Visualization of Electronique Concept CAD files

Browsers are available from Mentor Graphics in order to view CAD files (schematic and layout) generated by Electronique Concept.

You will find here after the following procedures to:

• download the browsers,
• install Design Capture Browser,
• install Expedition PCB Browser,
• view a schematic,
• view a layout.

Download the browsers

Browsers are available on page: http://www.mentor.com/products/pcb/browsers.cfm.

At the bottom of the page, click on link: Click here to download these free browsers.

On the next page, read the license and agree to it by clicking I Agree.

On Expedition PCB Browser click the link Download 2005 SPac1 PCB Browser (for Board Station RE and Expedition PCB) on Windows (258 MB) to download the file Expedition_Browser_sp1_ix2k.zip.

On Design Capture Browser click the link Download WG2005 Design Capture Browser (40.2 MB) to download the file dc_browser.zip.

Install Design Capture Browser

Unzip the file dc_browser.zip in a folder, open this folder and run setup.exe.

Click on Install Products and then on the Agree button.

In the following window Source and Target, do not modify the field Select a source location, you can however modify the field Select a target location. Then click on the Next>> button.

Click in the small square before Expedition Flow 2005.05 in order to select all items. Cclick on the Next>> button, and then the Install button.

During installation many windows will show. Wait for the main window to show Installation complete!, click on the Done button, and then on the Exit button on the bottom right.

Install Expedition PCB Browser

ATTENTION ! You MUST install Design Capture Browser before installing Expedition PCB Browser.

Unzip the file Expedition_Browser_sp1_ix2k.zip in a folder, open this folder and run setup.exe.

Click on Install Products and then on the Agree button.

In the following window Source and Target, do not modify the field Select a source location, you can however modify the field Select a target location but you MUST select the same installation folder as the one used for Design Capture Browser. Then click on the Next>> button.

Click in the small square before Expedition Enterprise 2005 SPac1 in order to select all items. Click on the Next>> button, and then the Install button.

If you already installed Design Capture Browser, the following window will show, click on the Yes button.

Click on the Install button.

During installation many windows will show. Wait for the main window to show Installation complete!, click on the Done button, and then on the Exit button on the bottom right.

CAD files generated by Electronique Concept are sent in a ZIP file. The folder architecture is usually the following:
- a root folder Fichiers_CAO and two main subfolders schema and PCB;
- in the schema folder, the file with the .sbk extension is the schematic file;
- in the PCB folder, the file with the .pcb extension is the layout file.

Run Design Capture Browser that is located in Start > Programs > Mentor Graphics SDD > Design Capture DesignView-Expedition Flow > Design Entry > Design Capture Browser.

In the File menu, click on Open... , and then select the schematic file (.sbk file in the Fichiers_CAO\schema folder).

You can now view or print the schematic. Tabs on the bottom of the window allow you to select the different schematic pages.

View a layout

CAD files generated by Electronique Concept are sent in a ZIP file. The folder architecture is usually the following:
- a root folder Fichiers_CAO and two main subfolders schema and PCB;
- in the schema folder, the file with the .sbk extension is the schematic file;
- in the PCB folder, the file with the .pcb extension is the layout file.

Run PCB Browser that is located in Start > Programs > Mentor Graphics SDD > Design Capture DesignView-Expedition Flow > Layout > PCB Browser.

In the File menu, click on Open... , and then select the layout file (.pcb file in the Fichiers_CAO\PCB folder).

To directly view the copper, layout, drilling plans ...

In the View menu, click on Display Control..., or click on in the main toolbar.

At the bottom of the Display Control window, there is a drop-down list where you can find the following views:

To display a particular net or a net group

In the Display Control window, select the Net tab, on Color by: check Net, and on Apply color to: check Traces, Pads, Vias and if necessary Planes. Then check the net(s) you want to display. You may change the displayed color for each net.

To remove copper planes and keep only traces

In the Display Control window, select the Layer tab, and then uncheck Plane Data in the Planes group.

If you want to lighten the jod loading in the viewer, you can open it without loading the planes data by deleting or renaming the file Fichiers_CAO\PCB\Layout\GenDataDB.gdt. Be carefull that this file also contains the generated silkscreen.

To find a component or a net

In the toolbar on the top of the main window, you can enter keyboard commands in the field that shows
Keyin: Enter '?' for help.

For exemple hit fr u1 to find the U1 component.

For exemple hit fn clk_signal to find the clk_signal net.

Nets selection

A single click on a segment selects the actual segment, a double click selects the trace, while a triple click selects the all net.

When a segment, a trace or a net is selected, you can find usefull information in the bottom of the main windows like: net width, length, name, impedance, ...