, and select Options from the last dialog box.
© National Instruments Corporat ion vii NI Ultiboard User Manual Contents Chapter 1 User Interface Introduction to the Ultiboard In terface ............. .............. .............. ............... .............. .... 1-1 Toolbars ............ ....
Contents NI Ultiboard User Manual viii ni.com Spreadsheet View: SMT Pads Tab.................. .............. .............. .............. ...... 1-39 Spreadsheet View: THT Pads Tab .................. .............. ........... .............. .......
Contents © National Instruments Corporat ion ix NI Ultiboard User Manual Working with the Board Outline ..... ................. ........... ............... .............. .............. ....... 3-5 Using the Drawing Too ls to Create a Board Outline .
Contents NI Ultiboard User Manual x ni.com Placing Other Elements .... .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ......... 4-20 Placing Mounting Holes and Connectors ..... .................... ..........
Contents © National Instruments Corporat ion xi NI Ultiboard User Manual Placing a Bus .... .............. ............... .............. .............. .............. .............. .......... 5-5 Working with Density Bars ........... ..............
Contents NI Ultiboard User Manual xii ni.com Chapter 6 PCB Calculators PCB Transmission Line Calculator ..... .............. .............. ................. ............... .............. 6-1 Microstrip Trace Calculations ........................... .
Contents © National Instruments Corporat ion xiii NI Ultiboard User Manual Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufacturing/Assembly Placing and Editing Text..................... .............. .............. .............. ............... .............. .... 8-1 Capturing Screen Area .
Contents NI Ultiboard User Manual xiv ni.com Setting Mechanical CAD Colo rs ............ .............. ................. .............. ............ 10-3 Controlling Workspace Elements for Mechanical CAD .... ............ ........... ...... 10-4 Setting Paths for Mechanical CAD .
Contents © National Instruments Corporat ion xv NI Ultiboard User Manual Edit»Selection Filter ................... .............. .............. ................. .............. .......... A-6 Edit»Orientation ............. ............... ........
Contents NI Ultiboard User Manual xvi ni.com Place»Jumper .......... .......................................... ........................................ ...... A-13 Place»Net Bridge .......... ..................................................... ..
Contents © National Instruments Corporat ion xvii NI Ultiboard User Manual Tools»View 3D Position ............ .............. .............. .............. .............. ............. A-19 Tools»Show or Hide Height .................. .............
© National Instruments Corporat ion 1-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 1 User Interface The following sections explain the basic components of the Ultibo ard Graphical User Interface (GUI) and s how how to set up user preferences and PCB properties. Some of the described features may not be available in your edition of Ultiboard.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-2 ni.com Button Description New File b utton. Creates a ne w project (if none are currently open) or a new desi gn if a project is currently open. Refer to the C reating a Project and Creating a Design sections of Chapter 2, Beginning a Design , for more informati on.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual View T oolbar The View toolbar contains buttons for modifying the way the screen is displayed, and appears by d efault when you run Ultiboard. The View toolbar buttons are explained in the table below.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-4 ni.com Main T oolbar The Main toolbar contains buttons for common board design functions. Its buttons are described in the table below. Button Description Select button. De-acti vates any selec ted mode (for example, for placing traces) and allows you to select an element on the board.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual Select T oolbar The Select toolbar contains the functions used to con trol selection filters, and appears by default when you run Ultiboard. Please note that all filters are not available in all versions of Ultiboard.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-6 ni.com Draw Settings T oolbar The Draw Settings toolbar lets you select the layer, thickness and unit of measure of a line or object that is be ing drawn. It also contains but tons for functions that control the appearance of lines and shap es drawn on any layer, except a copper layer.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Edit T oolbar The Edit toolbar contains the functions us ed for editing specific elements, including in-place editing and orientat ion. The Edit toolbar buttons are explained in the table below.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-8 ni.com Align T oolbar The Align toolbar contains the functions used to align and space design elements. Refer to the Aligning Shapes and Parts and Spacing Shapes and Parts sections of Chapter 4 , Working with Parts , for more information.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual Place T oolbar The Place toolbar contains the functions used to place elements such as traces, lines and polygons on the design. The Place toolbar buttons are explained in the table below.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-10 ni.com Place Ellipse button. Places an el lipse on the design. Refer to the Placing Shapes and Graphics section of Chapter 4, Working with Parts , for more information. Place Pie button. Places a pie-shape on the design.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual Place Text b utton. Places text on the design. Useful for annotation purposes. Refer to the Placing and Editing Text section of Chapter 8, Preparing for Manufacturing/Assembly , for more i nformation.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-12 ni.com Wizard T oolbar The Wizard toolbar contains the wizard functions supported by Ultiboard. The Wizard toolbar buttons are explained in the table below. Autoroute T oolbar The Autoroute toolbar contains the autorouting and placem ent functions supported by U ltiboard.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual Setting Preferences This section explains general pro cedures for settin g preferences. The following sections describe deta il s of setting speci fic options.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-14 ni.com • Line width cache size —The number of recently used line widths Ultiboard keeps in memory .
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-15 NI Ultiboard User Manual Colors T ab Ultiboard allows you to set up color schemes for the work space background and other displayed elem ents. Complete the following steps to set up color schemes: 1.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-16 ni.com 3. Set the viewing options in the View area: • Show pin 1 mark —Enable to display pin 1 of a device with a unique marking. • Show Copper Areas —Enable to display copper areas. This applies to copper areas only , no t regular polygon shapes on non-copper layers.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-17 NI Ultiboard User Manual 9. In the On trace placement area: • Auto trace narrowing —Enable to allo w traces to narro w as necessary during routing. • Auto add teardrop —Enable to add a teardrop when a trace is placed.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-18 ni.com 14. T o ap ply your changes but leave the Preferences dialog box open, click Apply . T o apply your changes and close t he Preferences dialog box, click OK .
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-19 NI Ultiboard User Manual • Displayed Unit —Select the unit of measur e to be displayed with the dimension. If you select Use D esign Settings , the unit of measure selected in the Design Units field of the Grids & Units tab of the PCB Properties dialog box are used .
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-20 ni.com Setting PCB Properties Many characteristics of your PCB design are controlled through the PCB Properties dialog box including the number of layers, design rules and grid settings. These settings are saved w ith th e design and will be in effect when the design is reopened.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-21 NI Ultiboard User Manual • Degree Step —This f ield becomes acti ve when Polar Grid is selected in the Grid Type field. Enter the desired distance between the grid’ s elements (dots, lines or crosses).
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-22 ni.com 4. As you make changes to the layer settings, the Allowed Vias pane sho ws the acceptable layer combinations for blind and buried vias or microvias. Use the checkboxes to se lect the layer combinations you want to allo w in your design as sh o wn in the ex ample in the fi gure below .
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-23 NI Ultiboard User Manual Through Hole Pad Annular Ring Footprints in the database have been designed with pad sizes in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendati ons.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-24 ni.com The Capture Land Diameter field determines the land diameter where the microvia starts, while Target Land Diameter determines the diameter where the microvia ends .
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-25 NI Ultiboard User Manual Complete the f ollo wing steps t o rename layers: 1. Click Rename in the Layer Names area. The Select Layer for Renaming dialog box appears. 2. Select the layer that you wish to rename and click OK .
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-26 ni.com Setting Favorite Layers You can assign shortcuts for up to ten layers using the Favorite layers tab. These shortcuts can then be used to ma ke a layer active. The active layer is the layer where any new elements will be placed, or where any deletions will be made.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-27 NI Ultiboard User Manual Design T oolbox The Design Toolbox , shown in the figure belo w, is a vital part of the user interface. You will use it often to mana ge your design efforts by controlling major parts of Ultiboard’s fun ctionality.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-28 ni.com Birds Eye View The Birds Eye View sho ws you the design at a glance and lets you easily navigate around the w orkspace. T o magnify a specific area on the design, drag a rectangle around the desired area on the Birds Eye View .
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-29 NI Ultiboard User Manual Spreadsheet View The Spreadsheet View allows fast advanced viewing and editing of parameters including part details such as footprints, Reference Desig nators, attributes and design constraints.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-30 ni.com Note Y ou can also access the abov e commands fr om a pop-up menu by right-clicking in the Spreadsheet View . Spreadsheet View: DRC T ab The DRC tab displays errors (for example, Design Rule Errors ) and warnings as they occur while you work.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-31 NI Ultiboard User Manual When you right-click on an item in the DRC tab, a pop-up menu displays with the following av ailable selections: • Copy —Copies all items in the DRC tab and places them on the clipboard.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-32 ni.com 3. Select the error type(s) to add to the f ilter . Y ou can use the Ctrl and Shift keys to select multiple items. 4. Click OK to close the Add Filter(s) dialog box and add th e selected items to the Filter M anager .
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-33 NI Ultiboard User Manual Y ou can also right-click an item to display a popup that contai ns Copy ; Clear Results ; Go to . Spreadsheet View: Parts T ab Use the Parts tab to work with the p arts in your design.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-34 ni.com Spreadsheet View: Part Groups T ab Use the Part Groups tab to work wi th part groups as described in the tabl e below. Pin Swap If enabled, allows lik e-pins to be swapped during the routing process.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-35 NI Ultiboard User Manual Spreadsheet View: Nets T ab Use the Nets tab to work with th e net lists in you r design. Refer t o the Using the Nets Tab section for more info rmation. Pin Swap If enabled, allows pins for like-parts to be swapped during the routing process.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-36 ni.com Min Width The minimum width to whic h a trace will be laid during routing. Y ou can ente r a value here, or use the Group Editor . Refer to the Working with th e Group Editor of Chapter 3, Setting Up a D esign , section for more informati on.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-37 NI Ultiboard User Manual Bus Group This is the bus group in which the net is contained. Y ou can either enter the gr oup name here, or use the Group Editor . Refer to the Working with the Gro up Editor section of Chapter 3 , Setting Up a Design , for more informati on.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-38 ni.com Spreadsheet View: Nets Groups T ab Use the Net Groups tab to work with net groups. Column Description Net Group This is the group in which the net is contained. Y ou can either enter the group name here, or use the Group Editor .
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-39 NI Ultiboard User Manual Spreadsheet View: SMT Pads T ab Use the SMT Pads tab to work with pad information for surface-mount devices. Routing Priority The routing priority for the selected net group.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-40 ni.com Spreadsheet View: THT Pads T ab Use the THT Pads tab to work with pad inform ation for throug h-hole technology devices. Trace Clearance The clearance of the trace to parts. Y ou can use net settings, or as set in the SMT Pin Properties dialog box.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-41 NI Ultiboard User Manual Inner Pad Shape The shape of the inner layer pad as set in the Through Hole Pin Properties dialog box. Refer to the Viewing and Editing Through Hole Pin Properties section of Chapter 4, Working with Parts , for mor e information .
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-42 ni.com Spreadsheet View: Vias T ab Use the Vias tab to wor k with via information. Column Description Assume Net The unique identifier for the net to which the via is connected. Can be changed by using the drop-down list.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-43 NI Ultiboard User Manual Spreadsheet View: Copper Areas T ab Use the Copper Areas tab to work with in formation for copper areas. Column Description Layer The layer on which the copper area is found, as set in the Copper Area Properties dialog box.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-44 ni.com Spreadsheet View: Keep-ins/Keep-outs T ab Use the Keep-ins/Keep-outs tab to w ork with in formation f or Keep-in o r Keep-out areas. Column Description Name Name of the Keep-in or K eep-out.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-45 NI Ultiboard User Manual Spreadsheet View: PCB Layers T ab Use the PCB Layers tab to work with layer informati on. Spreadsheet View: Parts Position T ab Use the Parts Position tab to view and expo rt part position information.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-46 ni.com Spreadsheet View: Statistics T ab This tab displays the following statistics: • T otal number of pins. • Pins in a net. • Not connected pins. • T est pins. • Jumpers. • T otal number of vias.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-47 NI Ultiboard User Manual Commands T ab The Commands tab in the Customize dialog box is used to add commands to menus and toolbar. Complete the following steps to add a command to a menu or toolbar: 1.
Chapter 1 User Inter face NI Ultiboard User Manual 1-48 ni.com 3. The buttons in this tab function as follo ws: • Reset All —Displays the Reset T oolbars dialog box, where you select whether to reset the curr ently selected toolbars, or all toolbars.
Chapter 1 User Inter face © National Instruments Corporat ion 1-49 NI Ultiboard User Manual Options T ab Use the Options tab in the Customize dialog box to set up the appear of Ultiboard’s toolbars—sw itch the checkboxes on or off as desired.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 2-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 2 Beginning a Design The following sections explain how to start a design in Ultiboard. Some of the described features may not be available in your edition of Ultiboard. Refer to the NI Circuit De sign Suite Release Notes for a list of the features in your edition.
Chapter 2 Beginni ng a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 2-2 ni.com Creating a Design A design is created automatically wh en you create a project file. You can also create a design and assign it to an existing project file . Remember that a design must always be associated with a project.
Chapter 2 Beginning a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 2-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual (tracklength_max "-1.000000000000") (tracklength_min "-1.000000000000") (clearance_to_trace "-1.000000000000") (clearance_to_pad "-1.
Chapter 2 Beginni ng a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 2-4 ni.com Complete the following steps to import a netlist file: 1. Select File»Import»U B Netlist , navigate to the desired file (for example, Getting Started 2.EWNET ) and click Open . The Default Trace Width and Clearance dialog box appears.
Chapter 2 Beginning a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 2-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual Opening an Existing File Complete the f ollowing steps t o open an existi ng file: 1. Choose File»Open . A standard file section dialog box ap pears, with the Files of Type list defaulted to Ulti board files.
Chapter 2 Beginni ng a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 2-6 ni.com T o save all open f ile and designs, choose File»Save All . T o close the current file and its designs, choose File»Close . If you have any unsav ed changes in the file or designs, you are prompted to sa ve the f ile and/or designs.
Chapter 2 Beginning a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 2-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Selecting and Unselecting Elements You can select and unselect single and multiple elemen ts in a design such as parts, holes, and traces. T o select a single element on a boar d, click the element.
Chapter 2 Beginni ng a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 2-8 ni.com Place and Select Modes Ultiboard assumes that placing shapes , parts, or traces on a board are actions you are likely to repeat.
Chapter 2 Beginning a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 2-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. T o constrai n your search to only certain attributes, choose from the Find special drop-do wn list. For e xample, if you enter “test” in the Find what f ield, you will find all elements with the string “test” in any of their attributes.
Chapter 2 Beginni ng a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 2-10 ni.com When you display a design on the full screen, everything e xcept the design disappears (depending on your setti ngs in the Preferences dialog box, scrollbars may or may not appear).
Chapter 2 Beginning a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 2-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual Refreshing the Design After adding and changin g elements, the design can begin to loo k a little confusing, with bits and pieces of elements looking like they have been left behind on the design after being moved, for exam ple.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 3-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3 Setting Up a Design The following sections explain the basi c functions you must perform to get your board set up. These tasks should be performed before you begin placing parts and/or traces.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-2 ni.com • The other method typi cally uses a layered pai r as a core to which single layers of copper foi l are added to build up the board.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual Accessing Layers The Layers tab of the Design Toolbox allows you to move through the layers of your PCB design, and control their app earance. T o display the Layers tab, click the Layers tab in the Design Toolbox .
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-4 ni.com The Layers tab is divided into four sections: • PCB —These are the working layers of your design. Refer to the Setting PCB Properties section of Chapter 1, User Interface , for more information about setting up th e properties of the PCB layers.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual Tip Y ou can sho w or hide individual ratsnests from the Show Ratsnest column in the Nets tab of the Spreadsheet View , and also from the Net Edit dialog box.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-6 ni.com T o edit the properties of the placed board outline, select the outlin e and select Edit»Properties . (Y ou must be on the Board Outlin e layer). Importing a DXF File Complete the f ollowing steps t o impo rt a DXF board outline from a CAD program such as AutoCAD ® : 1.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Using the Board Wizard Complete the f ollowing steps t o use the Board Wizard : 1. Choose Tools»Board Wizard . The Board Wizard... Board Technology dialog box appears.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-8 ni.com 4. If you chose S ingle Sided or Double Si ded , or upon clicking Next after defining the laminatio n settings for a m ulti-layer board: • Define the def ault Units of measurement for the design.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual Enter coordinate dialog box Complete the f ollowing steps t o set the reference point at precise X, Y coordinates: 1. Press the asterisk key (*) or <Shift-8> to display the Enter coordinate dialog box.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-10 ni.com Design Rule Errors Design rule errors appear in the DRC tab of the Spreadsheet View as they occur, and disappear as they are corrected.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual • Pin “[Pin number]” from Par t “[refdes]”(value) in Net “[Net name]” is missing from sha.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-12 ni.com W orking with Net Groups Complete the following steps to create a net group: 1. Select Tools»Group Edi tor to display the Edit Groups dialog bo x. 2. Click the Net Groups tab. 3. Click Add .
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual 8. Click checkboxes beside the desired nets in the Assign Nets list and click Apply to add them to the group. Note Y ou cannot assign a net to more than one group.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-14 ni.com 6. Click OK to return to the Part Groups tab . The newly created group appears in the Groups list. 7. Highlight the n e w group to display a list of parts you can add t o the group in the Assign Parts list, as shown in the example below .
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-15 NI Ultiboard User Manual Complete the following steps to edit a part group: 1. Select Tools»Group Edi tor to display the Edit Groups dialog bo x. 2. Select the Part Groups tab . 3.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-16 ni.com 7. Click checkboxes beside the desired nets in the Assign N ets list and click Apply to add them to the group. Note Y ou cannot assign a net to more than one group. Therefore, nets that are already assigned to anoth er bus group do not appear in the Assign Nets list.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-17 NI Ultiboard User Manual W orking with Differential Pairs Complete the f ollowing steps t o create a diffe rential pair: 1. Select Tools»Group Edi tor to display the Edit Groups dialog bo x.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-18 ni.com 8. Click two checkboxes beside the desired nets in the As sign Nets list and click Apply to add them to the group.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design © National Instruments Corporat ion 3-19 NI Ultiboard User Manual Net Group Settings For net groups, the following Group Settings are available: • Group Name • Clear.
Chapter 3 Setting Up a Design NI Ultiboard User Manual 3-20 ni.com For information on any setting, select it in the Group Settings list. A description appears in the field at the bottom of the dialog. Y o u may need to make the dialog box larger to vie w some of the descriptions.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 4-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 4 W orking with Parts The following sections ex plain how to wo rk with parts as you create and edit designs. It covers the ways that you can place parts on the board, as well as the tools included to help you with part location and placement.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-2 ni.com Complete the following steps to drag a part fr om outside the board ou tline: 1. Click on the part and d rag it to the appropriate location. The pl aced part remains highlighted. 2. Click anywhere on the workspace, or right-click, to de -select the part.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual The selected part (4) appears in the previe w area (5). Deselect the Show or Hide Preview button (6) if you do not wish to see the preview . Use the Start Placing the Unpositioned Parts button (7) to place unplaced parts.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-4 ni.com Using the Parts T ab for Other Functions The Parts tab of the Spreadsheet View can also be used to select a part, lock parts in their current position, find and select a part, or preview a part.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual T ools to Assist Part Placement The following section s tell you how to use the to ols that Ultiboard prov ides to help you place parts and other elements on the design.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-6 ni.com W orking with Force V ectors Force vectors are powerful aids that help you place parts on the PCB. When you place a part manually on the board, you should pay careful attention to the force vectors coming from that part .
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Dragging Parts T o drag a part, click and drag it to the location where you want it placed, and release the mouse b utton.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-8 ni.com Complete the f ollo wing steps to adju st the shov e spacing around a part: 1. Select the part. 2. Choose Edit»Properties . The Part Properties dialog box for the part appears. 3. Click the Part tab.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual 2. Y our selections show in the pre vie w area. 3. T o manipulate the v iew of the part, click in t he Dimensions area and use any of the following: • Zoom In b utton—Click t o zoom in on the part for more deta il.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-10 ni.com Using Ruler Bars and Guides Use the ruler bars to place guides on the design, or to measure distances. Elements on the d esign will snap to th e dotted lines rep resenting the guides on the design.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual Orienting Parts Parts are placed on the board in a certa in orientation, which may not be the orientati on in which you need them . You can, however, ori ent them by rotating them, or by swapping them to another layer.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-12 ni.com Spacing Shapes and Parts Shapes and parts can be spaced rela tive to each other on the board. Complete the follo wing steps to space shapes and/or parts: 1. Select the elements to be spaced.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual 5. Begin selecting and dragging parts. As they are placed, the parts snap to the array .
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-14 ni.com Replicating a Group The Group Replica Place function allo ws you to automatical ly apply the relative placement of parts in one group to another group. Th is is especially useful when duplicating the layout of chan nels in multi-channel PCBs.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-15 NI Ultiboard User Manual 5. Drag your mouse to the desired location and click to place the group. Unplacing Parts Complete the following steps to unplace all non-locked parts: 1. Select Place»Unplace Parts .
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-16 ni.com Note Y ou can sort attribute information b y clicking on the column header . If you are looking at th e attributes of a part that w as imported from Multisim, and that part has variants assigned, the tab will also hav e a variant attribute as sho wn below .
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-17 NI Ultiboard User Manual Viewing and Editing Part Properties Complete the f ollowing steps t o view and edit the properties of a part: 1. Select the part. 2. Choose Edit»Properties .
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-18 ni.com 2. Choose the type of object to be created: • For a hole, enable the Hole option (the hole extends from the Offset to the Height ).
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-19 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. T o place a band to indicate polari zation (for example, for a diode), enable the Polarization marking option and choose the pin to mark.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-20 ni.com Viewing and Editing Shape /Graphics Properties As with parts and traces, the properties of shapes can be viewed and edited. Complete the following steps to edit the properties of a shape that you ha v e placed on the design: 1.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-21 NI Ultiboard User Manual Placing Mounting Holes and Connectors Mounting holes and connectors are placed from the database. Refer to the Placing Parts from the Database section for more information.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-22 ni.com After creating a shape/graphic, right-click to cancel the Place command. Note Shapes and graphics can be mov ed, orie nted, and aligned like parts, and their properties can also be viewed and edited.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-23 NI Ultiboard User Manual W orking with Jumpers Placing Jumpers Default jumper pin settings are def ined in the PCB Desi gn tab of the Preferences dialog box. The default pad settin gs are based on the setti ngs defined in the Pads/Vias tab of t he PCB Properties dialog box.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-24 ni.com T o control th e coordinates for the jumper’ s starting and ending points, use the following from the Line tab: • X1 —The X coordinate of the ju mper’ s st arting point. • X2 —The X coordinate of the jump er’ s endi ng point.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-25 NI Ultiboard User Manual Viewing and Editing T e st Point Properties Complete the f ollowing st eps to edit a te st point’s p roperties: 1. Select the test point and select Edit»Properties .
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-26 ni.com 5. Click to indicate the end point. Ultibo ard stops measuring the length , and draws an arro w between your start and end points. 6. Move the pointer to position the stub line, and click wh en you’ re done.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-27 NI Ultiboard User Manual To control the coordinates for the di mension’s starting and ending points, use the following from the Line tab: • X1 —The X coordinate of the dimension’s starting poin t.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-28 ni.com • Zoom In button—Click to zoom in on the part for more detail. Y ou can also press the F8 key . • Zoom Out button—Click to zoom ou t. Shows less detail and more of the whole part.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-29 NI Ultiboard User Manual Editing Parts and Shapes Editing a Placed Part (In-Place Edit) In-place part editing lets yo u add, delete, or change a part and the items that make it up.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-30 ni.com 4. Indicate the pad type (THT or SMD) and its dimensions and spaci ng. Changes appear in the Preview panel. When you ha ve made the necessary settings, click OK . The pad is attached to the p ointer .
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-31 NI Ultiboard User Manual Complete the f ollo wing steps to add a verte x to any line segment of a polygon: 1. Select the line (a selected line se gment will ha ve f illed selection box es while the other selection boxes in the polygon will be open).
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-32 ni.com To edit a through hole pin’s attributes, use the Attributes tab. Refer to the Attributes section for more inf ormation. T o edit a throu gh hole pin’ s display style, use the follo wing in the General tab: • X —The x-axis coo rdinate.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-33 NI Ultiboard User Manual Use the Thermal Relief tab to choose what type of therm al relief the pin will use when connecting to a copper area or po wer plane. 1. Select the desired thermal relief in the Type box.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-34 ni.com Searching For and Replacing Parts Ultiboard allows you to search for parts in two ways: • Searching for parts in open designs. This method tells you if a specific part exists in all of the de signs that are currently open.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-35 NI Ultiboard User Manual Replacing Parts Complete the following steps to repl ace a part on the des ign with a part from the database: 1. Select the part. 2. Choose Tools»Change Shape .
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-36 ni.com 3. Select the type of part you want to create: a net bridge, custom pad shape, PCB part or CAD part and click OK . The Edit mode windo w opens. 4. Design your part usi ng the Place and Draw tools.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-37 NI Ultiboard User Manual If you chose SMT in step 1 of the wizard, the Package Type choices sho wn belo w appear: • SOT (Small.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-38 ni.com • Diameter —The diameter of the circle around pi n 1 of the part. Becomes activ e when Circle Pin 1 Indicator is selected. • Distance from Edge —The distance between the circle arou nd pin 1 and the edge of the part.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-39 NI Ultiboard User Manual Click Add to create a new pad and then change the settings that are detailed abov e. Y ou can create as many of these as you like, and choose between them by clicking on the “ << ” and “ >> ” buttons.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-40 ni.com 7. Make the des ired pad settings and click Next to display step 6 of the wizard. The follo wing Pins information appears: • Units —The unit of measure. • Number of Pins —The number of pins in the part.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-41 NI Ultiboard User Manual Managing the Database The Database Manager is where you add, orga nize, view, create, and manage the parts that Ultiboard stores in its database. T o open the Database Manager , choose Tools»Database»Database Manager .
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-42 ni.com • The Parts panel, which lists the parts in the selected sub-category . The Parts panel contains the following b uttons to help you work with the parts: • The Preview panel, which allows you to previe w the part you selected in the Parts panel.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-43 NI Ultiboard User Manual – Mouse Wheel —If your mouse has a center wheel, you can use it to zoom in and out on the part.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-44 ni.com 3. Select the category or sub-cate gory where the category is to be copied. The copied category will go under the item you select. 4. Click OK . The category is copied to th e location you specified, and the Select destination in datab ase dialog box disappears.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-45 NI Ultiboard User Manual Adding Parts using th e Database Manager Complete the f ollowing step s to add parts f rom the design to the databa se using the Database Manager : 1.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-46 ni.com Note If you selected multipl e parts, you can save them to the database as one item. When a part that has been sa ved to the database in this manner is placed on the workspace, it will become separate items again, including an y parts and traces that were in the original selection.
Chapter 4 W orking with Parts © National Instruments Corporat ion 4-47 NI Ultiboard User Manual 6. Click Start . A dialog box displays with the fo llowing options: • Auto-Rename —Parts will be saved with modif ied names in the new database. • Overwrite —Parts will o verwrite ne w parts with the same name.
Chapter 4 Working with Parts NI Ultiboard User Manual 4-48 ni.com 7. Select one of the follo wing options: • Auto-Rename... —I mports and autom atically renames the duplicate parts. • Overwrite... —Replaces the Ultiboard 10 parts with your old parts.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 5-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 5 W orking with T races and Copper The following sections describe how to work with traces and other copper elements in Ultiboard. Some of the described features may not be available in your edition of Ultiboard.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-2 ni.com operations on traces, be sure to select either the appropriate segment or , if you wish, the whole trace. Clearance is the distance from the edge of the board and arou nd pads and traces that is to be kept free of an y other elements.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual 6. Click the next pad in the net. Continue in this way from pad to pad, clicking the points on the board wh ere you must route the trace around obstacles.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-4 ni.com 4. Mov e the mouse pointer to the ne xt pad in the net. The trace follows the pointer , routing itself around most obstacles. 5. When you place the f inal trace in the net, cancel trace placement by either pressing <E SC > or by right-clicking.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual Tip Use <Ctrl-Shift-W/N> to widen/narrow the trace. Y ou can also change the trace width during routing by typing the desir ed value in the Draw Settings toolbar .
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-6 ni.com 3. Move the cursor to ward the bus’ s d estination pins an d double-click to complete copper placement. W orking with Density Bars Density bars use color to indicate the density of pins and pads at cross-sections of your board.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual W orking with Keep-in/Keep-out Areas A Keep-in area is a polygon that you set so that when objects are moved outside of it, a DRC error is generated.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-8 ni.com 4. Optionally , click on one of the following checkboxes in the Advanced options area and then click the Options b utton w.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual Equi-Spacing T races This option lets you set the spacing between traces to be equal. Complete the follo wing steps to equi-space traces: 1. Select two traces that surround at l east one other trace, as sho wn in the figure belo w .
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-10 ni.com T o delete a trace that you hav e just placed, choose Edit»Undo Place Trace Segment . Complete the follo wing steps to delete an existing trace: 1. Select the trace. 2. Choose Edit»Delete .
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual Placing Powerplanes Powerplanes are copper areas th at cover the entire plane. Complete the f ollo wing steps to p lace a po werplane: 1. In the L ayers tab, select the layer to be used as a powerplane.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-12 ni.com Converting a Copper Shape to an Area Use to convert a copper shape to a polygon that su pports voiding around unconnected n ets. Complete the f ollo wing steps to shape a copper shape to an area: 1.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual Adding and Removing T eardrops A teardrop is a flair that you can a dd to a trace where the trace connects to a pad.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-14 ni.com 3. Optionally , change the Units (of measurement). 4. In the C learances box, enter the desired clearance of the selected object to traces in the To Tr ace f ield. The Attributes tab is where you edit the attr ibutes of the selected copper element.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-15 NI Ultiboard User Manual 2. In the Remove Islands box, set the parame ters to remove islands using the following (an.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-16 ni.com Note Depending on y our setting in the PCB Design tab of the Preferences dialog box, vias associated with a trace may be deleted when the trace is deleted.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-17 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. In the Autorouter Settings box, select either Via is Fixed or Via ca n be Moved (during autorouting). 4. In the Solder Mask box, select the fo llowing as desired: • Top checkbox—Enable to place a solder mask on the top of the PCB.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-18 ni.com Placing SMD Fanouts The Fanout S MD command attaches vias to each pin of either a selected surface mount device (SMD) or all SMDs on the board. Complete the f ollo wing steps to p lace SMD fanou ts: 1.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-19 NI Ultiboard User Manual 5. Click Start Fanout . The Fanout Options dialog box disappears and the fanout vias are placed on the design, as circled in the figure belo w .
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-20 ni.com Complete the f ollo wing steps t o f ind a net in the design: 1. Click the net in the list to select it. 2. Click the Find the selected net button. The view zooms in on the net and selects it.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-21 NI Ultiboard User Manual Complete the fo llo wing steps to ad d ne w pins to a lock ed net: 1. Select the desired net in the Net drop-down list. 2. Click the Lock Net button to unlock the net.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-22 ni.com The remainder of this section uses the e xample sho wn in the figure below . The parts sh own are not connected any net. 3. Click the Add pins butt o n and click the desired pin in the workspace.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-23 NI Ultiboard User Manual Or Click Add . The Add Pins to the Net dialog box displays. Highlight the pins to be added and click Add . The dialo g box closes and the Net edit dialog box shows the added pins in the list of pads for the displayed net.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-24 ni.com Complete the following steps to change a net’ s topology . 1. Select Tool s»Netlist Edito r and select the net from the Net drop-down list in the Net edit dialog box. 2.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-25 NI Ultiboard User Manual net, then the pin below the refere nce point will become the source. Refer to the figure belo w for an example. Renaming a Net Complete the f ollowing steps t o rename a net: 1.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-26 ni.com Deleting a Pin from a Net Complete the following steps to delete a pi n from a net: 1. Select Tools»Netlist Edito r , click the Pins tab and select the desired net from the Net drop-down list in the Net e dit dialog box.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-27 NI Ultiboard User Manual Setting Miscellaneous Net Parameters Complete the f ollowing step s to set miscell aneous paramete rs for a net: 1. Select Tools»Netlist Edito r and select the de sired net from th e Net drop-down list in the Net edit dialog box.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-28 ni.com Setting Via Parameters Complete the f ollowing steps t o edit via information for a net: 1. Select Tools»Netlist Edito r and select the de sired net from th e Net drop-down list in the Net edit dialog box.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-29 NI Ultiboard User Manual 5. Select the net to use for the shield in the Shield net area: • Use Net Settings —Select to use the shield set in the Spreadsheet View (also set in the Net edit dialog box).
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-30 ni.com Net Bridges The net bridge functionality permits connections betw een different nets (for example, digital an d analog grounds) witho ut losing the properties of either net.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-31 NI Ultiboard User Manual 7. Close the Net Bridge Edit Layer , and wh en prompted, Click Save . 8. The following dialog box appears. Enter the name for the new netbridge (Netbridge2 in the following e xample): 9.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-32 ni.com Placing a Net Bridge This example connects two traces - one is on net “DGND” and the other is on net “GND”. Complete the f ollo wing steps t o place a net bri dge: 1.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-33 NI Ultiboard User Manual Copying a Copper Route You can copy the routing of traces between two identical parts groups that have been set up using the Group Replica command .
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-34 ni.com 3. Select Design»Copy Route . The Copy route dialog box appears. 4. Select the group you have already routed in the Source group f ield, and the group you wish to have the same routing in the Destination group field and click OK .
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-35 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. Click on the second pin to complete the act ion. Note Error messages will display if the selected pins cannot be swapped, or if there is no PINGR OUP information for a pin.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-36 ni.com The following design is used in t his example: Complete the f ollo wing steps to swap gates between parts: 1. Select Design»Swap Gates . The workspace changes to reflect the gates.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-37 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. Click on the letter corresponding to the gate with which you want to exchange the gate you selected abo ve. The ratsnest changes to reflect the swap.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper NI Ultiboard User Manual 5-38 ni.com Automatic Pin/Gate Swapping This feature lets you swap pins and/or gates after moving part(s) on the workspace. Note For this feature to function, you must allow pin/gate swapping in the Spreadsheet View , and in the Design Rules tab of the PCB properties dialog box.
Chapter 5 Working with T races and Copper © National Instruments Corporat ion 5-39 NI Ultiboard User Manual Real-T ime Pin/Gate Swapping This feature allows you to swap pins and/or gates automatically in real-time as you move parts on the workspace.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 6-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 6 PCB Calculators The following sections explain how to use Ultiboard’s PCB Ca lculators . Some of the described features may not be available in your edition of Ultiboard. Refer to the NI Circuit De sign Suite Release Notes for a list of the features in your edition.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators NI Ultiboard User Manual 6-2 ni.com The PCB Transmission Line Calculator suppo rts: • Microstrip Trace Calculations . • Embedded Microstrip Trace Calcula tions . • Centered Stripline Trace Calculations . • Asymmetric Stripline Trace Calculat ions .
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators © National Instruments Corporat ion 6-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual Microstrip Equations The equations used to perform th e microstrip calculations are: Z0 = 87/(sqrt(Er + 1.41)) * ln(5. 98*H/(0.8* W+T)) Tpd = 58.35247*sqrt(Er+1.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators NI Ultiboard User Manual 6-4 ni.com Embedded Microstrip Equations The equations used to perform the em bedded microstr ip calculations are: Z0 = 56*ln(5.98*H/(0.8*W+T))/sqrt (Er*(1-exp(-1.55*H1/H))) Tpd = 84.66667*sqrt(Er*(1-exp(-1.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators © National Instruments Corporat ion 6-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual Centered Stripline Equations The equations used to perform the centered stripline calculations are: Z0 = 60*ln(4*(2*H+T)/(0.67*3.141 5926*(0.8*W+T)))/sqrt(Er) Tpd = 84.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators NI Ultiboard User Manual 6-6 ni.com Assymetric Stripline Equations The equations used to perform the as ymmetric stripline calculations are: Z0 = (1-H/(4*H1))*80*ln(4 *(2*H+T)/(0.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators © National Instruments Corporat ion 6-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Dual Stripline Equations The equations used to perform the dual stripline ca lculations are: Z0 = 30*( ln(8*H/(0.67* 3.1415926*(0.8*W+T)))+ ln(8*(H+C)/(0.67*3.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators NI Ultiboard User Manual 6-8 ni.com Y ou can use the PCB Differential Impedance Calculator to calculate the following parameters for differential pairs: • Characteristic Impedance (Zo). • Per unit length Capacitance (Co).
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators © National Instruments Corporat ion 6-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual 4. Click Calculate . Results of the calculation appear in the Calculation Results area.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators NI Ultiboard User Manual 6-10 ni.com • Dielectric Thickness (H) —Refer to the fi gure below . • Trace Thickness (T) —Refer to the f igure belo w . • Trace Width (W) —Refer to the figure belo w . • Trace Spacing (S) —Refer to the figure belo w .
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators © National Instruments Corporat ion 6-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual Embedded Microstrip Differ ential Impedance Equations The equations used to perform the embedded microstrip different ial impedance calculations are: Z0 = 56*ln(5.
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators NI Ultiboard User Manual 6-12 ni.com 4. Click Calculate . Results of the calculation appear in the Calculation Results area. They also appear in the Results tab of the Spreadsheet View .
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators © National Instruments Corporat ion 6-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. In the Input Data area, edit the follo wing fi elds as desired: • Input Length Unit —Sele ct mils or milli meters. • Dielectric Height (H1) —Refer to the figure belo w .
Chapter 6 PCB Calculators NI Ultiboard User Manual 6-14 ni.com Asymmetric Stripline Diffe rential Impedance Equations The equations used to perform the asymmetric stripline differential impedance calculations are: Z0 = (1-H/(4*H1))*80*ln(4 *(2*H+T)/(0.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 7-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 7 Autorouting and Autoplacement There are a number of autorouting and autoplacement tools that vary depending on your edition of Ultiboard.
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-2 ni.com Note This is only activ e when an unconn ected pad corresponding to that net is selected. Autoroute»Autorou te Selected Buses Use to autoroute selected buses. Refer to the Autorouting buses section for more information.
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual The autoplacer places parts as clusters. These clusters are generated by grouping a multi-pin part with a series of connected parts, each of which has fe wer than four pins.
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-4 ni.com connections. 10 prioritizes parts wit h the highest ratio of connections to total p ins. A high part pin factor value usually results in a better d istribution of nets than a low value.
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual • SMD Rotation Mode —Used to set amount by which surface-mount parts can be rotate d during autoplacement.
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-6 ni.com • Use smaller Keep-out or Keep-in areas. Often, a PCB with K eep-in areas can be designed with an equi v alent set of Keep-out areas, or vice-versa.
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Understanding the Four Fun damental Routing Functions The following sections describe the four fundamental ro uting functions used by Ultiboard.
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-8 ni.com unless you achiev e poorer routing results than you expect. When changing cost factors, e v en slight adjustment s can hav e lar ge ef fects on routing success, either improving or worsening the results.
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual T o perform a full autoroute, choose Autoroute»Start/Resume Autorouter . Ultiboard begins routing your board a nd displays its progress in th e status line.
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-10 ni.com Complete the f ollo wing steps to autoroute selected bus(es): 1. Select Autoroute»Autorout e Selected Buses . The Bus autorouting dialog box displays. 2. Select the desired buses to route in the Defined bus groups area and click OK .
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual 4. The Automatic Testpoint Placement S etup dialog box disappears and one test point is placed on or near each net on your board. If placed near an existing net, the test point will be automatically connected.
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-12 ni.com • Pin Contact Mode —Select Allow Pin Corners to allow traces to connect to pins diagonally .
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual Complete the fo llo wing steps to set up cost facto r parameters: 1.
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-14 ni.com 4. Edit one or both of the following f ields in the Optimi zation area: • Change Direction Cost Factor —A high direction cost factor limits the number of trace corner s the optimizer creates.
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-15 NI Ultiboard User Manual • Distance-2 (2 Grid) Cost Factor —C ontrols the use of channel s left by ripped-up traces in the far distance (2 or more grid points, trace-to-trace).
Chapter 7 Autorou ting and Autoplacement NI Ultiboard User Manual 7-16 ni.com Routing Options: Bu s Autorouting T ab To autoroute buses, the topology for the net s, as set in the Net edit dialog box, or the Spreadsheet View , must be set to either Daisy chain or Star and the nets must be part of a Bus Group as set in the Ed it Groups dialog box.
Chapter 7 A utorouting and Autoplacement © National Instruments Corporat ion 7-17 NI Ultiboard User Manual Strategies to Achieve Better Routing Results Speed and completion may be trade-off s. Many of the suggestions fo r routing completion wi ll greatly incr ease the time needed to complete routing.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 8-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 8 Preparing for Manufacturing/Assembly The following sections explain the basic fu nctions you need to perform to prepare your board for manufacturi ng. Some of the described features may not be available in your edition of Ultiboard.
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembl y NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-2 ni.com 4. Optionally , in the Next Label area: • Increment —Enable to increase a number that you placed at the end of the text with e ach succe ssiv e placement of that text.
Chapter 8 Preparin g for Manufacturing/Assembly © National Instruments Corporat ion 8-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. Optionally , to re-si ze the selection frame: • Move the cursor to one of the sizing handles. • Drag the cursor to re-size the selection frame.
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembl y NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-4 ni.com Complete the following steps to pin a comment to a part or the w orkspace: 1. Double-click on the Comment layer in the Design Toolbox to make it the acti ve layer . 2.
Chapter 8 Preparin g for Manufacturing/Assembly © National Instruments Corporat ion 8-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual 6. In the Size area: • Auto-Resize checkbox—Enabl e to hav e the size of the displayed comment automatically resized to fi t the text.
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembl y NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-6 ni.com 4. If you only want to renumber parts you selected prior to opening this dialog box, select the Change selected parts only option. 5. T o apply your changes and keep the dialog box open, click Apply .
Chapter 8 Preparin g for Manufacturing/Assembly © National Instruments Corporat ion 8-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Complete the f ollo wing steps t o miter the corners of tra ces prior to manufacturing: 1. Optionally , select the traces to which you want mitering to apply .
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembl y NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-8 ni.com Manually Re-Running the Design Rules and Netlist Check The design rules and netlist check normally runs automa tically, but you may want to force a final check of the board 's integrity prior to saving or exporting the design.
Chapter 8 Preparin g for Manufacturing/Assembly © National Instruments Corporat ion 8-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual It is important to talk to your production hou se and identify all th e files and formatting information they need to support their manufacturing process.
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembly NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-10 ni.com The new s etting uses the same propertie s as the Default setting, or the setting that was last loaded. Refer to the Viewing and Edit ing Export Properties section for information about changing the properti es stored in the new setting.
Chapter 8 Preparin g for Manufacturing/Assembly © National Instruments Corporat ion 8-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual • Oversize box—Def ine the parameters for solder mask and solder paste.
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembl y NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-12 ni.com Complete the f ollo wing steps to change the SVG e xport properties: 1.
Chapter 8 Preparin g for Manufacturing/Assembly © National Instruments Corporat ion 8-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual Working with Parts Centroids Properties The Parts Centroids dialog box provides a lis.
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembl y NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-14 ni.com Working with Layer Stackup Properties A Layer Stackup Report shows you a board’s layers, the layer type (ground, power, signal or unassign ed) and the types of vias that are between layers.
Chapter 8 Preparin g for Manufacturing/Assembly © National Instruments Corporat ion 8-15 NI Ultiboard User Manual Once you hav e more than one layer selected, you can choose to print layers on separate sheets. Y ou can also choose to print a header at the top of each page, containing the design name, date, and layer name.
Chapter 8 Preparing for Manufactu ring/Assembl y NI Ultiboard User Manual 8-16 ni.com If you elect to enlarge the size of your print out in the Zoom Options area, each layer will be tiled onto as man y pages as required to print the whole layer .
© National Instruments Corporat ion 9-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 9 Viewing Designs in 3D Ultiboard allows you to see what the board looks li ke in three dimensions (3D) at any time during the design . The following sections explain ho w to set up the options for 3D viewing, how to vie w the board in 3D, and how to manipulate the vie w .
Chapter 9 Viewing Designs in 3D NI Ultiboard User Manual 9-2 ni.com T o close the 3D view , right-click on the 3D view in the Projects tab and choose Close Window from the context menu. Note If you loaded a file from Ultiboard 2001, before you can use the 3D vie w you must use Tools»Update Shapes .
Chapter 9 Viewing Designs in 3D © National Instruments Corporat ion 9-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual 3. Continue hold ing the button and move the pointer as follows: • to the bottom of the screen to view more of the top of the board. • to the top of the screen to view the edge and then the underside of the board.
Chapter 9 Viewing Designs in 3D NI Ultiboard User Manual 9-4 ni.com Showing an Object’ s Height While in the 3D view, you can show an object’s height, as shown in the figure below. Complete the f ollo wing steps to sh o w an object’ s height: 1.
Chapter 9 Viewing Designs in 3D © National Instruments Corporat ion 9-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual The figure belo w sho ws the normal 3D view of a sample PCB. The figure belo w sho ws the internal 3D vie w of the same PCB. Note Internal View options are set in the 3D Options tab of the Preferences dialog box.
Chapter 9 Viewing Designs in 3D NI Ultiboard User Manual 9-6 ni.com Exporting to 3D IGES 3D IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Sp ecification) is a file format for the exchange of CAD informatio n (both 2D and 3D). A 3D IGES file cont ains surface information and details of a part.
© National Instruments Corporat ion 10-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual 10 Using Mechanical CAD Ultiboard’s mechanical CAD function can be used to design enclosure boxes, front panels, or any other mechanical part associated with your PC B design.
Chapter 10 Using Mechanical CAD NI Ultiboard User Manual 10-2 ni.com Creating Mechanical CAD Design Files To create a new mechanical CAD design , you can either use the new design that appears when you create a mechan ical CAD file, or you can create a new design and assign it to an exis ting file.
Chapter 10 Using Mechanical CAD © National Instruments Corporat ion 10-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual Importing a DXF File Complete the follow ing steps to import a DXF file into a mechanical CAD design: 1. Choose File»Import»DXF . A standard file selector appears.
Chapter 10 Using Mechanical CAD NI Ultiboard User Manual 10-4 ni.com Controlling W orkspace Elements for Mechanical CAD The General tab allows you to control whether or not invisib le attributes or cross hairs are shown in normal view, and options for full screen view.
Chapter 10 Using Mechanical CAD © National Instruments Corporat ion 10-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual 9. In the A uto save settings box: • Enable auto save —Activ ates the autosa ve function. When acti vated, you can also change th e time between autosaves in the Time interval (minutes) fie l d .
© National Instruments Corporat ion A-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual A Menus and Commands The following sections contain brief descriptions for the commands in the Ultiboard menus. Some of the described menu items may not be av ailable in your edition of Ultiboard.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A- 2 ni.com File»Save As Sav es the current design f ile with a na me and location that you specify in the Save As dialog box. File»Save All Sav es all open design files and projects. File»Close Closes the current design f ile.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual File»Print Setup Sets up the pri nting paramaters require d to print the Ultibo ard design file. Refer to the Printing your Design section of Chapter 8, Preparing for Manufacturing/Assemb ly , for more infor mation.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A- 4 ni.com Edit»Cut Remov es the selected elem ent(s) from the board. Th e element is placed on the W indo ws Clipboard and can be pasted again. Edit»Copy Copies the selected elements and stor es them on the W indows Clipboard so they can be pasted again.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual • Open Trace Ends —Use to delete all open trace ends in the design. Use to clean up the design after design completion. Refer to the Deleting Open Trace Ends section of Chapter 8 , Preparing for Manufacturing/Assembly , f or more informat ion.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A- 6 ni.com Edit»Selection Filter Use these commands to pre vent accidenta lly selecting a particular type of element, for example, selecting a pa rt when you meant to select a trace: • Enable Selecting Parts —When enabl ed, allo ws parts to be selected.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual • Align Top —Aligns the top edges of the selected elements. • Align Bottom —Aligns the bottom edges of the selected elements. • Align Center Horizontal —Shifts the selected elements horizontally so their centers are aligned.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A- 8 ni.com View Menu The subjects in this section describe the commands found in th e View menu. View»Full Screen Use to fill the screen with the design only (hide menus, toolbars, other windows).
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-9 NI Ultiboard User Manual View»Ruler Bars Use to toggle the ruler bars on and off. Refer to the Using Ruler Bars and Guides section of Chapter 4 , Working with Parts , for more information.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-10 ni.com • Draw Settings —Use to toggle the Dra w Setting s toolbar on and off. Refer to the Draw Settings Toolbar section of Chapter 1, Us er Interface , for m ore informatio n. • Edit —Use to toggle the Edit toolbar on and off.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-11 NI Ultiboard User Manual Place»Follow-me Use to place a trace between two selected points. Refer to the Placing a Trace: Follo w-me Method section of Chapter 5, Working with Traces and Copper , for more informati on.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-12 ni.com Place»Graphic»Arc Use to place an arc or a trace, dependin g on the acti ve layer .
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-13 NI Ultiboard User Manual Place»Keep-in/Keep-out Area Use to define a polygon to restrict elem ents from either e xiting or entering the area. Refer to the Working with Keep-in/Keep-out Ar eas section of Chapter 5, Working with Traces and Copper , for more informat ion.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-14 ni.com Place»Automatic T est Points Use to automatically place a test poin t on each net on your design. Refer to the Placing Automatic Test Points section of Chapter 7, Autoro uting and Autoplacement , for more information.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-15 NI Ultiboard User Manual Design»Polygon Splitter Use to split a copper area or po werplane. Refer to the Splitting Copper section of Chapter 5, Working wit h Traces and Copper , for more information.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-16 ni.com Design»Fanout SMD Use to place a via fanout for a SMD part. Refer to the Placing SMD Fanouts section of Chapter 5, Working wit h Traces and Copper , for more information. Design»Add T eardrops Use to add teardrops to pads.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-17 NI Ultiboard User Manual T ools Menu The subjects in this section describe the commands found in th e Tools menu.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-18 ni.com T ools»Database»Convert Database Use to update your old User and Corporate databases to Ultiboard 10 format. Refer to the Converting Data bases section of Chapter 4, Working with Parts , for more informati on.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-19 NI Ultiboard User Manual T ools»Equi-space T r aces Use to equally space selected traces. Refer to the Equi-Spacing Traces section of Chapter 5, Working wit h Traces and Copper , for more information.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-20 ni.com Options Menu The subjects in this section describe the commands found in th e Options menu. Options»Global Preferences Displays the Preferences dialog box. Refer to the Setting Preferences section of Chapter 1, User In terface , for more information.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-21 NI Ultiboard User Manual Window»Close All Use to close all open windo ws. Window»Cascade Use to cascade the open windows, so th ey are arranged one on top of the next while remaining separately selectable.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-22 ni.com Help»About Ultiboard Use to display the version numbers of your copy of Ultiboard. Context Menus Depending on the action, the follow.
Appendix A Menus and Comman ds © National Instruments Corporat ion A-23 NI Ultiboard User Manual Quick Layer T oggle Use to toggle between the last cop per layer or to the opposit e copper layer if the last layer was not copp er . Lock Locks the selected elements in place so the y cannot be mov ed.
Appendix A Menus and Commands NI Ultiboard User Manual A-24 ni.com Right-drag Menu When you select an area by dragging and releasing the right m ouse button, a context menu appears with the following selections. Select all in rectangle Selects all objects in the rectangl e that you “drew” by dragging and releasing the right mouse button.
© National Instruments Corporat ion B-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual B Archiving Data National Instruments recommends that you regularly back up the files created within the Multisim and Ultiboard components of NI Circuit Design Suite. Additionally , you should back up internal files that store user-c reated data, such as database components.
Appendix B Archi ving Data NI Ultiboard User Manual B- 2 ni.com The ProgramData folder is a s ystem folder and thus may be hidden. Complete the f ollo wing steps t o vie w this fo lder: 1. Open a standard W indo ws explorer window . 2. Select Organize»Folder & Search Options .
Appendix B Archiving D ata © National Instruments Corporat ion B-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual The user’ s configuration file is stored at: C:Users<user name>AppDataRoaming National Instruments10.1config. The AppData folder is a system folder and thus may be hidden.
© National Instruments Corporatio n C-1 NI Ulti board User Manual C T echnical Support and Professional Ser vices Visit the following sections of the award-winning National Instruments Web site at ni.com for technical support and professional services: • Support —T echnical support resou rces at ni.
Appendix C T echnical Support and Professional Services NI Ultiboard User Manual C- 2 ni.com If you searched ni.com and could not find the answers you need, contact your local off ice or NI corporate h eadquarters. Phone numbers for our worldwide of f ices are listed at the front of this manual.
© National Instruments Corporat ion G-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual Glossar y Symbol Pref ix V alue pp i c o 1 0 –1 2 nn a n o 1 0 –9 μ micro 10 –6 m milli 10 –3 k kilo 10 3 Mm e g a 1 0 6 Gg i g a 1 0 9 Tt e r a 1 0 12 A Acti ve Layer The layer on which any actions you choose will be performed.
Glossary NI Ultiboard User Manual G-2 ni.com C Chamfer Corners Corners at an increment of 45 º on the trace routes. Copper Area A copper polygon. Copper Island A copper area that is not connected to any other copper . D Design T oolbox By default, appears on left side of screen .
Glossary © National Instruments Corporat ion G-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual O Output W indow Gi ves you useful information on t he status of your design. By default, is turned off. P Pad Stack The connections between layers of the board. Part Grid Determines the increments by wh ich elements (parts and shapes) can be placed on the board.
Glossary NI Ultiboard User Manual G-4 ni.com T Thermal Relief Area around a pin wh ere no copper appears, but which is crossed by copper lines to make conne ctions. A thermal re lief is used to dissipate heat during the soldering process. Through-Hole V ia Normal via.
© National Instruments Corporat ion I-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual Index Numerics 3D view controlling elements in, 9-3 manipulating, 9-2 using, 9-1 V iewer options, 1-19 A Add group s dialog box , 3-11.
Index NI Ultiboard User Manual I-2 ni.com color controlling, 1-15 mechanical CAD design, 10-3 schemes, setting up, 1-15 configuration f iles back-up, B-2 connection machine trace custom routing, 5-4 p.
Index © National Instruments Corporat ion I-3 NI Ultiboard User Manual dimensions default, 1-18 placing, 4-25 properties, 4-26 type, 4-25 documentation con v entions used in the manual, vi NI resourc.
Index NI Ultiboard User Manual I-4 ni.com guides moving, 4-10 placing, 4-10 removing, 4-10 using, 4-10 H help, technical support, C-1 highlighting in Multi sim, 4-35 I initial routing , 7-7 in-place e.
Index © National Instruments Corporat ion I-5 NI Ultiboard User Manual net adding, 5-21 deleting, 5-25 deletin g pad from, 5-26 renami ng, 5-25 Net Edit dialog Groups tab, 5-27 V ia tab, 5-28 Net edi.
Index NI Ultiboard User Manual I-6 ni.com PCB Differential Impedance Calculator, 6-7 PCB Properties Board Default tab, 1-25 PCB T ransmission Line Calculator, 6-1 pin type test point, 4-25 Place toolb.
Index © National Instruments Corporat ion I-7 NI Ultiboard User Manual Select toolbar, 1-5 Selection Filter command, A-6 selection filtering, 2-7 Setting database password, A-17 shape properties, 4-2.
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