Getting Started with Cadence Prepared by Ryan Johnson, 2002  Open Orcad Capture under Engineering Software  Under FILE, choose NEW, PROJECT  The following box should appear…  To Simulate a design, choose Analog or Mixed A/D.  Choose where you will save it and what you will call it.  Click OK

 In the next box, choose if you want to create a blank project or one based on an existing project.  Click OK.  A blank schematic page will appear. This is where you will draw your schematic.  Important: Notice that there is a PSpice menu on the menu bar. If this is not there, you will not be able to simulate your circuit.  Also notice that there are a few more options compared to PSpice 8.  Voltage differential markers  Power dissipation of a device  Bias point quiescent power

 When you create a new project, a box window will appear that shows the design hierarchy. This is where you can access all the files associated with your project. It keeps a list of such things as:  Schematics  Parts used  Simulation profiles  Libraries used  Etc…

 To place a part, in Place menu, choose Part. The following box will appear…  You have to add the specific libraries to your project of the parts you will use.  Choose Add Library Circuit Creation

 The libraries that contain parts that will allow you to simulate are found in folders labeled PSpice.  These parts have a PSpice model attributes with them that can be changed.  Choose the libraries that you want to add, and select the parts that you want to use. Your project profile will keep a record of each type of part you use in a place called Design Cache.

 While you place your parts, use the wire button to place wires. It is found on the right-hand side toolbar. Make sure that you have good connections.  Cadence is really picky about which GND you use when simulating a circuit. To get this GND, choose the GND button. The following box should appear where you can add a library that contains the proper GND. The library should once again come from the PSpice folder as these parts have simulation attributes with them. The best way to know that you have the right one is by checking if it has a zero next to it.

 If you need to change the parameters of the component, click on the component so that it is highlighted. Under the Edit menu, choose PSpice Model. The following widow should appear. Change the parameters that need to be changed, and then save it. This will force the same parameters for this type of component in this project. Next time that you use this piece in this project, it will have the same parameters.

Sample Circuit (Note that parameters of each component is set the same way as in PSpice 8, by double clicking on it)

 There are a couple of different ways to check for errors in your circuit. The first is by creating a netlist.  Under the PSpice menu, choose Create Netlist.  You can view the netlist by choosing View Netlist, under the same PSpice menu.  The next way is to actually simulate the circuit.  To simulate, you need to create a new simulation profile. Under the PSpice menu, choose New Simulation Profile. The following window will appear so that you can name it. You can also choose which schematic you want it to associate with.

 Once you have named it, click OK, and the following simulation settings widow will pop up. This is where you choose what you want to do when you simulate.  In this menu, you can choose what type if simulation to do (Transient, DC Sweep, AC Sweep, or Bias Pt)  These are options for each type of simulation.  If you want to restore your last simulation data points, you would click to this menu.  Once you have everything figured to how you want it, click OK. To simulate, you need to push the play button.