Pulsonix Expands into North America with Version 10 Release

Estimated reading time: 14 minutes

Stephens: Version 10 concentrates extensively on our 3D environment, integrating enclosures and component positional changes that are automatically mimicked in the 2D PCB as well. Clash detection, reporting, and visual references complement the enclosure and component placement. We’ve also made the 3D preview more photorealistic for premanufacturing visualisation. In addition to the 3D changes, there are a number of other features that have made V10 exciting, such as naming rules, which amongst other style types, can be used for naming pads styles.

For example, where pads should use the IPC naming convention or a company standard name, this can be applied automatically using predefined naming rules based on shape and size criteria that the user inputs. We have also enhanced our copper pouring algorithm so that the moving of objects in or into an existing poured area are automatically healed. By making this zonal aware, the healing is handled in real time extremely fast. A new selection mask tool enables our users to make intelligent selections within a design based on predefined selection criteria of items types. That means much more selective picking in a design where items are and are not required.

For Pulsonix PCB, additional design for manufacture (DFM) rules have been added to bring manufacturing checking further forward in the design process by checking for acid traps and track backoff, for example. Another significant change was to our interactive high-speed engine. Differential pair routes can now be made using any angle start and finish points on component pads. We’ve also added the ability to route differential pairs using filleted corners for smooth routing across the design.

Barry Matties: How long have you been working on this new release?

Stephens: The new release itself has been in the background for just over two years and what we see now is just the start of it; there's a lot more to come. We've put the building blocks in place for moving forward and this first release is coming slightly earlier than we anticipated, but that's because we're further ahead with our development. There's a lot more to come from our 3D engine and other areas we’ve been looking at that we’re excited about.

Matties: How much customer input do you get when you're putting together a release?

Stephens: An awful lot. Customers use our product daily, and they help us drive our development in terms of content. Like I said earlier, we listen and react to our customers; it’s more of a partnership than a vendor-customer relationship.

Matties: A lot of customer input, but are they in your studio working with you? Do they come in and work with your engineers?

Stephens: That's a good question. Yes, they do come in and work with us in-house and meet the development team. We work with customers who have a real sort of closeness to us; they help define critical functionality. We specify it with them to ensure it's what they want. Also, when we're doing the development phase, we have them look at the software early in the process. We have people visit our head office to see what's coming, and they have an input. This is critical to our success and ensuring the product is created to be usable.

To give you an example, we were writing our high-speed engine a couple of years ago. We actually rewrote it halfway through the development to accommodate a lot more functionality when we realized there was a lot more that was needed. That was all based on customer feedback. So, rather than releasing it and not having usable functionality, we rewrote the whole engine. It took a little bit longer, but that was a classic example of how we involve our customers.

Matties: In any case, bringing in the 3D feature was a market driver. Now, it’s how do you tune it to meet their specific requirements best?

Stephens: Yes, exactly that. We’re focused very heavily on customer input and overall customer satisfaction; fine-tuning is critical to the success of a release.

Matties: What is the greatest challenge in bringing out a new piece of software like that?

Stephens: I think it's all about getting it right and finding the correct feel of the product. Introducing new functionality is great, but does it feel right to the user? That's where we involve them because it's all good from a development side or from a management side to say, “This is what we want. How are we going to get there?” But the users are the ones who are going to use it every day, so it has to feel right; that's where their input really helps us. It’s also the biggest challenge because we have to involve lots of different people and get a variety of ideas to succeed. There’s always a balance of getting the functionality finished and the release quality too. Having a quality product first time at release is important for us.

Matties: The other thing you mentioned was regions. You're now making a stronger presence here in North America. Tell us about that. What was the motivation, and what opportunities do you see?

Stephens: We know the size of North America as a market, and there is huge potential for us. We are very successful in Europe and Germany in particular, so we know that the market is available. We also know that in Europe and Germany, the product is positioned correctly based on its capabilities and unbeatable price. For us, it’s all about exposing this great product to North America. We can see there is potential from being here at the PCB West show today. We've had a good response already, which is pleasing. It seems to be a positive time for investment at the moment, so we have to make the most of it.

Matties: Here in North America, there's a lot of adopted technology already in place. When do people decide to make a switch; what's the trigger for them even to consider looking? And how do you fit into that mix since they have so many known suppliers?

Stephens: Right now, we are seeing a lot of disgruntled users in the market who are fed up with paying extortionate prices for outdated and overcomplicated software that has notoriously poor support and customer service. For us, a customer-centric company that offers advanced PCB design tools at a fraction of the purchase price of our competitors is a real advantage. Our ongoing maintenance costs are a lot lower too, so the overall cost of ownership is lower for the customer.

Furthermore, it's about being the right fit for that company. Is your software right for them? Does it offer more than what they're already using? It may come down to a cost-related purchase, such as do we meet all the requirements and provide cost savings at the same time?

Matties: Is there any advice you would give to the design community about the tools or approach?

Stephens: The important part of it is just trying to stress that you are listening to them and their needs. It’s about trying to differentiate ourselves from the other players already here in the market who are much larger than us. They can often seem disconnected from the end users. We’re all about being there for the users and listening to them.

Matties: Do you have any advice about how designers should go about choosing a new ECAD tool?

Stephens: I think they have to use a tool that is intuitive and easy to learn, and that's based on personal choice. My advice would be to make sure that the tool they use—whichever it is—meets their requirements, whether it’s design capability or budgetary. Secondly, how intuitive is it? How many hours do they have to spend reading the documentation or contacting technical support? If they can spend a minimal amount of time and be as productive as possible, then I think that's the right choice for them.

Matties: That's great advice for anybody using software—not just designers.

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