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FP Designer & Advanced functionality |
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sgdavies 
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Joined: 27 Aug 2012 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 140 |
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 Topic: FP Designer & Advanced functionalityPosted: 12 Jul 2013 at 1:59am |
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FP Designer & Advanced functionality
Hi Guys and Gals, I have been creating a footprint with my Allegro CAD software, which involved me having to create shapes for the pads and also use via stitching to keep them cool (see photo attached) what i am wondering is, does the new FP Designer have this capability yet?  |
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jameshead
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Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Location: Oxfordshire, UK Status: Offline Points: 576 |
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Posted: 12 Jul 2013 at 2:51am |
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Not an ALLEGRO_ACS754xCB-150 by any chance? I created a footprint just like this for a Pulsonix using collegue a few years ago which I'm happy to share with other Pulsonix users. I uploaded it to the Pulsonix User Group at the time so it's still there. I can't output it in anything other then Gerber for other CAD users though.
 I used radial grids to do the via rings on the slotted oval pads. |
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sgdavies
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Posted: 12 Jul 2013 at 2:55am |
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Almost James, its an Allegro ACS758xCB, created funnily enough in "Allegro" how ironic
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jameshead
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Posted: 12 Jul 2013 at 3:02am |
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Ha Ha! This one certainly stuck in my mind at the time.
I know the idea of POD is to have a CAD neutral environment for everyone but sometimes it'd be nice to have a specific CAD format available uploaded by someone. Looking at the new FP Designer there are certainly a handful of footprints that I'd be quicker doing in my native Pulsonix rather than FPX and it'd be a shame not be be able to share them better. |
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sgdavies
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Posted: 12 Jul 2013 at 3:06am |
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Yes I agree James, I suppose its why I used this particular example to post the question, "its food for thought" so to speak, I guess were all in some way "work in progress" I certainly am.
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Tom H
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Joined: 05 Jan 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Status: Offline Points: 5717 |
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Posted: 12 Jul 2013 at 6:31am |
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The FP Designer doubled the Footprint creation capacity of PCB Library Expert, but there will always be some complex parts that need to created in the native CAD tool.
So we created a Universal Translator from PADS Layout to every CAD tool format. So anyone with PADS can manually build those complex Footprints using the mfr. recommended pattern and with a single mouse click we can create 18 other different CAD tool formats and upload all of them to "Parts on Demand" (POD) in the native CAD tool format instead of FPX. Our goal is to have thousands of people globally build every PCB library part once either in FPX or PADS format and no one should ever have to build those parts ever again. Basically elimination of duplication. The beginning of POD is coming very soon. It will start out simple with free download and eventually grow into the busiest website in the electronics industry with over 10,000 uploads and downloads every day. POD will also offer schematic symbols, 3D models and PCB footprints for a total CAD library solution. |
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jameshead
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Posted: 15 Jul 2013 at 1:48am |
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Whilst that sounds nice it means we non-PADS users have to wait to obtain a footprints for really non-standard parts from a PADS user who has uploaded. It would be really nice to allow us to upload other CAD formats for non-standard parts as well if there's no PADS one present.
There's also editing of PADS imports sometimes, and also, some CAD systems can do things differently and better for non-standard parts then PADS can. An example would be user-defined PAD shapes that can be any shape the user draws in Pulsonix, but would come in from PADS as a copper polygon and a normal round pad. |
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Tom H
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Posted: 15 Jul 2013 at 6:28am |
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The one-of-a-kind unique library part data that goes on POD (the stuff that's too tough for even the FP Designer) will not be PADS format. It will be the native CAD tool format. i.e.: the part might be originally built in PADS and then translated to 18 CAD formats and imported into every CAD tool, cleaned up, verified and uploaded in the native CAD tool format.
PCB Libraries works with the CAD vendors and CAD vendor resellers or specific CAD tool contractors to insure that the unique library parts will be perfect. PADS Layout is the only active CAD tool that imports and exports clean clear human readable ASCII format. If Pulsonix or Altium did that, the master library files for this small fraction of non-standard parts could be in those formats. However, those CAD tool vendors do not share their proprietary library binary code instructions with any 3rd party vendor. And I don't blame them for protecting their IP. |
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jameshead
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Posted: 15 Jul 2013 at 7:25am |
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Thanks for clarifying this.
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