Chapter 6 Software for Electronics

Introduction This chapter covers the following topics: Software for electricity and electronics Multisim Circuit Wizard Productivity software for electronics

Software for Electricity and Electronics Electronic circuit simulation software : Models circuit performance Vital resource to check proper operation Uses mathematical algorithms to duplicate circuit operation Advantageous when breadboarding not practical or too costly

Software for Electricity and Electronics (cont’d.) Berkeley SPICE –Most well-known analog simulator –Industry standard technology Best-known digital simulators –Based on Verilog hardware description language

Software for Electricity and Electronics (cont’d.) Mixed-mode simulators –Can simulate both analog and event-driven digital Autorouting –Technique for saving time and money in PCB design –Results not always satisfactory

Software for Electricity and Electronics (cont’d.) Autoplace: Automatic placement of components on a PCB Confirms parts will fit on the board Autoroute can confirm the component placement can be routed

Software for Electricity and Electronics (cont’d.) Input/output buffer information specification (IBIS) model Used in place of SPICE for high-speed circuits Provide product information to potential customers: –Without revealing intellectual property

Multisim National Instruments Multisim : Electronic schematic capture and simulation program Part of a suite of design programs Uses Berkeley SPICE Can import and export to board layout software Ultiboard Widely used in education and industry

Figure 6-1 Screen shot of Multisim 11 with virtual oscilloscope present. © 2014 Cengage Learning.

Multisim (cont’d.) Virtual instruments available in Multisim Analog and digital multimeters Bode plotter Logic analyzer Oscilloscope Signal generator Wattmeter

Multisim (cont’d.) Multisim provides tools to analyze circuit behavior National Instruments LabVIEW –Measurement software –Graphical programming environment for creating instrumentation

Circuit Wizard New Wave Concepts’ Circuit Wizard Integrated software Combines schematic circuit design, simulation, PCB design, and CAD/CAM manufacture Provides tools necessary to produce project Includes on-screen testing

Figure 6-2 Screen shot of Circuit Wizard shown with graph. © 2014 Cengage Learning.

Circuit Wizard (cont’d.) Select components from a library –Over 1500 simulated components available –Ideal and real-world models for each Connect using intelligent wiring tool Press play button to start simulation Simulation engine based on Berkeley SPICE

Figure 6-3 Some of the virtual instruments available in Circuit Wizard. © 2014 Cengage Learning.

Circuit Wizard (cont’d.) Circuit Wizard PCB fabrication features : PCB components Designing PCBs Automatic routing PCB style views SPICE PCB simulation PCB virtual instruments Links with other CAD packages

Circuit Wizard (cont’d.) Circuit Wizard PCB fabrication features (cont’d.) : Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) support Bill of materials spreadsheet creation

Productivity Software For Electronics Word processing Presentation Publishing Spreadsheet Many free productivity programs available on the Internet –Be cautious of viruses

Productivity Software For Electronics (cont’d.) Word processing software Used to enter and edit text, graphics, clip art, and photos Examples: Microsoft’s Word and Apple’s Notes

Productivity Software For Electronics (cont’d.) Productivity software Includes editor and method for displaying slide shows Examples: Microsoft’s PowerPoint and Apple’s Keynote

Productivity Software For Electronics (cont’d.) Desktop publishing software types –Word processor –Page layout –Graphic images –Web design Design elements – Alignment, contrast, proximity, and repetition

Productivity Software For Electronics (cont’d.) Web design –Uses Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Graphical HTML editors –Examples: Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver

Productivity Software For Electronics (cont’d.) Spreadsheet : Input and manipulate numerical data Data placed into cells in a grid Cells can hold numbers, formulas, or text Multiple worksheets can exist in a spreadsheet file