Re: gEDA-user: Specifications

[Art Fore <art.fore@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 2006-07-19 at 16:49 -0400, DJ Delorie wrote:
> > How large a pcb layout can PCB handle?
> 
> About a quarter of a mile per side.  Yes, I've done this, my house
> looks *really* small on that scale.
> 
> > That is, how many layers,
> 
> If you don't mind editing one line of a .h file, as many as your
> computer can handle.  By default, 16.  I've tested up to 53.
> 
> > how many pads and components?
> 
> Limited only by your computer's RAM.
> 
> > That is, how many pages,
> 
> Each page is an individual file, so that depends on how big your disk
> array is.  On average, a rough estimate is 100,000 per gigabyte.
> 
> > what sheet size.
> 
> Most of us work with C or D sheets, scaled down to A prints.  However,
> there's no arbitrary limit - I think we're limited to 2 million inches
> per side on 32-bit hosts.
> 
> > Is there a program available like the DxDatabook from Mentor
> > DxDesigner where you can have your inventory of parts with part
> > number, symbol, footprint already assigned and you can select the
> > part and "place" the symbol on the schematic along with its
> > attributes?
> 
> Search the mail archives for the "light vs heavy symbol" debate.  The
> current library is light symbols, but you can always create your own
> modified library with heavy symbols.

We only need about 18 inches X 18 inches and up to 24 layers. How about
ground planes? Does it also handle split ground planes?

What about the schematic capture, does it do hierarchial schematics?
That is where, for example, you may have 32-channels of identical
cicuitry and you do a schematic of one channel, then on the upper level,
you use a symbol to represent that schematic 32 times.

The purpose of a DxDatabook application is to prevent "Heavy" symbols.
you can just use the "lingt" symbol and annotate it as you place it on
the schematic. DxDatabook also interfaces to your corporate parts
database and you can link a datasheet to the part so you can have the
datasheet at the click of a mouse. Makes BOM creation a snap. For
instance, a resistor symbol can have many thousands of part numbers and
many footprints associated with just one symbol. The DxDatabook also
shows number in stock and datasheet, etc. You really want to have your
BOM ready at the time you go to layout so purchasing and order any long
lead parts and have them available when the board is ready for assy. The
DxDatabook application drastically simplifies and speeds up the process.
I wonder if something like OpenOffice.org Base or something along those
lines could be interfaced to the schematic so do this?

I have a 64-bit system, a desktop, but my laptop is a 32-bit.

Also, can you do cross-probing between the schematic and layout?
Cross-probing, if you don't know, is where you have both the schematic
and layout open on the screen and they are linked so if you highlight a
net or component on the schemtic, it is highlighted in the layout and
vise versa. A fantastic tool when you are troubleshooting dense boards,
especially prototypes.

Art



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