Sherlock Tutorial ODB++ Project Creation

Transcription

1 Sherlock Tutorial ODB++ Project Creation Background There are two primary ways to create a Sherlock project: (a) import data from an ODB++ archive (or ODB XML archive) and (b) create a project consisting of an ad hoc collection of layer files, drill files and data files. This lesson describes the process used to import data from an ODB++ archive (or ODB XML archive) which is the easier of the two processes. The imported data will be used throughout other lessons, so even if you don't expect to work with ODB++ archives you'll want to go through this lesson. Subsequent lessons will address the additional steps needed to create an ad hoc project. Importing an ODB++ Archive ODB++ archives consist of a standard collection of folders and data files used to describe almost everything needed to design and analyze circuit cards. As such, they represent the easiest method for creating a Sherlock project. In fact, Sherlock is capable of automatically scanning the archive looking for all the data that is required for analysis purposes. ODB++ archives are usually transferred as a single compressed file with a suffix of.tgz or.tar.gz or an uncompressed file with a suffix of.tar. It is also possible that the ODB++ archive has already been unpacked into a directory containing various sub-folders and data files. Finally, an ODB++ archive can be formatted as a single XML file, which is called an ODB XML Archive. Sherlock is capable of importing ODB++ archives in any of these forms using basically the same process. To import an ODB++ archive, select the Import ODB Archive or Import ODB XML Archive option from the Project menu, at which point a dialog will be displayed allowing you to select the archive to be imported. Press the Browse button to locate the archive file. The ODB++ tutorial archive file is located in the tutorial sub-directory of the Sherlock installation directory (usually C:\Program Files\DfR Solutions\Sherlock ) in the file named ODB++ Tutorial.tgz. After selecting the archive file, press the Scan Archive button to determine the types of data that can of 5

2 be automatically retrieved from the archive. After the ODB archive has been scanned, the following dialog will appear: The Component Property Mapping dialog is an important, but sometimes overlooked, dialog that allows you to map various component/part properties included in the ODB++ archive to corresponding Sherlock property fields. Sherlock automatically attempts to match appropriate fields when they are found, but most CAD tools allow circuit card designers to create their own property names and fill them with arbitrary data, so it is not always possible to determine which field should be used. In this tutorial archive, only three properties are defined and the names are easily matched with Sherlock property names. In a real-world archive, there can be dozens of property names, in which case you'll need to determine which, if any, should be mapped to Sherlock properties. The bold-face label is the property name defined in the ODB++ archive (e.g., DESCRIPTION ). The pull-down choice list shows the Sherlock property names that can be matched (e.g., Part Description) and the right-side notation shows example data pulled from each of the property fields found in the ODB++ archive (e.g., Res, 0 OHM, 1/8W, 5%, 1206, RoHS ). You may map the ODB++ properties to Sherlock properties however you think is best. In fact, you can map multiple ODB++ properties to the same Sherlock property if you can't decide which is best. In such cases, all of the ODB++ property values assigned to the same Sherlock property will be concatenated, separated by commas of 5

3 For example, consider the following set of ODB++ properties found in another archive, as shown here. In this case, 24 different properties are defined in the ODB++ archive. Sherlock automatically mapped DESCRIPTION to Part_Description but didn't recognize the other properties. We decided that the MANUFACTURE property is also valuable, so we assigned it to the Part_Description property as well. After scanning the list of properties, we find two different properties that could be used as part numbers, the PART and MAN properties. The MAN part number looks more useful than the other, so we've assigned that ODB++ property to the Sherlock Part_Number property. After you've reviewed the various properties and have decided that they are mapped appropriately, press the OK button to continue the import process. After the part properties have been mapped, the Import ODB++ Files dialog will display the complete list of data that can be extracted automatically from the archive, as shown here: In this typical case, Sherlock has found a complete set of files, including package information, stackup data, board outline, drill holes and all the important layers. In some cases, various files may be missing of 5

4 from the ODB++ archive. Although the lack of such files may prevent certain types of analysis, Sherlock will still import whatever it can. Missing files can be added subsequently or a more complete ODB++ archive can be re-imported later without losing changes made in Sherlock. ODB++ archives are generated from sophisticated CAD tools. If you're given an ODB++ archive that is missing some key files, you may want to ask the person who generated the file to generate another ODB++ archive containing the necessary data. Press the Import Archive button to start the import process, at which point the import dialog will close and the project navigation tree will be updated to include all of the files being imported. Left Image: While each ODB+ + file is being imported and processed a clock icon will be displayed next to the file name in the navigation tree. Right Image: When all of the ODB files have been successfully imported the clock icons will be replaced by an icon representing the board type. If any errors were generated while processing the files, then the file will be highlighted with an orange? icon. At this point, all of the useful data from the ODB++ archive has been imported into a Sherlock project of 5

5 Project Name and Properties By default, the ODB++ archive name is used as both the project name and circuit card name. There is no harm leaving them the same, but if you'd like to change the project name right-click on the project folder and select Project Properties to change the name and enter an optional description. You may also right-click on the circuit card folder and select Circuit Card Properties to change the circuit card name, as well as other circuit card properties (to be discussed in another lesson) of 5