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Bartels AutoEngineer® |
1 | General |
1.1 | Bartels AutoEngineer Product Line |
1.2 | System Requirements |
1.3 | Documentation |
1.4 | Installing on Windows and DOS Platforms |
1.5 | Installing on Linux and UNIX Platforms |
1.6 | Parameter Setup and Program Start |
1.7 | User Interface |
1.8 | Symbol and Part Libraries |
2 | Schematic Editor |
2.1 | General |
2.2 | Backannotation |
2.3 | Part Attributes |
2.4 | Part and Pin Name Display |
2.5 | Bustap Functions |
2.6 | Text Definitions |
3 | Packager |
3.1 | General |
3.2 | User Interface |
3.3 | Backannotation |
3.4 | Attribute Transfer |
4 | Layout Editor |
4.1 | General |
4.2 | Input Grid and Angle Lock |
4.3 | Trace Processing |
4.4 | Via Definitions |
4.5 | Group Functions |
4.6 | Design Rule Check |
5 | Autoplacement |
5.1 | General |
5.2 | Placement Preferences |
5.3 | Automatic Copper Fill |
6 | Autorouter |
6.1 | General |
6.2 | Routing Status Report |
6.3 | Autorouter Algorithms |
6.4 | Routing Areas in BAE HighEnd |
7 | CAM Processor |
7.1 | General |
7.2 | Gerber Photo Plot |
7.3 | Power Layer Plot |
8 | CAM View |
8.1 | General |
8.2 | Creating Layouts from Gerber Data |
8.3 | Milling Data Processing |
9 | Neural Rule System |
9.1 | General |
9.2 | Autoplacement Preferences |
9.3 | Blind and Buried Via Definitions |
9.4 | Routing Areas in BAE HighEnd |
10 | Utilities |
10.1 | BAESETUP, BSETUP |
10.2 | CONCONV |
10.3 | COPYDDB |
10.4 | LOGLIB |
10.5 | NETCONV |
10.6 | VALCONV |
11 | Bartels User Language |
11.1 | General |
11.2 | User Language Compiler |
11.3 | User Language Interpreter |
11.4 | System Functions |
11.5 | BAE User Language Programs |
Tables |
1 | BAE Software License Files |
2 | BAE Graphic Device Drivers |
3 | BAE System File Environment Variables |
The following software configurations of Bartels AutoEngineer Version 4.2 are available:
Bartels AutoEngineer Professional is the basic BAE software configuration. BAE Professional is available for PCs with Windows, Linux or DOS operating systems. SCM and/or Layout only configurations of BAE Professional are provided to satisfy special customer needs. BAE Demo software configurations of BAE Professional (fully-featured except for data output) are also available for test and evaluation purposes.
Bartels AutoEngineer HighEnd with its advanced features and functions such as high speed kernel, cross-probing, rule-driven Neural Autorouter, etc. is available for workstations and for PC systems (Windows NT, Windows 95/98, Linux).
Bartels AutoEngineer Educate/Entry is available for PCs with Windows, Linux or DOS operating systems. BAE Educate is a low-price BAE configuration with considerably reduced functionality for educational purposes and/or semi-professional users.
The following software modules are optionally available with the workstation-based BAE systems:
Bartels AutoEngineer IC Design (BAEICD) is a complete CAD/CAM system for the physical design of integrated circuits (gate arrays, standard cells, custom ICs and/or ASICs). BAEICD consists of a series of system components such as IC Mask Editor, IC Autoplacement, IC Autorouter, IC DRC (Design Rule Check) and GDS-II and CIF standard interfaces.
Bartels AutoEngineer Mixed Mode Simulator (BAESIM) is a compiler-driven simulator for mixed analog/digital circuits. BAESIM provides direct access to the net list data generated with the BAE Schematic Editor.
A VGA or higher resolution monitor and a mouse or a corresponding pointing device are required on any BAE platform.
Up to 40 Mbytes hard disk space are required for installing the BAE software.
BAE Professional and BAE Educate/Entry versions are available for Linux (Kernel 2.0.x), Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows 3.x and MS-DOS.
BAE HighEnd systems are available for Hewlett-Packard 9000/7xx workstations with OSF/Motif and/or X11, and for PCs with Linux (Kernel 2.0.x), Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 98 and Windows 95 operating systems.
PC systems should at least be equipped with a 80486DX processor. Any greater processor such as Pentium or compatibles is beneficiary.
A minimum of 8 Mbytes RAM is required for DOS and Windows 3.1 systems (16 Mbytes RAM recommended).
A minimum of 16 Mbytes RAM is required for Windows 95/98/NT and Linux systems (32 Mbytes RAM or more for Windows recommended).
The BAE software is usually provided on CD-ROM, i.e., a CD-ROM drive is required to install the software.
A hardlock key is used to protect productive (i.e., non-Demo) DOS and Windows versions against software piracy. I.e., a printer port (LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3) is required to run productive BAE versions under DOS and/or Windows.
Productive (i.e., non-Demo) Linux versions must have an Ethernet card to allow for software authorization check.
Both the Bartels AutoEngineer User Manual and the Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide have been completely revised and are provided in HTML format.
The BAE library and User Language directory contents are replaced when performing update installations. It is strongly recommended to backup any user-specific data from these directories before installing the BAE update and to restore the required data afterwards.
The
bsetup.dat
file from the BAE programs directory always re-installed when performing BAE Update Installations. I.e., it is not necessary to run the time-consuming batch for compiling the
BAE User Language programs provided with the BAE software. However, user-specific BAE parameter settings stored with the existing
bsetup.dat
file will get lost and must be restored after successfully installing the BAE software using the
bsetup utility program (or the
function available from the BAE main menu of the Windows/Motif versions). Customer-specific
User Language programs developed and compiled under the previously installed BAE version must also be re-compiled after performing the BAE Update Installation.
For installing the BAE software, the CD-ROM must be inserted to the CD-ROM drive, and the drive and directory must be set accordingly. E.g., to install the BAE software from CD-ROM drive D, insert the BAE CD-ROM to CD-ROM drive D, and enter the following commands to the DOS prompt:
> D: > install
Once the install program has been started, the instructions issued on the screen should be followed carefully. First you will be asked for the BAE language version (e.g., English, German, etc.) and for the operating system host platform (DOS, Windows NT, Windows 3.x, etc.).
The install program provides different modes for performing either new Installation or Update installations. The Update install mode is strongly recommended when just updating from earlier BAE Versions; this will prevent the install program from overwriting special BAE system and setup files ending on
.dat
,
.def
and
.fnt
(otherwise user-defined color tables, aperture tables, fonts, layer definitions, library access path settings and menu setups stored with these files might get lost).
After selecting the install mode, you will be prompted to specify the destination directories for installing the programs, the libraries, the User Language source files and the examples and test jobs. You can exclude certain destination directories by deleting the corresponding path names. More experienced BAE users can, e.g., suppress the installation of the BAE example jobs or re-install certain parts of the BAE software later. For security reasons, the install parameter settings will be verified with user query before starting the installation process. The destination directories will be created automatically on request. The install program automatically copies the BAE software files to the selected destination directories on the hard disk.
At the end of the install process the install program asks for the licensed BAE software configuration in order to install the correct software authorization file (see table 1). When installing the DOS version, the user will also be asked to select the graphic device driver to be installed (see table 2).
The BAE PC software for Windows and DOS (except for the Demo software configuration) is protected by a hardlock key (dangle) which must be plugged onto one of the parallel ports (LPT1, LPT2 or LPT3) of your PC. Switch off your computer before mounting the hardlock key shipped with the software; otherwise the dangle could be damaged by high voltage! If you have connected a peripheral device such as a laser printer to the hardlock key, then you must always switch on the peripheral device before switching on your computer to ensure correct hardware authorization check.
The BAE PC software provides the license files according to the available software configurations as shown in the table below. You will be asked to select the BAE software configuration (and thus the appropriate license file) when installing the BAE software. Make sure to select the BAE software configuration to be installed and/or authorized on your computer.
Software Configuration | License File Name | Note |
---|---|---|
BAE Demo | demo.cfg | no Hardlock Key, no (CAM) output |
BAE Professional | autoeng.cfg | SCM and Layout |
BAE Schematics | schema.cfg | SCM only |
BAE Layout | layout.cfg | Layout only |
BAE HighEnd | highend.cfg | SCM and Layout |
BAE Entry/Educate | educate.cfg | SCM and Layout |
The
router.cfg
license file matching the BAE software configuration authorized on your computer must be available in the BAE programs directory. I.e., to install the correct license file you can also copy the desired CFG file to
router.cfg
in the BAE programs directory instead of selecting the valid BAE configuration during BAE software installation. E.g., the Demo software can be configured by simply copying the
demo.cfg
file in the BAE programs directory to
router.cfg
.
Note that the BAE Demo software configuration is the only one to run without a hardlock key, since BAE Demo software is intended for evaluation purposes only. BAE Demo cannot produce any CAM or User Language output. BAE Demo masks SCM sheet and/or Layout board elements to prevent from processing with productive software configurations afterwards. I.e., the BAE user version are not able to read Demo jobs, however we are able to convert these jobs.
Special driver software is required for hardlock key check when running the BAE Windows and/or DOS software under Windows NT. To install this driver software, simply start an MS-DOS-Prompt, change to the BAE programs directory, and enter the following command (system administrator rights are required):
> hlinst .
Ensure that
is selected with the Startup option of the Hardlock hardware device to be configured from the Hardware Devices dialog of the System Control panel. Note that the system must be re-booted after successfully installing the Windows NT hardlock key check driver software.With the Windows versions of the BAE software there is no BAE graphic device driver installation required since BAE Windows software runs under the graphic interface of the corresponding operating system.
The DOS versions of the BAE software are shipped with a series of graphic device drivers. During installation you will be asked to select an appropriate BAE graphic device driver. Table 2 provides the list of graphic device drivers supplied with the DOS PC software of the Bartels AutoEngineer. Please select the graphic device driver matching the video adapter and/or graphic card installed with your computer. It is recommended to install the standard VGA driver VGA480, if you are not sure about which driver to select since VGA480 is assumed to run on almost any PC system, and you can always select a different driver (e.g., with higher resolution) later (see below).
Graphic Driver | Type | Resolution | Chip Set/Manufacturer |
---|---|---|---|
CCD480.DEV | PGA | 640x 480 | IGC (Cad Card) |
EGA350.DEV | EGA | 640x 350 | Standard |
EGA480EW.DEV | EEGA | 640x 480 | EGA Wonder |
EGA480GE.DEV | EEGA | 640x 480 | Genoa, ATI |
EGA600EW.DEV | EEGA | 800x 600 | EGA Wonder |
EGA600GE.DEV | EEGA | 800x 600 | Genoa, ATI |
EGA600PA.DEV | EEGA | 800x 600 | Paradise |
QPC1024.DEV | - | 1280x1024 | Datapath QPDM |
QPDM768.DEV | VGA | 1024x 768 | AMD QPDM |
QPDM1024.DEV | VGA | 1280x1024 | AMD QPDM |
VGA480.DEV | VGA | 640x 480 | Tseng ET3000 / ET4000 |
VGA600.DEV | VGA | 800x 600 | Tseng ET3000 / ET4000 |
VGA768.DEV | VGA | 1024x 768 | Tseng ET3000 |
TSENG768.DEV | VGA | 1024x 768 | Tseng ET4000 |
VESA600.DEV | VESA | 800x 600 | various |
VESA768.DEV | VESA | 1024x 768 | various |
MACH768.DEV | - | 1024x 768 | ATI Mach 64 |
MACH1024.DEV | - | 1280x1024 | ATI Mach 64 |
MACH1200.DEV | - | 1600x1200 | ATI Mach 64 |
MGA600.DEV | - | 800x 600 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
MGA768.DEV | - | 1024x 768 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
MGA1024.DEV | - | 1280x1024 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
MGA1200.DEV | - | 1600x1200 | Matrox Millenium/Mystique |
TIGA.DEV | TI | variable | Texas TMS34010 / TMS34020 |
The graphic driver
.dev
file matching the video adapter and/or graphic card of your computer must be copied to the
bae.dev
file in the BAE programs directory. This is achieved either by selecting the correct driver during BAE software installation or by manually copying the desired
.dev
file in the BAE programs directory to
bae.dev
.
It is strongly recommended to add the BAE programs directory path to the
PATH
environment variable. Load the
autoexec.bat
file to your text editor and check whether
autoexec.bat
contains a
PATH
statement or not. If there is already a
PATH
statement defined in
autoexec.bat
, then just add the following program path link to the
PATH
statement (assume BAE programs directory
c:\bae
):
;c:\bae
If there is no
PATH
statement defined in
autoexec.bat
, then insert the following
PATH
statement (assume BAE programs directory
c:\bae
):
PATH=c:\bae
You can also insert the following command at the end of the
autoexec.bat
file to include the BAE programs directory path name with the
PATH
variable:
PATH c:\bae;%path%
The
config.sys
file must contain the following statements:
BUFFERS=<b> FILES=<f>
The number
<b>
of buffers should be at least 30, and the number
<f>
of files should be at least 20.
Note that you must reboot your computer if you made any changes to the
config.sys
or
autoexec.bat
. Otherwise you might not be able to start BAE.
The BAE library and
User Language directory contents are replaced when performing update installations.It is strongly recommended to backup any user-specific data from these directories before installing the BAE update, and to restore the required data afterwards. The same backup and restore process should be applied to BAE programs directory files with extensions
.dat
(except for
bsetup.dat
; see next paragraph),
.def
and
.fnt
when just updating from earlier BAE versions since these files can contain user-defined color tables, layer definitions, Gerber aperture tables and character fonts which will be overwritten during update installations. The
router.cfg
file must also be saved and restored when updating from authorized BAE versions.
The
bsetup.dat
file from the BAE programs directory will always be re-installed when performing BAE Update Installations. I.e., it is not necessary to run the time-consuming batch for compiling the
BAE User Language programs provided with the BAE software. However, user-specific BAE parameter settings stored with the existing
bsetup.dat
file will get lost and must be restored after successfully installing the BAE software using the
bsetup utility program (or the
function available from the BAE main menu of the Windows/Motif versions). Customer-specific
User Language programs developed and compiled under the previously installed BAE version must also be re-compiled after performing the BAE Update Installation.
The
baelinux
directory on the BAE CD-ROM contains the TGZ archive files
baelinux.tgz
,
baelinus.tgz
and
baeglib.tgz
with different
BAE Professional versions for Linux. Each of these TGZ files contains the directories
bin
(programs and setup files),
baelib
(symbol and part libraries),
baeulc
(User Language source files) and
baejobs
(examples and test jobs). An additional file named
baeeng.tgz
including the English BAE user interface setup is also provided.
baelinus.tgz
must be installed on Linux systems without Motif.
baelinus.tgz
contains a statically linked BAE version including X11/Metrolink-Motif and libc5 system libraries which should run on any Linux Kernel 2.0.x distribution.
It is recommended to use one of the more efficient
dynamically linked BAE versions from
baelinux.tgz
(linked to X11/Motif and libc5) or
baeglib.tgz
(linked to X11/Motif and libc6/glibc) on Linux systems where Motif is already installed.
baelinux.tgz
is recommended for most Linux distributions.
baeglib.tgz
is intended for RedHat systems using libc6/glibc since the libc5 sub-system provided with these Linux distributions might contain a bug which causes problems when running certain BAE modules from
baelinux.tgz
. The statically linked version from
baelinus.tgz
can always be used if none of the dynamically linked versions work correctly.
To install the BAE Linux software, simply mount the CD-ROM drive with the BAE-CD-ROM (e.g., under
/cdrom
), change to the directory where you want to install the BAE software, and unpack the appropriate archive file (e.g.,
baelinux.tgz
) using the
tar
command as in
> tar -xzfv /cdrom/baelinux.tgz
The
-z
option is used to filter the TGZ file through the gzip utility. Simply use gzip and tar if your tar command does not support the -z
option:
> gzip -dv /cdrom/baelinux.tgz > tar -xfv /cdrom/baelinux.tar
BAE is pre-configured with a German user interface. The English user interface can be activated by extracting the
baeeng.tgz
archive file from the CD-ROM
baelinux
directory to the destination directory.
The
BAE HighEnd archive files for UNIX workstation are provided in specific BAE-CD-ROM directories such as
baehp
for the HP version. These archive files contain the directories
bin
(programs and setup files),
baelib
(symbol and part libraries),
baeulc
(User Language source files) and
baejobs
(examples and test jobs). An additional file named
baeeng.tgz
including the English BAE user interface setup is also provided.
The
BAE HighEnd archive files for HP workstations are provided in the
baehp
directory on the BAE CD-ROM. To install the HP software, simply mount the CD-ROM drive with the BAE-CD-ROM (e.g., under
/cdrom
), change to the directory where you intend to install the BAE software, and unpack the
baehp.tgz
archive using the tar command as in
> tar -xzfv /cdrom/baehp.tgz
This installs the
BAE HighEnd software with OSF/Motif interface. To activate the BAE HP software for X11, the
baehpx11.tgz
file from the
baehp
directory on the CD-ROM must be installed in the destination directory after installing
baehp.tgz
.
BAE is pre-configured with a German user interface. The English user interface can be activated by extracting the
baeeng.tgz
archive file from the CD-ROM
baelinux
directory to the destination directory after installing the UNIX software.
The access rights must be set properly (i.e., execute for the programs, read access to the libraries, read/write access to the job files, all rights for the system administrator, special rights for the library manager, etc.). The user must have read access to the BAE program directory files ending on
.cfg
(for authorization check) and read/write access to the files with extensions
.dat
and
.fnt
. The user must also have write access in the working directory to enable temporary file creation.
The Linux/UNIX shell environment variable
PATH
must point to the BAE programs directory to allow for BAE program call from any other directory. The
PATH
variable can be set automatically through shell profile execution (shell script
.profile
,
.login
,
.bashrc
or
.cshrc
, according to UNIX derivative, respectively).
The BAE software versions for Windows and Motif provide an interactive program for modifying the BAE system parameters. Under DOS, however, the bsetup utility must be applied as described herein.
With the BAE software, a setup definitions file template named
stdset.def
is supplied, which will be installed to the BAE programs directory. This file contains the following commands for setting the BAE library access paths:
SCMDEFLIBRARY("<libdir>\stdsym"); LAYDEFLIBRARY("<libdir>\laylib");
where
<libdir>
is the path name of the BAE library directory. If the library e.g., has been installed to the directory
c:\baelib
under DOS or Windows then you should replace
<libdir>
with this path name to provide correct access to the BAE symbol libraries. If the library e.g., has been installed to the directory
/usr/bae/lib
under Linux or Unix, then you should insert the following commands to the setup definitions file for providing correct access to the supplied BAE symbol libraries:
SCMDEFLIBRARY(/usr/bae/lib/stdsym); LAYDEFLIBRARY(/usr/bae/lib/laylib);
The setup definitions file can be transferred to the BAE setup file
bsetup.dat
using the following
bsetup program call (assuming
stdset.def
to be the name of the setup definitions file, and the BAE programs directory to be the working directory):
> bsetup stdset
The bsetup utility program is also used for defining important system parameters such as the documentary layer definitions and the menu setup. The documentary layer definitions and assignments have major impact on how manufacturing data is generated. It is strongly recommended to become familiar with the features of the bsetup utility program before using BAE for the design of real layouts. See Bartels AutoEngineer User Manual - Chapter 7.1 for details on how to use bsetup.
The BAE software installs more than 150 pre-compiled User Language programs to the
bsetup.dat
file of the BAE programs directory. The corresponding source files are are also provided in the
User Language directory
(baeulc
). See
Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 4 for a complete listing and short descriptions of the
BAE User Language programs.
Some of the installed User Language programs define implicit User Language program calls for activating a modified BAE user interface with many additional functions. You can add even more functions or modify and/or reset the predefined menu assignments and key bindings. For more details see section 11.5 of these Release Note.
Usually, it is not necessary to (re-)compile the
User Language programs delivered with the BAE software since the compiled programs will be installed to the
bsetup.dat
file of the BAE programs directory. Nevertheless, the
User Language directory provides several batch files for automatically compiling all
BAE User Language programs. The CPLSLL (ComPiLe with Static Link Library) batch file is recommended for compilation. The compile batch can be started in the
User Language directory
(baeulc
) by entering
> cplsll
to an MS-DOS-Prompt (with the
PATH
variable pointing to the BAE programs directory) or with the
> cplsll.bat
command from a Linux or UNIX shell. The compilation process might last some time according to the power of your computer.
Use the following command to start the Bartels AutoEngineer from a DOS prompt or a Linux and/or UNIX command shell:
> bae
Design file access can be simplified by starting and/or running BAE from the design and/or project files directory.
Within Windows, the
Bartels AutoEngineer can also be started by selecting the
bae.exe
file using the
function from the Taskbar or the Program Manager Files menu. Windows also allows for application startup by double-clicking the application from Windows Explorer and/or the File Manager, and it is also possible to define an initial working directory for the application to start in. A shortcut to
bae.exe
can be placed on the desktop or the taskbar to provide an even more convenient method of starting up the
Bartels AutoEngineer. Please consult your Windows documentation for more details on how to configure applications for startup.
Environment variable references in file name specifications are now automatically substituted. This allows for definitions such as
$BAELIB
for the symbol library directory and combined specifications such as
$BAELIB/laylib
or
$BAELIB/$STDLIB
to be used for path and file name specifications in functions such as
from the
menu. The environment variables are not evaluated until they are actually referred for file access. I.e., they will be stored with design files to be transferred to different computers where they can refer to machine-dependent path specifications defined through corresponding environment variables. Environment variable references are preceded with a dollar sign
($
) and must be either entirely lower-case or entirely upper-case. The
~
character refers to the
$HOME
variable. Undefined environment variable references are substituted with empty strings.
The environment variables listed in table 3 have been introduced for advanced configuration of BAE system file access in network installations.
Environment Variable | System File Default Name |
Contents |
---|---|---|
BAE_CFG | router.cfg | Configuration File |
BAE_BSETUP | bsetup.dat | BAE System Parameters |
BAE_ULCLIB | bsetup.dat | User Language Programs |
BAE_RULELIB | brules.dat | Rules Database |
BAE_LANG | language.dat | Messages Database |
BAE_FONTLIB | ged.fnt | Character Fonts |
BAE_SCMLIB | scm.dat | SCM Color Tables |
BAE_GEDLIB | ged.dat | Layout Color Tables |
BAE_CEDLIB | ced.dat | IC Layout Color Tables |
BAE_CAMLIB | cam.dat | Gerber Aperture Tables |
BAE_WINLIB | baewin.dat baexwin.dat | Windows Position File |
BAE_DCOLLIB | bae.col | Display Color Table |
BAE_PCOLLIB | baep.col | Printer Color Table |
Environment variables must specify complete paths to the corresponding system files. This feature can be used in definitions such as
set BAE_WINLIB=d:\bae\user1.dat
where access to a machine-specific Windows positions file in network installations with central BAE programs directory is established.
System files without environment variable definition are accessed from the BAE programs directory using the default system file name.
New buttons for activating frequently used functions (User Language controlled toolbar. A function for fading in and/or fading out the toolbar has been introduced to the menu.
, , , etc.) have been added to theDelimiter lines have been introduced to the pulldown and popup submenus of the Windows and Motif versions to separate submenu function groups.
The identifier of the currently active BAE program module is now displayed in the Windows and Motif title bars.
Assigning the
TRUE
value to the
BAE_DMB
environment variable causes the system to trigger mouse interaction by pressing down rather than releasing the mouse button. Note however that this feature disables the simulation of the middle mouse button interaction by simultaneously pressing both the left and the right mouse button.
The graphic scrollbar steps in the Windows and Motif versions have been reduced to 1/10 of the current view to allow for more accurate graphic display selection.
New tag symbols for net attribute assignments have been added to the ROUTE SCM library.
A series of useful library management User Language programs for library management (library check, automatic symbol edit, automatic generation of library documentation, etc.) are provided with BAE Version 4.2. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 4 for a complete listing of the User Language programs delivered with the BAE software.
To prevent from unintentionally discarding design changes, the function for generating new elements now activates a verification popup menu in cases where the currently loaded element has not yet been saved.
The name of the selected symbol, label or pin will now be displayed in the symbol name prompt of the
function.A series of new SCM functions and features such as
have been implemented with User Language programs.
The Backannotation module has been fully integrated to the Schematic Editor. The new function from the menu can be used to start Backannotation processes on selectable designs.
A new feature for automatically processing pending Backannotation requests has been integrated to Schematic Editor functions. Backannotation requests are generated when saving layouts with net list modifications such as pin/gate swaps or changed part names. Loading an SCM sheet with a pending backannotion request automatically activates a verification menu which allows to backannotate the currently processed design. The backannotation request is deleted after successfully running the Backannotation.
The generation of Backannotation requests is a new feature introduced with BAE Version 4.2. Designs from older BAE versions don't carry pending Backannotation requests and might therefore require an explicit Backannotation call.
A new feature for semi-automatic part attribut assignments has been integrated to the Schematic Editor toolbar which is activated by User Language programs. The (Get) button of the first design view window allows for the selection of a symbol. The symbol display and the attribute settings of the selected symbol are assigned to the design view window and can then be transferred to other mouse-selectable symbols of the SCM sheet using the (Set) button of the design view window. The (Info) button can be used to display the selected attributes list. The (Clear) button clears the design view window and resets the attribute transfer list.
$$
text definitions on SCM symbol level can be used to reference the logical SCM part name for display on SCM sheet level.The
$
text for displaying physical part names after packaging is still valid and can be used together with the
$$
text.
New
and functions have been integrated to the menu. These allow for the manipulation of bustaps without connection segment. The bustaps can be selected by picking their connection point markers.Texts can now defined with frames. Such definitions are possible with the new
, and options from the submenu to be activated with the right mouse button whilst moving texts. creates a surrounding box at 1/8 text height distance. creates a surrounding box at 1/4 text height distance. removes the vertical frame line at the text origin. can be applied to define labels with dynamically adjusted text frames to be attached to connections. The option resets all text frame definitions.Using large pens for plot outputs can cause the negation lines of small texts being merged with text frames.
The
net internal
loglib command can now be used for multi-gate part definitions without causing
Packager errors.
Running the Packager on hierarchical design could cause fatal errors. This bug has been fixed.
A new user interface has been designed for the Packager module. The function allows for menu-driven file and element name parameter setup for the Packager run subsequently to be started with the function. jumps back to the BAE main menu. The and functions allow for direct change to the Schematic Editor and/or the Layout Editor. exits from the BAE application.
Saving a layout with pin/gate swaps and/or net list part name changes creates a design-specific backannotation request. The Packager checks for Backannotation requests and activates a verification to prevent the Packager from forward annotation without confirmation. Confirmation to run the Packager will discard any layout net list changes not yet backannotated.
The generation of Backannotation requests is a new feature introduced with BAE Version 4.2. I.e., the Packager cannot check for Backannotation requests when processing designs from older BAE versions.
SCM symbol pin names are automatically transferred to the
$llname
pin attribute. This allows for the display of logical pin names in the layout by defining
$llname
texts on padstack level.
$nettype
pin attributes are automatically transferred to connected nets. The
$nettype
value
mixed
is assigned to nets with different
$nettype
attribute values.
$drcblk
pin attributes are automatically transferred to connected nets. The
$drcblk
attribute value addresses a
BAE HighEnd design rule check parameter block to be assigned to the corresponding net (see also
section 4.6 of these Release Notes).
To prevent from unintentionally discarding design changes, the function for generating new elements now activates a verification popup menu in cases where the currently loaded element has not yet been saved.
Saving a layout with pin/gate swaps and/or net list part name changes creates a backannotation request which triggers automatic Schematic Editor (see section 2.2 of these Release Notes). requests also prevent the Packager from forward annotation without confirmation (see section 3.3 of these Release Notes).
when loading SCM plans to theThe name of the selected part and/or pin is now displayed in the part name prompts of the
and functions.The net name queries of the
and options of the function are now automatically repeated until Abort is selected, thus allowing to fade-in and/or fade-out multiple nets with one function call.Pin attribute values can now be displayed in the layout system by placing the corresponding attribute names on padstack level. The SCM symbol pin names are transferred to the
$llname
attribute, i.e.,
$llname
can be used for displaying logical pin names.
A series of new Layout Editor functions and features such as
have been implemented with User Language programs.
The Layout Editor grid and angle lock default setting. Both options allow for automatically inserting diagonal (45 degree) segments when creating and/or modifying traces and polygons.
function from the menu provides the new options and . is the newThe
function now inserts corners in forward direction when selecting trace start points.Net name information for traces on part level is now displayed by the
function when selecting trace start points, and when highlighting nets.Traces on part level can now be assigned to the layout top layer, thus allowing for the definition of printed inductors to be automatically placed on the dynamically selected layout component side.
Vias to power layers won't be deleted automatically anymore when editing and/or fixing traces. The via at the currently processed trace corner point can be deleted by a layer change to the current layer.
Special rules can be assigned to the drill holes of blind and buried vias for specifying the power layers which are not occupied by the drill holes. These settings are automatically considered by connectivity, power layer display and CAM output (i.e., drill hole not isolated from or connected to the specified power layers). A rule definition file named
pldrill.rul
is provided in the
User Language source directory
(baeulc
).
pldrill.rul
contains some example rules named
pldrl_via*
.
pldrill.rul
; can be modified and should then be compiled using the
Rule System Compiler
rulecomp. Once the rules are compiled, they can be assigned to padstack drill holes using the
gedrule User Language program which can be called using the
function from the
menu.
rulecomp stores the rules to the
brules.dat
file in the BAE programs directory. I.e., the rules are not saved with the design. When transferring the design to a different computer, the rules must be transferred/compiled onto that computer as well; otherwise the design will load a new connectivity without any drill hole power layer assignments.
The
function provides the new option which can be applied from the submenu to be activated with the right mouse button whilst moving the copied group. leaves the copied elements selected instead of the source elements.The submenu to be activated with the right mouse button after selecting the starting point for the
and functions provides a new function named . can be used to select only specific objects or trace and polygon points from the current group to be moved. This allows for complex trace and polygon manipulations as well as for rerouting connections to parts being moved.The group move functions apply only basic functions for rerouting traces. Complex group shift operations usually require the current routing to be discarded and re-routed using the appropriate Autorouter procedures.
Error markers between more than two different objects won't be joined anymore. This allows for net-specific distance violation display and provides a more detailed error display e.g., for traces to single pins of a pin row.
Distance violations between keep-out areas on documentary layers are now displayed using dotted lines to distinguish such errors from copper distance violations.
The BAE HighEnd provides the new function for defining DRC blocks with distance parameters for layer-specific clearance checks. allows for the assignment of different trace to trace, trace to copper and copper to copper distance check parameters to each signal layer and to the special layers , and . Parameter block 0 with the global parameters is always available. New parameter blocks are initialized with the parameter values from block 0. Layer-specific preferences have highest priority. and parameter values are used for inside layers and the top layer without layer-specific parameters. The parameters are used for layers without any specific setting. Polygons on inside layers such as inside layer pads are checked against each other using the maximum of all inside layer DRC parameter settings. Polygons on are checked using the maximum of all parameter settings.
menu ofOn default, the standard DRC parameter block 0 is assigned to each net. Non-standard layer-specific DRC parameter blocks can be assigned to nets using the
$drcblk
net attribute. The net tag symbol
tag_net_drcblk
from the
ROUTE symbol library should be used in the
Schematic Editor for assigning the
$drcblk
attribute. The
conconv User Language program can also be used for assigning DRC parameter blocks to nets by defining the
$drcblk
attribute on one of the net pins.
Advanced BAE HighEnd DRC parameter blocks are ignored when processing HighEnd designs with standard BAE versions.
Saving a layout with pin/gate swaps and/or net list part name changes creates a backannotation request which triggers automatic Schematic Editor (see section 2.2 of these Release Notes). requests also prevent the Packager from forward annotation without verification (see section 3.3 of these Release Notes).
when loading SCM plans to theA series of new Autoplacement functions and features such as
have been implemented with User Language programs.
The Autoplacement module functions for placing parts have been modified to obey any part placement preferences defined with the ldefmang User Language program such as preferred rotation angles and/or mirroring restrictions.
A new
prompt has been introduced after the query of the options for generating heat-traps. This allows for the definition of heat-trap-specific isolation distances by specifying a positive clearance distance value. Default zero distance input resets the heat-trap-specific isolation clearance.User Language programs which specify the copper fill parameters through the interaction queue must implement an input to the new heat-trap isolation distance query.
The copper fill algorithms sometimes failed to generate heat-trap connections for certain combinations of heat-trap connection width, minimum clearance and minimum fill area size. This problem has been solved.
Saving a layout with Autorouter pin/gate swaps creates a request which triggers automatic when loading SCM plans to the Schematic Editor (see section 2.2 of these Release Notes). requests also prevent the Packager from forward annotation without verification (see section 3.3 of these Release Notes).
A series of new Autorouter functions and features such as
have been implemented with User Language programs.
A new entry for displaying the number of blocked connections has been added to the routing status report of the Neural Autorouter. A connection can be blocked by pins, keep-out areas and/or fixed traces. The number of blocked connections is counted during the first rip-up routing pass. The maximum number of blocked connections is indicated with an exclamation mark. This information gives a clue as to whether any improvement with regard to the number of routed connections can possibly be achieved with subsequent routing passes. Note, however, that the maximum number of blocked connections can sometimes decrease during Optimizer passes.
A new net-specific Optimizer cleanup mide has been introduced to prevent the Optimizer from generating complex routing structures for special connections with more than two pins. The new mode can be selected through the
option of the function from the menu. The default option from the same function has been renamed to to avoid any confusion.The net-specific Optimizer cleanup mode is time-consuming and should only be applied on designs such as special high-density SMD layouts without power layers where complex routing structure generation eventually becomes obvious.
The algorithms for loading, evaluating and routing power layer connections have been optimized, power layer routing performance has been significantly improved.
The sub-grid routing algorithms for connecting fixed traces have been improved.
A new algorithm has been implemented for avoiding complex trace connections to shifted vias.
The
Neural Autorouter of
BAE HighEnd considers net-specific routing areas to be defined as documentary areas on signal layers with rule assignments containing a
net_type
predicate for the net type. See the
nettype.rul
file in the
User Language programs directory
(baeulc
) for net type rule definitions. Up to eight different routing area net types can be assigned to each layout. Routing areas and rule assignments (with the
gedrule User Language program) must be defined in the
Layout Editor. Within a routing area, the
Autorouter can only route nets with a matching
$nettype
attribute. Nets without
$nettype
value or with a
$nettype
value different to the
net_type
assignment of a certain routing area must not be routed in that area unless they connect to pins inside the routing area. Nets of a certain net type are not restricted to net-specific routing areas, however, they are preferably routed inside the corresponding routing areas. Routing outside the net-specific routing area can be controlled with the new
option to be set through the
menu.
A series of new Layout Editor functions and features such as
have been implemented with User Language programs.
The CAM Processor applies a new algorithm for finger pad recognition. Finger pads (rectangles with semi-circles at two opposite sides) are now plotted like trace segments. I.e., line draws with matching circular apertures are applied on finger pads. This feature significantly reduces the amount of plot data generated for SMD layouts.
Extended Gerber output with dynamically generated aperture table automatically creates circular apertures for plotting the finger pads used throughout the layout.
Applying Gerber I/J arc commands on extremely short arcs sometimes produced full circles instead of arc segments. This bug has been fixed.
Special rules can be assigned to the drill holes of blind and buried vias for specifying the power layers which are not occupied by the drill holes (see section 4.4 of these Release Notes). These settings are automatically considered by the CAM Processor routines for plotting power layers, i.e., drill holes with power layer exclusion rules will not be isolated from or connected to the specified power layers.
Many CAM View user interface functions have been significantly improved. A series of additional and/or enhanced CAM View features such as dynamic multi-language support, advanced Windows menus, additional toolbar functions, distance query, etc. have also been implemented with the User Language programs provided with BAE Version 4.2.
Due to customer request, the
function for creating layouts from the currently loaded Gerber data now allows for the import of flashed structures onto signal layers.The full circle compensation indicators of the milling data display have been modified according to customer request.
The
/
line has been removed from the milling data output to comply with customer-specific milling data processing tools.
The Neural Rule System functions have been improved to allow for advanced application in the BAE design system and/or through User Language programs.
The
brules.dat
file installed to the BAE programs directory contains precompiled rule definitions. The source files for these rule definitions are also provided
(User Language directory; file extension
.rul
), i.e., the rule definitions can be modified and recompiled with the
rulecompRule System Compiler.
The gedrule User Language program allows for the assignment of rules to layout elements.
The Autoplacement module functions for placing parts have been modified to obey any part placement preferences defined with the ldefmang User Language program such as preferred rotation angles and/or mirroring restrictions.
Special rules can be assigned to the drill holes of blind and buried vias for specifying the power layers which are not occupied by the drill holes (see section 4.4 of these Release Notes). These rules are automatically considered by connectivity, power layer display and CAM output (see section 7.3 of these Release Notes).
Special rule assignments can be used in BAE HighEnd for defining net-specific routing areas (see section 6.4 of these Release Notes).
A new BAE setup program with a graphic interface for modifying the BAE system parameters has been implemented for the Windows, Linux and Unix versions. This program can be used instead of the bsetup utility program. A new function named has been added to the BAE main menu for activating the new BAE setup utility.
conconv now supports single-quoted and/or double-quoted input file identifiers for part names, pin names and net names containing special characters such as
+
,
-
,
/
,
.
, etc. This allows for the specification of part names such as
1206_d
or
drill3.0
or net names such as
+5v
or
bus.a
.
The new
-drc
option has been introduced for copying layout design rule check parameter blocks.
A new
copyddb option has been implemented for recovering and/or restoring elements from corrupt DDB files. The
-recover
option tries to copy all database classes from a temporary source file copy with modified DDB file header.
loglib now supports single-quoted and/or double-quoted input file identifiers for part names, pin names and net names containing special characters such as
+
,
-
,
/
,
.
, etc. This allows for the specification of part names such as
1206_d
or
drill3.0
or net names such as
+5v
or
bus.a
.
The
net internal
command can now be used for part definitions with multiple gates without causing
Packager errors.
netconv now supports single-quoted and/or double-quoted input file identifiers for part names, pin names and net names containing special characters such as
+
,
-
,
/
,
.
, etc. This allows for the specification of part names such as
1206_d
or
drill3.0
or net names such as
+5v
or
bus.a
.
valconv now supports single-quoted and/or double-quoted input file identifiers for part names, pin namesww and net names containing special characters such as
+
,
-
,
/
,
.
, etc. This allows for the specification of part names such as
1206_d
or
drill3.0
or net names such as
+5v
or
bus.a
.
This section describes general changes to the User Language specification. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 2 for a detailed description of the User Language specification.
The internal version of BAE Version 4.2 User Language has been changed. User Language programs compiled under earlier BAE versions won't execute in the BAE Version 4.2 User Language Interpreter environment (error message ). This means that each User Language program compiled under earlier BAE Versions must be recompiled under BAE Version 4.2 to regain compatibility.
This section describes the news and changes introduced to the User Language Compiler. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 3 for detailed information on how to operate the User Language Compiler.
Dynamic library element referencing sometimes failed when compiling multiple sources with link requests. This bug has been fixed.
This section describes the news and changes introduced to the User Language Interpreter. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 3 for detailed information on how to operate the User Language Interpreter.
New User Language Interpreter features have been implemented for implicit (i.e., automatic) User Language program call of the following special-named User Language programs upon certain events:
Program Name | Event |
---|---|
bae_st | at module startup |
bae_load | after loading an element |
bae_save | before saving the current element |
bae_tool | on toolbar item selection |
bae_zoom | on graphic display zoom factor changes |
bae_ms | when pressing a mouse key |
bae_msg | on incoming messages sent with bae_sendmsg (BAE HighEnd only) |
bae_<c> | when pressing key <c> |
bae_f<n> | when pressing function key F<n> |
The
bae_*
program call facilities override the
moduleid_*
program call facilities where
moduleid
is
scm
for Schematic Editor,
ged
for Layout Editor,
ap
for Autoplacement,
ar
for Autorouter,
cam
for CAM Processor,
cv
for CAM View or
ced
for Chip Editor.
This section lists the new and changed User Language system functions released with BAE Version 4.2. See Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Appendix C for a detailed description of all system functions.
BAE Version 4.2 provides a series of new and/or improved User Language system functions for message and verification popups, activating applications under Windows, supporting BAE HighEnd interprocess communication, Chip Editor group selection, etc.
The following new User Language system functions are provided with BAE Version 4.2:
System Function | Short Description | |
---|---|---|
STD | bae_getmsg | Receive message from BAE HighEnd message system |
bae_language | Get BAE user interface language code | |
bae_msgbox | Activate BAE info message box | |
bae_msgboxverify | Activate BAE verify message box | |
bae_msgboxverifyquit | Activate BAE verify message box with cancel/quit option | |
bae_sendmsg | Send message to BAE HighEnd message system | |
LAY | lay_getscrefpidx | Get currently scanned layout reference pool index |
lay_getscpartrpidx | Get currently scanned layout part reference pool index | |
GED | ged_getautocornins | Get GED auto corner insert mode |
ged_setautocornins | Set GED auto corner insert mode | |
CED | ced_groupselect | CED group selection |
ced_partaltmacro | Change CED net list part package type |
With the bae_callmenu system function, new menu codes have been implemented for calling the Standard Autorouter, the Neural Autorouter, the Schematic Editor, the Packager or the CAM View module directly from the Layout Editor.
The bae_loadelem system function was enhanced by a new feature for automatically processing pending Backannotation requests when loading SCM plans to the Schematic Editor.
The getenv function sometimes caused memory protection faults. This bug has been fixed.
The system function was modified to allow for the activation and/or execution of applications under Windows.
A new text mode parameter for generating and/or processing texts with surrounding boxes was introduced to the cap_vecttext, lay_vecttext and icd_vecttext system functions.
New parameters and parameter value ranges for querying and/or defining layer-specific DRC parameters were introduced to the lay_getplanchkparam and lay_setplanchkparam system functions.
The scm_storetext and ged_storetext system functions were changed to prevent from defining too long texts. In the previous implementation, the *_storetext functions allowed for the specification of such texts, however, the system issued an error message when trying to save the element afterwards. Now the *_storetext functions return with an invalid parameter error code when specifying texts with more than 40 characters.
The ged_groupselect system function has been modified. Internal layout element types such as the standard via definition(s) are now excluded from group (de)selections with ged_groupselect to prevent from unintentionally modifying and/or deleting such elements and/or definitions when subsequently using other group functions.
Some system functions were redundant since BAE Version 3.4 introduced corresponding functions for more general application. These system functions were removed from BAE Version 4.2. I.e., calls to these functions must be substituted according to the following reference:
Old Function Call | New Function Call |
---|---|
scm_clearpoints() | bae_clearpoints() |
ged_clearpoints() | |
ar_clearpoints() | |
ced_clearpoints() | |
scm_storepoint(x,y,t) | bae_storepoint(x,y,t) |
ged_storepoint(x,y,t) | |
ar_storepoint(x,y,t) | |
ced_storepoint(x,y,t) |
BAE Version 4.2 installs more than 150 pre-compiled
User Language programs to the
bsetup.dat
file of the BAE programs directory. Additionally, the
User Language source files (almost 2.3 Mbytes; more than 76,000 lines) are installed to a special directory
(baeulc
). See
Bartels User Language Programmer's Guide - Chapter 4 for a complete listing and short descriptions of the BAE
User Language programs .
The User Language include files already delivered with the previous BAE Version have been completely revised and extended by a series of new functions.
The following
User Language programs for implicit program call are provided with
BAE Version 4.2 (the
bae_*
programs replace the
bae_*.ulh
sources from the previous BAE Version):
Program Name | Short Description | |
---|---|---|
STD | bae_st | BAE Startup |
bae_load | BAE Load Action | |
bae_save | BAE Save Action | |
bae_tool | BAE Toolbar Action | |
bae_zoom | BAE Zoom Action | |
GED | ged_msg | Layout Editor Message System Action (for BAE HighEnd) |
The following User Language programs are also new with BAE Version 4.2:
Program Name | Short Description | |
---|---|---|
STD | grtoggle | Toggle Input Grid |
help | Online Help | |
LAY | ipcout | IPC-D-356 Test Data Output |
GED | gedrule | Layout Rule Definition Utility |
The User Language programs already delivered with the previous BAE Version were completely revised and extended by many new functions. The most significant improvements and enhancements have already been mentioned in the previous sections of these Release Notes.
Some of the BAE Version 4.2 User Language programs define implicit User Language program calls (startups, toolbars, menu assignments, key bindings). I.e., with the installation of BAE Version 4.2, a modified BAE user interface with many additional functions is activated. You can add even more functions or modify and/or reset the predefined menu assignments and key bindings.
The bae_stUser Language startup program is automatically executed when entering a User Language Interpreter environment (Schematic Editor, Layout Editor, Autoplacement, Neural Autorouter, CAM Processor, CAM View or Chip Editor). bae_st calls the uifsetup User Language program which activates predefined menu assignments and key bindings for the current BAE program module. With BAE Version 4.2, the key bindings and menu assignments defined through uifsetup were considerably modified. Any changes to the menu assignments and key bindings require modification and re-compilation of the uifsetup source code only. The hlpkeys User Language program can be used to list the current key bindings. With the predefined menu assignments of uifsetup activated, hlpkeys can be called from the function of the menu. Menu assignments, although obvious from the BAE user interfaces, can be listed with the uifdump User Language program. The uifreset User Language program can be used to reset all currently defined menu assignments and key bindings of the currently active BAE program module. Simply give it a try and run the uifreset program; we bet you'll be surprised to see the difference (the predefined menu layout can always be restored by calling uifsetup). The uifsetup, uifdump and uifreset programs can also be called from the menu of the keyprog User Language program which provides additional facilities for online key programming and User Language program help info management.
Bartels :: Bartels AutoEngineer :: BAE Documentation :: BAE V4.2 Release Notes |
Bartels AutoEngineer® - Version 4.2 - Release Notes
© 1985-2024 Oliver Bartels F+E • Updated: 11 October 2010, 10:45 [UTC]
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