Target Condition: Are Autorouters Friend or Foe?
Fresh PCB Concepts: Assembly Challenges with Micro Components and Standard Solder Mask Practices
Elementary Mr. Watson: Retro Routers vs. Modern Boards—The Silent Struggle on Your Screen
Ultra Librarian Adds STMicroelectronics Reference Designs in Cadence System Design Formats
February 16, 2021 | Ultra LibrarianEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Ultra Librarian, the world's largest free cloud-based CAD library provider, has announced the addition of 25 authorized STMicroelectronics interactive reference designs in Cadence system design formats, now available for download via Ultra Librarian. “These authorized reference designs from ST in Cadence system design formats, combined with CAD models from Ultra Librarian, jumpstart the design process,” said Manny Marcano, president and CEO of EMA. “This eliminates the tremendous number of hours typically spent recreating a design from a PDF and sourcing relevant parts.”
Reference designs provide engineers with a valuable tool allowing them to see parts in action, which accelerates the design process and brings ideas to life faster. These designs have been built, tested, and authorized by the manufacturers and verified by Ultra Librarian to ensure accuracy of the design and associated models. Each download comes with a complete Bill of Materials ready for purchasing.
“Delivering reference designs in Cadence Allegro and OrCAD formats eliminates the need to manually recreate design artifacts from reference documents, accelerating design creation across the system designer ecosystem,” said Saugat Sen, vice president of R&D in the Custom IC & PCB Group at Cadence. “With reference designs available on Ultra Librarian, designs can be downloaded in Cadence system design formats along with all associated CAD models.”
“ST has teams of engineers focused on developing tools, reference designs, and evaluation boards to kick start customers' system design,” said Alessandro Cremonesi, chief innovation officer and SRA group general manager at STMicroelectronics. “The full range of cooperation arrangements we've made, with companies like Ultra Librarian, are geared to ease and accelerate product development to shrink customer time-to-market across a broad range of applications for an even quicker and more seamless route to sales.”
The 25 reference designs from ST include a complete solution for three-phase AC/DC and DC/AC applications. These designs are based on a digital platform optimized for power conversion, a wireless multi-sensor-node development kit and reference design for Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications, and a high-current inverter for automotive 3-phase BLDC motor-control applications.
Share on:
Suggested Items
DownStream Acquisition Fits Siemens’ ‘Left-Shift’ Model
06/26/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007I recently spoke to DownStream Technologies founder Joe Clark about the company’s acquisition by Siemens. We were later joined by A.J. Incorvaia, Siemens’ senior VP of electronic board systems. Joe discussed how he, Rick Almeida, and Ken Tepper launched the company in the months after 9/11 and how the acquisition came about. A.J. provides some background on the acquisition and explains why the companies’ tools are complementary.
Elementary Mr. Watson: Retro Routers vs. Modern Boards—The Silent Struggle on Your Screen
06/26/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonThere's a story about a young woman preparing a holiday ham. Before putting it in the pan, she cuts off the ends. When asked why, she shrugs and says, "That's how my mom always did it." She asks her mother, who gives the same answer. Eventually, the question reaches Grandma, who laughs and says, "Oh, I only cut the ends off because my pan was too small." This story is a powerful analogy for how many PCB designers approach routing today.
Connect the Dots: The Future of PCB Design and Manufacturing
07/02/2025 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsFor some time, I have been discussing the increasing complexity of PCBs and how designers can address the constantly evolving design requirements associated with them. My book, "The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Designing for Reality," details best practices for creating manufacturable boards in a modern production environment.
Siemens Turbocharges Semiconductor and PCB Design Portfolio with Generative and Agentic AI
06/24/2025 | SiemensAt the 2025 Design Automation Conference, Siemens Digital Industries Software today unveiled its AI-enhanced toolset for the EDA design flow.
Cadence AI Autorouter May Transform the Landscape
06/19/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazinePatrick Davis, product management director with Cadence Design Systems, discusses advancements in autorouting technology, including AI. He emphasizes a holistic approach that enhances placement and power distribution before routing. He points out that younger engineers seem more likely to embrace autorouting, while the veteran designers are still wary of giving up too much control. Will AI help autorouters finally gain industry-wide acceptance?