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Text File | 1991-09-20 | 26KB | 773 lines

EZPLACE HELP FILE Version 3.10 SEPTEMBER 6, 1991 Leading Edge Industries 2120 Myrtle Avenue St Paul, Minnesota 55114 (612) 645-5254 and 101 Eagle Drive Balsam Lake, Wisconsin 54810 $TOF THE PURPOSE OF EZPLACE EZPLACE is a program designed to allow ANYONE to enter parts, placements and geometries of existing or custom Wire Wrap boards and Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). EZPLACE has several purposes: o Simplify entry and reduce errors inherent in placing parts on pre-pinned wire wrap boards. o Allow users to place components where THEY want them. The data created by this program allows Leading Edge to deliver to the user a Wire Wrapped assembly or PCB. The user should: o Specify a board geometry or template o Specify board outlines and keep-out areas o Create special parts o Place parts where desired o Send the data to Leading Edge EZPLACE was written by Rod May in 1990. Dan Stover and Greg Volk modified it in 1991 to include Library Part Creation, Excellon Board Template Input, Redac Output, Keep Out Areas,etc. $TOF TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 1. License to Use 2. About Leading Edge 3. Free Updates 4. Hardware Requirements 5. Definitions II. USING EZPLACE 1. Setup 2. Files 3. Operation III. MENU REFERENCE 1. [A]DVANCED MENU 2. [F]ILE MENU 3. [K]EEP OUT MENU 4. [L]IBRARY MENU 5. PART COMMANDS 6. CURSOR AND MAGNIFICATION COMMANDS IV. BOARD TEMPLATES 1. Sources 2. Format 3. Example V. LIBRARY 1. Definition 2. Supplied Library Parts 3. Creating Library Parts 4. Editing Library Parts 5. Duplicating Library Parts 6. Removing Library Parts 7. DON'T INITIALIZE LIBRARY UNTIL YOU READ THIS! $TOF VI. PLACING PARTS 1. Locating 2. Rotating 3. Inserting 4. Deleting 5. Moving VII. KEEP OUT AREAS 1. Definition 2. Placing 'Keep Out' Lines 3. Uses for 'Keep Out' Lines VIII.OUTPUT 1. What is Redac? 2. Redac Output 3. Net Lists IX. FUTURE 1. Board Templates 2. Net List Entry 3. Off-Grid Parts $TOF I. INTRODUCTION 1. License to Use There are NO restrictions on using EZPLACE! You may use it for Personal, Commercial or Industrial purposes. You may give it to ANYONE (including competitive companies) as long as the credits are displayed when it is executed. You will note the output is in ASCII, Redac format, possibly the most common interface specification known. No attempt is made to make use of the output difficult, please use it. 2. About Leading Edge Leading Edge Industries are Minnesota Corporations with Corporate offices in St Paul, MN and manufacturing plants in St Paul, MN and Balsam Lake, WI. Leading Edge Design (LED) produces PCB designs, layouts and custom software in response to an engineers manual or CAE design. Leading Edge Assembly (LEA) is a quality vendor of Quick Turn and production volume Wire Wrap assemblies. LEA does board stuffing, mechanical and electronic assembly and miltary subcontracting. LEA claims 7 Vertical, 3 Horizontal and 5 Semi-Automatic Wire Wrap Machines. Leading Edge Circuits (LEC) produces Quick Turn and small production quantities of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) for a wide range of customers and usages. LEC fabricates PCB boards, down to 5 mil lines and up to 10 layers. If you need it done, Leading Edge can do it! 3. Free Updates Write or call Leading Edge with your Company, Name, Address and Telephone Number and we'll mail you free updates and bug corrections. There are more board templates available, if interested please call. If you have a board template you wish to make available to the world, send it in. 4. Hardware Requirements A. IBM PC 512K minimum memory B. Floppy disk drive or method of transferring files C. Hard Disk drive D. EGA or VGA monitor 5. Definitions A. CURSOR A cursor indicates where attention is currently being focused. For the purposes of EZPLACE a part acts as the cursor, the default being a one- pin 'TPOINT', shown as a white box. When you [C]hange Part, say to a 14-pin DIP, the new part becomes the cursor and is shown in white. Power (Light Red) and Ground (Light Cyan) pins are shown to aid placement. Position the cursor where you want to [I]nsert parts onto the board. In [L]ibrary Mode the cursor is the next pin to be placed and in [K]eep Out Mode the cursor is the next 'Keep Out' Line to be placed. B. SCROLL While positioning a part or drawing a line, Pin 1 of the part or cursor might go beyond the viewport on screen. In this case the board is redisplayed with Pin 1 of the cursor centered on the screen. C. ZOOM The viewport on screen shows up to 20 x 20 inches of the board. Since this looks small on a CRT, a magnification factor ranging from 2 (whole board) to 16 (chip level view) dots per 100 mils has been included. Change the magnification with [Shift] PgUp/PgDn and [A]dvanced [M]agnification keys. $TOF II. USING EZPLACE 1. Setup Create your directory by typing MKDIR EZPLACE Move to that directory by typing CD EZPLACE Prepare to use easy place by then typing 'pkunzip a:\ezplace'. This will load all necessary files into the directory "EZPLACE" as well as a "DEMO" design. 2. Files There are several file types generated at one point or another in the EZPLACE process: A. *.BRD and *.GRD files are the Excellon (Text) and binary formats of board templates. B. LIBRARY.BIN contains the library parts. [F]ile [R]estoring from the floppy archive overwrites this file, therebye deleting any custom parts which were not present when the archive was created. C. *.JOB files hold the actual EZPlace parts data. At this time the user is allowed 1000 parts per design. D. *.KOA files contain the 'Keep Out Area' lines and 'Board Outlines'. At this time the user is allowed 1000 lines per design. 3. Operation A. If you desire a specific board template, assure that the *.BRD template file is in your directory. If no Board template is specified, EZPlace will assume all grid locations are valid for placement. See BOARD TEMPLATES(IV) for how to create a *.BRD Excellon file. B. Type 'EZPLACE'. C. Place your board or print on a convenient surface, COMPONENT side up. D. Establish a reference point (0,0) at the UPPER LEFT corner of your board. This point should be on a 100 mil grid, but need not be an actual pin. ALL placed pins must be below and to the right of this point as EZPLACE uses only positive coordinates. E. To begin a new JOB enter the desired Board Template, if you want one (see Step A), selected from the [F]iles [B]oard menu entry. Please note that the Board Template is optional and exists to only to aid the user. OR... To load an existing JOB use the [F]iles [L]oad or [F]iles [M]erge menu entries. The Board Template formerly assigned to the job will be loaded. F. If creating a new design use the [K]eep Out Menu to draw a board outline. G. [C]hange cursor to the first part you wish to place or do a [L]ibrary [C]reate Part if the specified part does not yet exist. H. Move the cursor part using the arrow keys or shifted- arrow keys and the [R]otate option. Use [I]nsert Part to place a part at the current cursor position and the [D]elete and [M]ove Part options to alter previously placed parts. Continue placing, using [C]hange Part to get a new Library Part. I. After placing all parts on the board use the [K]eep Out Menu to enter your 'Keep Out Lines'. Note that these 'lines' need not describe a closed figure. J. Save the JOB using the [F]iles [S]ave option. Enter a new job name or confirm the old name. K. After completing the job, use the [F]iles [A]rchive option to save all relevant files to a floppy. Send this floppy to Leading Edge for wrapping or layout. Please note that only one job may be archived per floppy disk. Only the last job archived on a floppy is available for use. $TOF III. MENU REFERENCE 1. [A]DVANCED MENU [I]nitilize LIB Delete ALL existing parts from the library with the exception of the 'TPOINT' part. BEWARE! [M]agnification Set the magnification factor directly (from 2 to 16 dots per 100 mils). [P]rint Menu [B]oard Description Print a graphical representation of the board template onto a generic printer. [M]anual Print Prints this manual to LPT1. [E]pson Printer Print the board on an Epson printer. [8]0 Column Printer Specifies 80 column printer. [1]32 Column Printer Specifies 132 column printer, default value. 2. [F]ILE MENU [D]elete Job The *.JOB and *.KOA files are deleted from Disk. [L]oad Job Input *.JOB and *.KOA files. [M]erge Job Input *.JOB and *.KOA files to current job. [S]ave Job Output *.JOB and *.KOA files. [A]rchive Copy all required files to floppy disk. The disk then may be sent to Leading Edge for Wire Wrapping or PCB Layout. [R]etrive Archive Bring data in from an archive floppy and put it into the current directory. Display the job. [B]oard Template Input *.BRD Excellon Board Template file. [W]rite Template Output current template to *.BRD Excellon file. [O]utput Redac Output the *.CDI Redac file. 3. [K]EEP OUT MENU [I]nsert Line Enter the cursor line as a 'Keep Out' and begin a new line at the movable end. [D]elete Line Delete the closest 'Keep Out' line to the cursor. [BACK]up Line Delete the last 'Keep Out' line entered. [CR] New Line Move the fixed end of the cursor line to the movable end, thus allowing a new line to be entered. 4. [L]IBRARY MENU [C]reate Part Create a new library part from scratch. [D]uplic Part Duplicate an existing part and edit the copy. [E]dit Part Edit the selected library part. Addition pins may be added as in [C]reate or existing pins deleted with the backspace key. [R]emove Part Remove a library part from the library. BE CAREFUL! 5. PART COMMANDS [C]hange Part Highlight cursor device type using the arrow keys and Select it with [CR]. The new cursor device type will be used each [I]nsert Part until changed again. [D]elete Part (also [DEL]) Highlight device to delete using the arrow keys and Select it with [CR]. Confirm the deletion. [I]nsert Part (also [INS]) Place a new part at the current cursor location and name the part. The part will not be placed if any portion of the part is outside the placement area or if the name is already used on the board. [M]ove Part Highlight device to move using the arrow keys and Select it with [CR]. Use the arrow keys and [R]otate Part to reposition and [I]nsert Part as above. [R]otate Part Rotate the cursor part 90 degrees clockwise. [BACK]up Part Delete the last device entered. 6. CURSOR AND MAGNIFICATION COMMANDS [->] and all other arrows Move the cursor 1 pin in the arrow direction. [Shift] [->] and all other arrows Move the cursor 10 pins in the arrow direction. PgUp/PgDn Increase/decrease magnification incrementally. [Shift] PgUp/PgDn Increase/decrease magnification by 2. Home/End Refresh the display centered on cursor/center. [Shift] Home/End Zoom all the way in/out. $TOF IV. BOARD TEMPLATES 1. Sources a) If you desire a custom board template, then you must first design a part or parts which results in the desired hole pattern, duplicate that part where needed, adding it and other parts until all the holes on the custom board exist. To save this template then you enter [F][W] and give the new *.BRD file a name; for example "BILL". EZPlace will write a file "BILL.BRD" which may be used ever after as your Wire-Wrap Board Template. The board you described may be either one you purchase or Leading Edge can fabricate and pin or socket that board for you. [F][A] produces all the files to send Leading Edge for a quote to be generated. b) If you desire a specific board, drilled, socketed or pinned you place parts until all the holes on the custom board exist and all parts are in place. To save this template then you enter [F][W] and give the new *.BRD file a name; for example "BILL". EZPlace will write a file "BILL.BRD" which may be used ever after as your Wire-Wrap Board Template. The board you described may be either one you purchase or Leading Edge can fabricate and pin or socket that board for you. [F][A] produces all the files to send Leading Edge for a quote to be generated and the board built. c) If you have a fully pinned board or complete confidence (snicker,snicker) in your measurements, the default grid is there waiting for you. $TOF 2. Format You can also hand enter a board template using the following format. All normal Excellon punctuation is acceptable, but not required. The default format for EZPLACE is Leading Zeros, two integer places: o X 1" Y 2" entered as X010Y020 o X 1.5" Y 2.1" entered as X015Y021 o X 0.1000" Y 0.2000" entered as X001Y002 3. Example X001Y001 X002 X003 X004 X001Y002 X002 X003 X004 $TOF V. LIBRARY 1. Definition The library is a collection of Supplied and Custom part types from which the user selects the cursor, which in turn is used for part placement. Magnification will be initialized to 16 dots per 100 mils in library mode. 2. Supplied Library Parts EZPLACE is shipped with a supplied library composed of Single Inline Packages (SIP) and Dual Inline Packages (DIPS) of various sizes. The normal makeup of the default library will be SIPs from one(1) to forty(40) pins, DIPS from six(6) to forty(40) pins. The user may not edit or delete these parts. From version to version this library may change, therefore you should keep the old versions of EZPLACE when a new one arrives. The library structure may be different and your old design could have problems. Each new primary version (3.xx,4.xx,5.xx) will remain compatable and should have its own directory. 3. Creating Library Parts: [L]ibrary [C]reate Using the arrow keys, position the cursor pin and press [INS], [I]nsert, [P]ower or [G]round. The cursor becomes part of the device and an incremented cursor is positioned in the same direction as the last arrow key pressed. If you make an error, [D]elete/[DEL]ete the last pin placed. Press [ESC] to finish and confirm the new part. When you add a Library Part, it will appear at the end of the displayed list of available parts. The part pins MUST be on a 100 mil grid. If you need to place an off-grid part, create a part which takes up the same space as this and has the same number of pins. Add a note to the files sent regarding the exact part description. This will be added into your board. 4. Editing Library Parts: [L]ibrary [E]dit Much the same as creating a new part, except you start where you left off last time. 5. Duplicating Library Parts: [L]ibrary [D]uplic A cross between creating and editing a part. Select an existing part, name the new part as in [C]reate and edit as in [E]dit. $TOF 6. Removing Library Parts: [L]ibrary [R]emove Move the arrow to the part you want to delete, press [CR] and presto, it's gone. EZPlace will check that you have no parts on the current board of this type. You must use caution with this option since you may have boards not currently loaded which use this part type. You cannot delete the supplied library parts with this option (see Initialize Library). 7. DON'T INITIALIZE LIBRARY UNTIL YOU READ THIS! The entire Parts Library is stored in a file called LIBRARY.BIN. If for any reason this file disappears, you will have only the TPOINT part to work with. [L]ibrary [I]nitialization develops a completely new Parts Library and will destroy ALL but the TPOINT part. You should use this option ONLY for unusual situations and place your new LIBRARY.BIN in a special directory. $TOF VI. PLACING PARTS 1. Locating Once a part has been [C]hanged from the Parts Library selection menu, it appears in the placement window as a rectangular box with pin one indicated by a small square. This is your cursor. Use the arrow keys and [Shift] arrow keys to position the cursor and PgUp/PgDn or [Shift] PgUp/PgDn to increase/decrease the magnification. 2. Rotating Press [R]otate to rotate the cursor part 90 degrees clockwise about pin one. 3. Inserting Once the part properly located, press [I]nsert to fix it at that location. Then respond to the part name prompt (U01,P3,R16,etc). 4. Deleting Press [D]elete and select which part to delete from the parts menu. Confirm your deletion with [Y]es. 5. Moving To Re-place an existing part use [M]ove Part and select which part to move from the parts menu. Then move or [R]otate the cursor as before, remembering that the next time you [I]nsert a part, it will move the part you just selected to the current cursor location. You can type [ESC] to leave the part where it was. $TOF VII. KEEP OUT AREAS 1. Definition Every board has some area in which wires are not desired, even if merely the extents of the board itself. The EZPlace 'Keep Out' capability allows the user to exclude wires from entering restricted areas, thereby controlling wire placement. 2. Placing 'Keep Out' lines Using this feature requires that you: o Enter [K]eep Out mode from the Main Menu o Use the arrow keys for cursor movement o Use [Shift] PgUp/PgDn for magnification o [I]nsert/[INS]ert 'Keep Out' when positioned o [D]elete/[DEL]ete the last 'Keep Out' entered o [ESC] to return to the Main Menu Please note that the lines are kept with the JOB, not the board template. This allows different 'Keep Out Areas' on the same physical board. Don't overdo the 'Keep Out Areas'. You could make it IMPOSSIBLE to build the board! If this is done, you'll be hearing from the programming group. 3. Uses for 'Keep Out' lines One obvious use is to keep wires from going over an area where something exists that might hinder assembly or cause reliability issures in the future. Another usage is to use just a single line, not a 'Keep Out', but rather a 'Don't Cross' line. This is useful to make the finished product look neater, control the direction of wires leaving a connector, isolate a noisy section of the board, etc. Leading Edge's Wire Wrap program will not allow a wire to touch any 'Keep Out' line. Vertical 'Keep Out' lines tend to make the wires follow vertical channels, but too many lines tend to make wire lengths longer. $TOF VIII.OUTPUT 1. What is Redac? The Redac CAD system is one of the oldest CAD systems available in the US. As such, Leading Edge Assembly selected it to be the output format for EZPLACE. At LEA information from EZPLACE is read directly into a Redac CAD system for plotting, error checking and output to the Wire Wrap program. 2. Redac Output When this is selected, from the [F]iles option, a Redac *.CDI file is generated which is an initial data file for the Redac system. A new job is created in the Redac CAD system and the input is error checked and brought up for display and plotting. An incidental benefit to this is that since Leading Edge Assembly has a sister company, Leading Edge Design, which does PCB layout, the output from EZPLACE is also direct input to the Layout group. The users board can be turned into a PCB at a 25% cost reduction over other options. This is because the user has already specified the components and locations, reducing the designer's work. 3. Net Lists The Redac Netlist format is: .REM NET23 { Net Name } U01 1 U02 2 U03 3 U04 4 { Any Number of Pins } U04 4 U05 5 U06 6 { Continuation line } U06 6 U07 7 { Duplication OK } .REM NET24 { Start of new net } U22 2 U23 3 .REM POWER Alpha pin designators are allowed but discouraged. Although Redac format is preferred, a netlist in any format is acceptable, for example: o OrCad o ViewLogic o Valid o PCad o Mentor o Calay o Case o Daisy o FutureNet $TOF IX. FUTURE 1. Board Templates There are plans to indicate Power(Red) and Ground(Cyan) pins on the board templates to aid proper placement. 2. Net List entry Facility will be added to enter, check and transmit Power/Ground/Signal nets. This will aid layout and Wire Wrap of the boards and reduce production times, errors and programming cost significantly! 3. Off Grid Parts Some faculty will be added to allow parts which either are placed on a location which is not on a 100 mil grid, or has pins which are not on a 100 mil grid. For now, enter the correct number of pins, make a part which takes up the correct amount of space, and send a part description with the floppy for fabrication.