The Footprint Manager dialog can be used to help rationalize footprints across the design, but some level of sanity checking will also be required. If the design has been captured using a range of libraries and the footprints have been manually attached or edited, it is imperative that a careful review of all footprint data is undertaken. When Pin Swapping information has been loaded, ensure the relevant components are enabled for Pin Swapping and that the appropriate Pin Swapping options have been enabled on the Options tab of the Project Options dialog. Ideally, the person who captured a design should also have a hand in setting up Pin Swapping data to ensure the design intent and constraints are accurately captured.
Unfortunately, the Layout Engineer may not have all the information necessary to intelligently set up the pin swapping settings since they cannot always assume to know the designer's full intent. Pin Swapping Informationīeing able to pin swap components in a design can make a huge difference to the complexity of the layout challenge and can help lower the layer count (and therefore cost) of the PCB. Consider also enabling the Report Suppressed Violations in Messages Panel option to make sure that any NoERC directives that have been placed on the design are still valid.Ĭhecking the Error Reporting settings in the Project Options dialog. Review these settings on the Error Reporting tab and Connection Matrix tab of the dialog to ensure that they make sense. The Design Compiler will perform an Electrical Rules Check each time the design is compiled, however, it is reliant on you setting the appropriate warning/error levels within the Project Options dialog. Taking the time to do this upfront before migrating to the PCB domain will save a lot of time in the PCB space, and will also ensure that the schematic is the true reference of design information. Net and Component Classes can be created automatically during design compilation, but they can also be manually specified at the schematic level where the design topology can be easily recognized. AnnotationĮnsure that the design has been fully Annotated and that the designator settings correctly reflect the design approach that has been used. This page provides a listing of some of the key checks that should ideally be performed prior to moving onto PCB layout. At this point, it is important to briefly take stock of where things are at and to check over the design to make sure that things will proceed smoothly in the PCB space. Once the schematic capture process has been completed, the next step is to push the design into the PCB domain ready for layout.