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- PCROUTE
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- Version 2.210
- Users Manual
- September 16, 1989
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- by
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- Douglas E. Ehlers
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- Copyright (C) 1989
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- 2
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- Table of Contents
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- Notice of Copyright.......................................3
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- Introduction..............................................4
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- Installation..............................................5
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- System Requirements..................................5
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- Software Setup.......................................5
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- Input/Output Menu.........................................6
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- Board Definition Menu.....................................8
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- Chip Definition......................................7
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- Chip Placement.......................................8
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- Interactive Router.......................................13
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- Autorouter...............................................16
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- Board Statistics.........................................17
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- Printer Menu.............................................18
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- Exiting the program......................................18
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- Keyboard control summaries...............................19
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- Brief Tutorial...........................................20
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- Order Form...............................................22
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- 3
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- Notice of Copyright
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- This program is protected by a copyright held by me and
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- filed with the United States Government. Although this program
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- is being distributed as Shareware, that does not make it free.
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- You are granted limited use of this program to test it out and
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- see if it will fulfill your needs. If you find that your needs
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- can be satisfied by this program and you decide to use it, you
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- are obligated to pay the 65 dollars to register your copy. You
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- are allowed and encouraged to give unaltered copies to your
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- friends to try out. This same agreement applies to them.
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- 4
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- Introduction
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- PCROUTE is a computer aided design program for printed
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- circuit boards. It contains board layout routines that should be
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- quite for most purposes. It also contains a full featured
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- autorouter that averages around a 93% completion rate. It also
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- supports three of the more popular printers for its output.
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- This program is to my knowledge the first of its type to be
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- released as shareware. Although it lacks several of the features
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- of similar products that are commercially available, it also
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- lacks a $1000 price tag.
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- Key features include:
- 1. Autorouting
- 2. Interactive routing
- 3. Board layout functions
- 4. Flexible pinouts for devices
- 5. 2X output for use in making PC boards
- 6. Disk functions built into the software
- 7. Sophisticated component and connection
- entry systems
- 8. General statistics
- 9. Up to 300 components and 1800 connections
- 10. The authors continued support
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- 5
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- Installation
-
- Contents of Archive/Disk:
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- PCROUTE .EXE - The main program
- PCROUTE .DOC - The documentation for PCROUTE.EXE
- HPLASER .DAT - Printer data for the HP Laserjet II
- SG10 .DAT - Printer data for the IBM PC printer
- PAN1124 .DAT - Printer data for the EPSON LQ-2500
- SMALL .CDT - Sample board that can be edited and routed
- DIP24V6 .DEF - 24 PIN DIP chip definition-vertical .6 wide
- DIP20V3 .DEF - 20 PIN DIP chip definition-vertical .3 wide
- DIP40V6 .DEF - 40 PIN DIP chip definition-vertical .6 wide
- PAD .DEF - Definition of a single pad
- 2PAD50V .DEF - 2 PADS 0.5 inches apart-vertical
- works well for 1/4 watt resistors
- 2PAD15V .DEF - 2 PADS 0.15 inches apart-vertical
- 2PAD10V .DEF - 2 PADS 0.10 inches apart-vertical
- PRINTDOC.BAT - Prints the documentation stored on disk
-
- System Requirements:
-
- To run this program requires:
- 1. CGA or better graphics
- 2. 640k of memory (must all be available)
- no other memory residents can exist as they may
- lock up the system, you'll have to experiment
- on this part.
- 3. 1 floppy disk drive
- 4. One of the following printers:
- a. IBM PC or compatible printer
- b. EPSON LQ-2500 or compatible printer
- c. Hewlett Packard Laserjet II or compatible
- 5. Hard-Disk (not essential but recommended)
- A fast processor is also nice.
-
- Software Setup:
-
- If you are going to run this program from a floppy disk
- system, simply copy all the files that came in the archive or on
- the distribution disk onto an empty formatted floppy disk by
- using the following command:
-
- COPY A:*.* B:
-
- Where A: contains the original PCROUTE disk and B: contains the
- empty formatted floppy disk. All the files that came on the
- diskette are required to run the program except the PCROUTE.DOC
- file. The PCROUTE.DOC file may be deleted from the run disk.
-
- If you will be using a hard disk to run the program, make a
- directory in which to place the program. Use the following
-
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-
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- 6
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- commands to accomplish this:
-
- 1. cd \
- 2. md pcroute
- 3. cd pcroute
- 4. copy a:*.*
-
- Where A: holds the original PCROUTE files.
-
- For PCROUTE to run reliably, you must also have a line in
- your config.sys file setting files=20. If you are running most
- any major applications program this command probably exists, but
- you should check. To execute the program type PCROUTE from the
- DOS prompt.
-
-
-
- Input/Output Menu
-
- 1. Load Data:
- This function is used to retrieve from disk the
- necessary information to design a printed circuit board.
- Select this function from the menu and when prompted, enter
- the file name. No extension is used, the program will add
- the .CDT extension for you. The drive and path should not
- be used on the filename itself. There is a function that
- will be discussed later to set the drive and path name.
- After entering the filename, press Return. The program will
- ask if this is the correct name, enter Y or N to answer. If
- the file is not found you will have a chance to reenter the
- file name. You can also use the ESC key to jump back to the
- main menu instead of entering the file name.
-
- 2. Save Data:
- This function will save a complete description of the
- design layout, component list, and connection list. It does
- not save the information used for deleting traces in the
- interactive router which will be discussed later. When
- prompted, enter the filename. Again do not specify the file
- extension, drive designation, or path name. PCROUTE will
- ask after entering the file name if everything is correct,
- enter a Y or N. If the file exists the program will ask if
- you want to overwrite the file. If you say no, it will
- prompt for a new file name. ESC also works to return you to
- the I/O menu instead of entering the file name.
-
- 3 Write Autocad file:
- This function will write a file that can in turn be
- read into and edited with Autocad. The process is one way,
- you can not read an autocad file back into PCROUTE. Call
- this function from the I/O menu and give a name when
- prompted. Here as usual, specify no path or file extension.
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- The extension .scr will be added to the file. Once the
- program is done writing the file, you may run Autocad and
- use the command "SCRIPT" from the "Command:" prompt.
- Autocad will ask for the script file name. Specify the same
- name (with path if needed) as the one you used in PCROUTE
- and Autocad will read in the file. It may take awhile so be
- patient. Autocad will display three layers: solder,
- component, and silkscreen. You may edit them however you
- like and save them as Autocad drawing files. Doing this
- greatly increases the number of printers you can output to
- as Autocad supports mega-hardware.
-
- 4. Erase Data:
- This routine clears the memory of the program. It
- erases the boards, stacks, component list, and connection
- list. The program will ask if you are sure that you want to
- erase the data in memory. Answer Y or N. The program will
- respond with "Erasing..." and after a few seconds drop you
- back to the I/O menu.
-
- 5. Disk Directory:
- This function displays a directory of the current drive
- and path. Use the space bar to view twenty file names at a
- time. When no more files exist, the space bar will return
- you to the I/O menu.
-
- 6. Change drive/path:
- This function changes the current drive and or path.
- The ESC key will back you out of the function without
- changing the path. The function will display the current
- drive and path and then prompt for a new one. Just enter
- the new one and press Return. You will be returned to the
- I/O menu.
-
-
- Define/Edit Board Menu
-
- 1. Component Edit/Entry:
- This function is used to enter components into the system.
- Once you have entered this function you will placed in the
- entry/editing environment. If no components have been entered
- you will see only two possible commands, if there are components
- in memory you will have the option to delete, copy and perform
- other functions.
-
- New Component Entry:
- Hitting an "A" will allow you to enter new components. The
- program will display the component number being entered and then
- prompt for the name. The name is up to 15 characters long and
- serves only to remind the designer of what the device is. ESC
- can be used at this point to return you to the entry/editing
- environment.
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- The next question is for the designation. This is the
- unique name that you will give the component and use in the
- future to refer to it. Typical names include IC1, R1, IC2, and
- A1. The only reserved designation is for vias. (A via is a pad
- with no device attatched to it. It is just to connect a trace
- from one side of the board to the other) Designations that start
- with "V" and then have a number after that, are not allowed in
- the system. So V1 would not be accepted by VI1 would be. ESC
- may be used to back up while entering the designation name to
- reenter the component name.
- Third the program will prompt for the definition file name.
- This is the name of a file that tells the program how the pins on
- the device being entered are situated. The program first shows a
- list of possible definition file names at the lower right. At
- the end of the list the program will prompt for a name. Do not
- enter a file extension, the program will add it for you. If the
- name of the file entered exists, it will read the file for you,
- and display the chip definition for you to see if it is correct.
- If you answer yes that it is the correct definition you will
- continue to the next question. If the file did not exist you
- will be asked if you wish to create the definition. If you
- answer no, the program will re-prompt for the definition name
- after showing you the possible files. Otherwise it makes a new
- definition. ESC may be used to back up and reenter the component
- designation.
-
- Creating New Definition Files:
- The program needs to know the exact pin layout of
- any component placed on the board. This function
- allows you to create these definitions. Upon entry you
- will see a graphic screen with some information at the
- bottom and a green square in the middle of the screen.
- In the top left of the box is your cursor. You use the
- cursor keys to move the cursor around to define pin
- locations. The pins are entered in the order from 1 to
- up to 40. Move the cursor to the position of the first
- pin and hit return to place it. Then move to the
- second position and hit return to place pin 2. You may
- also remove pins in the reverse order you placed them
- by positioning your cursor over the last pin entered
- and hitting the backspace key. This key will only
- delete the last entered pin. The information at the
- bottom of the screen will tell you what pin you are
- entering, as well as its relative location on the
- screen. When you have placed 40 pins or are finished
- with the component definition, hit ESC to finish. The
- program will ask if you want to reedit. Answering yes
- will clear the screen and you can start over. By
- answering no you will receive the prompt asking if you
- want to keep the definition or not. Answering yes will
- save the definition for later use, no will give you the
- list of existing definitions on the previous screen.
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- All components are moved to the upper left most corner
- for saving. This is for internal reasons; you can
- design the chip anywhere in the square. You will need
- to make definition files for all your components. I
- would suggest a meaningful system for naming them.
- Maybe something like DIP16V and DIP16H for 16 pin Dual
- Inline Package Vertical attitude and Horizontal
- attitude respectively.
- ***Note: Most chip dimensions are available in data
- books such as RCA cross reference manuals. Radio Shack
- also puts device dimensions on the back of their
- packages.
-
- The next question the program will ask is if everything is
- correct. Answering no will restart this process with re-
- prompting for the name. Answering yes will get the next prompt.
- The next prompt is if you wish to keep this device.
- Answering no will skip the next prompt and ask if you wish to
- enter another device. Answering yes gives you the next prompt.
- This prompt asks if you wish to place the device now.
- Entering no will allow you to delay this until later. All
- devices must be placed somewhere on the board before they can be
- connected. Placing a chip goes as follows:
-
- Placing Chips:
- When this graphic screen comes up you will see a
- representation of the current circuit board with all
- other placed components and ground planes shown. The
- chip you are entering will be shown in the upper left
- corner of the board. The arrow keys will move this
- chip around on the board. By using a shift-arrow
- combination the chip can be moved faster. Move the
- chip to where you want it and press return. You cannot
- overlap chips. The chip is now placed in this
- location. If you change your mind you can press ESC to
- exit without placing the chip. You will be prompted if
- you are sure you want to abandon chip placement or not.
- Yes will go to the next prompt, no will put you right
- back where you were before hitting ESC.
-
- The last prompt is if you wish to enter another chip or not.
- Answering yes will put you back up at the name prompt to enter
- another chip. No will put you back in the entry/editing
- environment.
-
- Editing Component Definitions:
- Selecting E from the entry/editing environment will give you
- the ability to change any part of each definition. Simply select
- the letter of the item to change. For example, to change the
- name, hit A after hitting E and you will be prompted for the new
- name. Either enter the new name, or you can press ESC to leave
- it unchanged. When you are done editing, press the key that
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- 10
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- corresponds to exiting the edit.
-
- Deleting Component Definitions:
- This function allows you to delete a component. The
- component that will be deleted is the one currently displayed on
- the screen. Press D and you will be asked if you are sure if you
- want to delete this component or not. Answer accordingly. All
- connections that contained the deleted function will also be
- deleted.
-
- Copying Components:
- This function will let you make copies of a chip definition
- to speed the entry of chips. It will copy everything from the
- displayed definition to a new definition except for the
- designation from which it will take the alpha part and then
- increment the numerical part to the next available part. It also
- does not put the chip in the same location. You will be asked if
- you wish to place the chip now or later.
-
- Searching for a Component:
- Sometimes finding the component you wish to edit or delete
- can take some time on a large board. This function allows you to
- search for components by the designation. When prompted enter
- the designation, PCROUTE will change the case to upper for you.
- If it exists the program will display that device's number. If
- it doesn't exist, you will continue right where you were.
-
- Incrementing and Decrementing the displayed Component:
- Using + and - will change the displayed component. +
- increments and - decrements. The display is circular in nature,
- therefore hitting + at the last component will put you at the
- first and hitting - at the first will put you at the last.
-
- Exiting the Entry/Editing Environment:
- Use the N key to end these functions and return to the board
- definition menu.
-
- 2. Connection Edit/ Entry:
- This system allows for entry and editing of all the
- connections that need to be made between the components in the
- system. The functions are very similar to the component
- functions.
-
- New Connection Entry:
- Typing an "A" will allow you to enter new connections. The
- program will display the connection number being entered and then
- prompt for the name of the source designation. The name must
- exist in memory as a component. ESC can be used at this point to
- return you to the entry/editing environment.
- The next question is for the source chip pin number. Enter
- the number of the pin that you want the trace to connect to. ESC
- will back you up to the previous prompt.
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- The program will now prompt for the name of the destination
- designation. The name must exist in memory as a component. ESC
- can be used at this point to return to the previous prompt.
- The next question if for the destination chip pin number.
- Enter the number of the pin that you want the other end of the
- trace to connect to. ESC will back you up to the previous
- prompt.
- The program will now ask if this is a priority route or not.
- By answering yes, this trace will be routed before all other non-
- priority routes no matter how long it may be and what other
- routes it may block. This might be used for making sure a memory
- access bus is all done in copper instead of using jumpers for a
- vital connection.
- The next question the program will ask is if everything is
- correct. Answering no will restart this process by reprompting
- for the source designation. Answering yes will bring up the next
- prompt.
- The next prompt is if you wish to keep this connection.
- Answering no will skip the next prompt and ask if you wish to
- enter another connection. Answering yes gives you the next
- prompt.
- The last prompt asks if you wish to enter another
- connection. Answering yes, will put you back up at the source
- designation prompt to enter another connection. No will places
- you back in the entry/editing environment.
-
- Editing Connection Definitions:
- Selecting E from the entry/editing environment will give you
- the ability to change any part of each connection. Simply select
- the letter of the item to change. For example, to change the
- source designation, hit A after hitting E and you will be
- prompted for the new designation. Either enter the new
- designation, or press ESC to leave it unchanged. When you are
- done editing, press the key that corresponds to exiting the edit.
-
-
- Deleting Connection Definitions:
- This function allows you to delete a connection. The
- connection that will be deleted is the one currently displayed on
- the screen. Press D and you will be asked if you are sure you
- want to delete this connection. Answer accordingly.
-
- Searching for a Connection:
- Sometimes finding the connection you wish to edit or delete
- can take some time on a large board. This function allows you to
- search for connections by the designation. When prompted enter
- the designation sought. PCROUTEwill change the case to upper for
- you. PCROUTE then will search from the current connection to the
- end. It looks at both the source and destination designations
- for a match. If it finds the search string the program will
- display that connection's information. If it doesn't exist, you
- continue right where you were.
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- Incrementing and Decrementing the displayed Connection:
- Using + and - will change the displayed connection. +
- increments and - decrements. The display is circular in nature,
- therefore hit + at the last connection will put you at the first
- and hitting - at the first will put you at the last.
-
- Exiting the Entry/Editing Environment:
- Use the N key to end these functions and return to the board
- definition menu.
- 3. Ground Plane: This function is used to set up a ground
- plane. The program will display a picture of
- the board. It will prompt for the width of
- the ground plane on all four sides on both
- the component side and solder side of the
- board. Each digit entered corresponds to .05
- actual inches. You may come back and change
- the ground plane sizes at any time. ESC will
- also back you out of the first prompt only
- (top-solder side).
- *** Please note that this function erases
- any work done in the interactive router
- (discussed later).
-
- 4. Define Board Size: This function is the first function
- used. It defines the dimensions of the
- board. The maximum board size supported
- by PCROUTE is 11" X 8". When prompted
- for numbers, you must enter the numbers
- as multiples of 5. Each number
- represents 0.05" of actual size. So an
- entry of 100 would correspond to 5".
- You may change board sizes at any time
- during the design process by calling the
- routine. If you make the board smaller,
- the chips that were outside the new
- border will have to be replaced. ESC
- will back up to the previous prompt, or
- jump out of the routine leaving the
- board size unchanged.
-
- 5. Spider Web: This function is useful for checking to see if a
- chip would be more logically placed somewhere
- else. By using the + and - keys, you can toggle
- through the chips. As each chip is selected, it
- as well as all traces connected to it are
- highlighted in red. Once a chip is highlighted,
- you can select M to move the chip. After pressing
- M, the arrow keys become active and the chip as
- well as all its connections will be rubber banded
- around the board. You can hit RETURN to place the
- chip at the current location, or hit ESC to not
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- 13
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- place the chip and put it back at its original
- location. The ESC or E key will exit you from
- this function.
- *** Please note, if you move any chips, the work
- done by the interactive router is erased.
-
-
- Interactive Router
-
- This board editing system allows you to interactively design
- a board. It can be very useful for finding possible routes that
- the autorouter was unable to find. Upon entry to this section
- the program generates the borders and places the pads of all the
- chips. It will also ask you to place all the chips that have not
- been placed yet. If you intend to route the entire board this
- way, place your chips and then leave them. Moving them around
- after placing the chip will distort your board. PCROUTE has no
- way of connecting traces up to a chips new location. The screen
- will show all the chips with their designations centered amid
- each components pins. This system has many keys that are active
- while in this environment. An explanation of each follows.
-
- S - switch sides: This function changes the side of the board
- displayed. When you enter S, you will be
- shown the other side of the board. The
- program supports only 2 sides, solder and
- component.
-
- E or ESC - end: Pressing E or ESC will exit you from the
- interactive router.
-
- Cursor Keys: The cursor keys move the solid block around on the
- board. Each time you press the arrow key, the
- cursor will move 1 space. Relative coordinates
- are displayed at the bottom of the screen. Using
- Shift-Arrow moves the cursor 10 spaces. If you
- come to the edge of the screen but not the edge of
- the board, the screen will shift the board over
- for you.
-
- Function Keys:
- The function keys numbered F1-F8 do the majority of the work
- in PCROUTE. They allow you to place vias, run traces, delete
- traces, blank old traces, and delete vias.
-
- F1 - Set Source: By positioning the cursor over a pad and
- hitting F1 you select that pad as your source
- location. The bottom status line will tell
- you exactly what chip and pin number you have
- selected.
-
- F2 - Set Dest.: This function works exactly as the F1
-
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- 14
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- function but selects the destination pin.
-
- F3 - Run Trace: Once you have defined a source and
- destination, hitting F3 will attempt to
- connect the two pins with a trace. If it is
- successful, you will see the trace appear.
- If it cannot complete the route it will
- notify you at the bottom. At this point you
- might try placing a via and routing from the
- source to it on one side and from the via to
- the destination on the other.
-
- F4 - Delete Trace: This function will delete traces that have
- been routed since the program has been run.
- If you have just loaded the board up and
- decide to delete a trace this function will
- not work. Saving the board does not save
- deletion information. Assuming the data is
- in memory to perform the delete, the program
- will highlight the trace to delete. If the
- highlighted trace is the one to be deleted
- answer Yes when prompted. Hitting N will
- advance to the next trace if it is available.
- Hitting ESC will drop you back to the cursor
- control mode.
-
- F5 - Add Via: This function key will add a via at the location
- of the cursor. It will be V and then the next
- available number. Use these for multilevel routes
- or just extra pads needed. You cannot place a via
- adjacent to an existing pad. You can place one
- diagonally from one though. You also may not
- place a via in the middle of a trace. All vias
- are deleted by the autorouter when it is invoked.
-
- F6 - Del Via: This function deletes the via at the cursor
- location if one exists there.
-
- F7 - Erase Space: This function will remove the trace piece at
- the location of the cursor. This function is
- useful if you deleted a series of traces and
- left something unconnected. Use this
- carefully.
-
- F8 - Check Route: This function will check to see if a selected
- pair of pads can be connected. It will
- report back as to whether the route can be
- completed. This is useful for doing multi-
- layer routes using vias. Checking for an
- available route before laying the actual
- trace will save a bunch of deletes if later
- your path is blocked.
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- F9 - Manual Route: This function allows you to manually route
- traces. Place the cursor on the starting pad
- or trace and press F9. If the cursor is not
- on a valid starting point, nothing will
- happen. Now use the cursor control keys to
- route your trace. Every time you move, your
- trace is lengthened. When you are done, you
- can either stop in and open space and press
- F9 or you can stop on a trace or pad and hit
- F9, the correct connecting piece will be
- added to make the connection. Please note
- that if you go over an existing trace,
- PCROUTE will cut that trace in favor of the
- new path. This works well for putting short
- jumpers on the board. This is very useful
- for routing traces that would normally block
- other routes if they were not placed this
- way. As my autorouter algorithm gets
- "smarter" hopefully we won't need this.
-
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- Autorouting
-
- Selecting this from the menu will enable you to connect all
- or most of the connections you desire. The program will first
- draw borders, place pads, and set up the ground planes. If a
- component has not been placed, you will be asked to place it.
- The program requires all chips to be placed before it can route.
- There are four routing strategies that can be employed. You
- select each strategy by hitting Y or N as the cursor moves to
- each option. If you hit Y for single or double via routing you
- will also be prompted for the maximum number of tries for each.
- Just enter a number. Bigger numbers are better for bigger
- boards, smaller number for small boards.
- The PCROUTE system is totally re-entrant. The first
- question you are asked is if you wish to clear all traces.
- Answering yes clears anything currently on the board. No would
- keep what was on the board such as work done by the interactive
- router. You can hit ESC during any routing strategy to exit that
- routine and the autorouter. The program will then show the list
- of all unconnected routes still existing. If the router has not
- completed one run-through and you have routed before, traces may
- have been completed by the earlier route and still be reported as
- unconnected. You can do a design check to see which routes in
- you connection list have not been connected either by hand or by
- autorouter by running the autorouter and not erasing the current
- traces. Just select the double or single sided route system. It
- will report any routes that are incomplete. Any route that was
- completed before will be marked as complete and not reported.
- The program will report whatever routes weren't done and the ones
- it couldn't complete.
-
- Single Sided Route: This function will attempt to place all the
- routes on the solder side of the board. It
- is the least efficient strategy but is great
- for small projects where ease of making the
- board itself is a priority. This function
- cannot be used in conjunction with the next
- three strategies.
-
- Double Sided Route: This function will do its routing on two
- sides of the board. It has a higher
- completion percentage than the single sided
- strategy.
-
- Single Via Route: This function requires that the double sided
- strategy be select first. This function is
- used after the double sided strategy to try
- to complete any uncompleted routes. It
- places a via and tries to do the single route
- with a trace on each side of the board. A
- number such as 50 is good for maximum number
- of tries.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 17
-
-
- Double Via Route: This function also requires double sided
- routing be selected to work. It uses two
- vias to attempt to complete the route. A
- good maximum number of tries is 30 or so.
- This function can take a great deal of time
- so be patient.
-
-
- Board Statistics
-
- This function displays 3 statistics that may be of some interest.
-
- Equivalent Integrated Circuit Count: This function is the
- total number of pins
- divided by 16.
-
- Board Density: This is the amount of space total that each chip
- has to occupy. It is calculated by taking the
- area of the board and dividing by the Equivalent
- IC count.
-
- Total Trace Length: The function gives the total length of all
- the traces on the board. The smaller the
- number, the better the design.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 18
-
- Printer Menu
-
- 1. Print Component List: This function will generate a list of
- all the components. It can be sorted by
- name or designation.
-
- 2. Print Connections: This function will generate a list of
- all the connections in memory. It can
- be sorted by the source or destination
- designation.
-
- 3. Print Solder Side of Board:
- This function will generate the artwork to make the
- printed circuit board. The program will ask if you want to
- mirror the board. This may be necessary if your film
- requires printing on a particular side. The mirroring is
- done left to right. Next it will ask if you want a negative
- made. This will make the traces white and the background
- all black. On Laser printers you also have the option of
- making an actual size printout, or the standard 2X size that
- the dot matrix printers print. The ESC key will exit out of
- the printout at any time.
-
- 4. Print Component Side of Board:
- This function is identical to number 3 above except
- that it prints the component side of the board.
-
- 5. Print a Silkscreen Representation:
- This function will generate a pseudo-silkscreen. It is
- not the same scale as numbers 3 and 4 but is useful for
- remembering where components are to be placed. Select the
- printer to be used and watch it go.
-
-
- Exiting the Program
-
- Selecting 7 from the main menu will drop you from PCROUTE
- back to DOS. If you have data in memory you will be asked if you
- wish to save it. Answering Yes will prompt you for a file name.
- Enter the file name as you would in the save data function in the
- Input/Output menu. You can hit ESC to abort the save, but it
- will not return you to the program. Answering No to the save
- query, will drop you immediately to DOS.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 19
-
- Keyboard Summaries
-
- Chip Placement Screen:
- ESC - Option to Abandon Placement
- RET - Place chip at current location
- Cursor Keys - Moves chip one space for each
- depression
- Shift Cursor Key - Moves chip 10 spaces for each
- depression
-
- Define Chip Definition:
- ESC - Option to Abandon Definition
- RET - Place pin at current location
- Cursor Keys - Moves cursor one space for each stroke
- BACKSPACE - Removes last placed pin
-
- Spider Web System:
- M* - Set system to move highlighted chip
- Cursor keys - Move chip one space on board
- RET - Place chip at current location
- ESC - Abandon placement
- +,-* - Increment and Decrement through chips
- E* - Exit Web System
-
- * - Denotes that this selection is displayed on screen.
-
- Interactive Router:
- S - Display other side of board
- E,ESC - Exit interactive router
- F1 - Select source pad
- F2 - Select destination pad
- F3 - Attempt to connect source and
- destination
- F4 - Delete traces connected since system
- started
- F5 - Place via at cursor location
- F6 - Delete via at cursor location
- F7 - Remove trace piece at cursor location
- F8 - See if route is possible between
- source and destination pads
- F9 - Enters and exits the manual router
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 20
-
- Brief Tutorial
-
- The following is intended as a method of getting up and
- running with the program. It will give a general idea of how the
- program works. It is not intended as a "learn all" tutorial.
-
- 1. Begin by running PCROUTE. This information can be found
- back in the section on setting up PCROUTE for your machine.
-
- 2. Once at the main menu, hit 3 for define/edit board, and then
- select 4 for define board dimensions. For our purposes we
- will use a board size of 80 x 80, which translates into a 4
- inch square board.
-
- 3. Select function 1 to enter new components. You will see
- that no data has been entered yet. Hit A to enter data. We
- will put three chips on the board and two resistors. Answer
- each prompt below with the following data. When asked to
- place each chip answer Y and place the chip with the cursor
- keys. After you have entered the last item, answer N to the
- "Enter another component?" prompt.
-
- Name: 8051 uP Designation: IC1
- Definition file: DIP40V6 Placement: Left side of board
-
- Name: 74ls373 Designation: IC2
- Definition file: DIP20V3 Placement: Upper right
-
- Name: 2716 Designation: IC3
- Definition file: DIP24V6 Placement: Lower right
-
- Name: 100k resistor Designation: R1
- Definition file: 2PAD50V Placement: Upper middle
-
- Name: 10k resistor Designation: R2
- Definition file: 2PAD50V Placement: Lower middle
-
- N exits you to the board definition menu.
-
- 4. Next, we want to enter some connections to be made between
- the chips. Select 2 from the menu to enter the connection
- entry section. Enter the following connections. Answer N
- to each prompt of "Is this a priority connection?". When
- you have entered the last connection answer N to the "Enter
- another connection prompt?".
-
- Source Defice Pin Desitination Device Pin
- IC1 2 IC3 2
- IC1 3 IC2 16
- IC3 22 IC2 6
- R1 1 IC2 4
- R2 1 IC1 8
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 21
-
- R2 2 IC3 6
- R1 2 IC1 31
- IC2 8 IC3 17
- IC1 21 IC1 15
- IC2 8 IC3 8
- IC2 9 IC3 9
- IC2 10 IC3 10
- IC1 14 IC2 9
-
- N returns you to the menu.
-
- 5. Ok, lets autoroute the board. Go back to the main menu and
- select 4 to autoroute the board. When prompted to use
- single sided routing or not, answer Y. Now hit the ESC key
- and watch the machine route. When it is done is will
- display the list of uncompleted connections to the printer
- or screen. Select whichever you wish. We will now be
- dropped back to the main menu. We can take a look at what
- we have done by selecting number 5 from the menu. You can
- cursor around and see a representation of the board on the
- screen. Hit ESC when done.
-
- Now lets re-route the board using double sided techniques.
- This time say N to single sided and Y to double sided and
- then hit ESC. The machine will route double sided and again
- give a list of incomplete connections if any exist. Select
- printer or screen for this list. Lets take a look at the
- board again. This time we may also want to use the S key to
- change sides of the board that we are viewing. When you are
- done hit ESC.
-
- 6. From the main menu, hit 6 for statistics. Displayed are
- three statistics that tell you how good your design is. Hit
- space when you are done with this.
-
- 7. Last of all we'll print this baby out. Hit 2 for printer
- menu. Now select silkscreen. Select your printer and then
- hit N for mirrored image. Your printer will now print a
- quick mockup of the board. This is useful for remembering
- what chip goes where. Now hit 3 to print out the solder
- side of the board. Select your printer and answer N to each
- prompt. Your printer will shortly come to life and print out
- a 2X print of the copper patern on your printer. You may
- hit ESC to abort the printout if you are tired of sitting
- around.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 22
-
- Order Form
- Please enclose this form when ordering.
-
- Name: __________________________________________
-
-
- Address1: __________________________________________
-
-
- Address2: __________________________________________
-
-
- City: _________________ State: _______ Zip:_________
-
-
- Phone Number: (________) ________-______________
-
-
- Computer name: _____________________________________
-
-
- Processor: 8086 8088 80186 80188 80286 80386 80386SX
-
-
- Printer type: _____________________________________
-
- Suggestions/comments/other information:
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
- ____________________________________________________
-
-
- Please also enclose the $65 check or money order, (do not send
- cash) made payable to:
-
- Douglas E. Ehlers
- 4520 S. 58th
- Lincoln, NE 68516
- (402) 435-8440
-