EMA Adds Industry First Bi-directional Interface Between OrCAD and Arena PLM

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EMA Design Automation, a fullservice provider of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) solutions, and Arena Solutions, the pioneer of cloud-based Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)applications, today announced that Cadence OrCAD PCB (printed circuit board) design tools and the Arena cloud-based PLM system are now more comprehensively integrated.

“This new software integration is a result of the strategic alliance we announced at the beginning of this year,” said Manny Marcano, president and CEO of EMA. “Engineering teams will now have a direct link between their PCB design tools and their corporate PLM system, maintaining data integrity between the engineering work-in-process data and corporate product lifecycle data.”

This new integration enables two-way communication between the two databases to ensure data integrity by eliminating manual processes. As a result, end-users can upload a BOM (bill of materials) directly into the Arena PLM system. An automatic upload directly from the OrCAD environment ensures that the BOM is correctly formatted and contains all required content, all without ever having to leave their native CAD environment or deal with any formatting or data translation issues. Conversely, the people managing the PLM system can be assured of the BOM’s correct content and upload with no effort on their part. This ability not only reduces the time required to perform the task, but also reduces human error.

“Manual data manipulation is the source of many of our customers’ design respins and time-to-market problems,” said Steve Durrill, senior group director, custom IC and PCB group at Cadence. “By automating critical operations, we solve the human error problem and streamline the interface between engineering systems and PLM systems.”

Other new capabilities stemming from this integration streamline component management. For instance, a commonly used function in PLM is “where-used,” which performs a search to determine where a component is used across all products. This new integration provides the engineering team with the ability to find other projects or designs that use a specific part. This is particularly useful when a part becomes obsolete or fails at an abnormal rate.

Another potential source of problems stems from correctly and efficiently applying part numbers to temporary or new parts. OrCAD Component Information Portal (CIP) already provides an effective new part introduction process. This new integration works in conjunction with the Arena PLM system to allow authorized users to automatically assign the next available Arena part number to new parts, eliminating a previously manual and error prone process.

The prior integration brought engineering data from Arena’s cloud PLM system to the OrCAD Component Information System (CIS) database and also enabled temporary part sourcing and creation within the two systems.

“We are releasing a great new capability to connect OrCAD and Arena PLM, which provides an ‘easy button’ to get engineering data into Arena PLM,” said Steve Chalgren, executive vice president of product management and chief strategy officer at Arena. “As a result, our customers can get their products built far faster than they could before.” To learn more about these new capabilities, sign up for the OrCAD and Arena PLM integration webinar to be held August 19th at 11:00 AM PT.

About Arena Solutions

Arena pioneered cloud PLM applications. The Arena PLM suite of products including their flagship, [http:/www.arenasolutions.com/products/bomcontrol]BOMControl, as well as their ground-breaking Scribe and Exchange collaboration solutions enable engineering and manufacturing teams and their extended supply chains to speed prototyping, reduce scrap, and streamline supply chain management. Arena PLM applications simplify bill of materials and change management for companies of all sizes and offer the right balance of flexibility and control at every point in the product lifecycle — from prototype to full-scale production. Based in Foster City, Calif., Arena has been ranked as a Top 10 PLM solution and also holds a spot on the San Francisco Bay Area’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For List for 2014. Visit Arena at http://www.arenasolutions.com.

About EMA Design Automation, Inc.

EMA Design Automation is a trailblazer in product development solutions offering a complete range of EDA tools, product lifecycle management systems, services, training, and technical support.  EMA is a Cadence® Channel Partner serving all of North America.  EMA manufactures TimingDesigner®, CircuitSpace®, and a host of custom solutions to enhance the OrCAD products, and all are distributed through a worldwide network of value added resellers.  EMA is a privately held corporation headquartered in Rochester, New York. Visit EMA at ema-eda.com for more information.