Pcb

Creating a Rubout in Cadence PCB Editor

How do I create a rubout in Cadence?

  1. First, make sure you have placed all of the components on your PCB (and ideally have not started routing traces yet, though this can still be done even if you have routed traces).

Creating Custom Footprints

You can try to find existing footprints for components, but most components will require custom footprints.

Exporting Gerber files from Cadence PCB Editor

What is a Gerber file?

A Gerber file (also known as artwork) is a 2-D graphical representation of a single layer of a PCB. A typical design will have individual Gerber files for each layer (e.g., top copper, bottom copper, top silkscreen, bottom silkscreen, top soldermask, bottom soldermask) of a PCB.

Exporting Solder Mask Layers from Cadence PCB Editor

What is a solder mask?

Solder mask is the thin polymer layer that is applied to a printed circuit board to insulate copper traces from unwanted connections. It is often green, red, or blue, and is put over all parts of a PCB except where components are to be soldered.

Finding existing PCB footprints for Cadence PCB Editor

Where can I find a list of existing PCB footprints for Cadence PCB Editor?

While Cadence does have some built-in footprint libraries, they are limited due to the hundreds of thousands of different parts in existence. Additionally, most companies make their own footprints to match the specific manufacturing processes that they use.

Getting Started with Cadence PCB Editor

What is a printed circuit board (PCB)?

See the What is a Printed Circuit Board? page for more information about PCBs and the general design flow for creating a PCB.

Manual Routing in Cadence PCB Editor

How do I manually route a design in PCB Editor?

Your design should have a board outline and components placed, and blue lines (the “rats nest”) between the components (see example, Figure 1). These blue lines are not traces, but rather points that are connected on your schematic and should be converted to traces in your design.

Packaging Cadence Files for Submission

Introduction

This tutorial goes through how to package Cadence schematic and PCB files for submission to Canvas.