Consona Releases Cimnet Systems Paradigm 3.6 and Engenix 3.2.0 ERP

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INDIANAPOLIS Cimnet Systems, a Consona Corporation product line introduced Paradigm Version 3.6 (v3.6), Cimnet Systems' enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for the printed circuit board (PCB) industry and Engenix Version 3.2.0 (v3.2.0), a pre-production engineering application.

These releases include new features and advanced capabilities, as well as enhancements and improvements to existing functionality, many of which are the result of customer feedback. Customers are referenced often to discover new tools and applications that engineers need to do their jobs, explained Iain Wilson, product manager for Cimnet.

One of the upgrades included in the Paradigm v3.6 is in response to customer expansion in Asia where Paradigm is being used to manufacture memory modules. "Most of the innovations in these releases are to support international customers," noted Greg Martin, manager of marketing for ERP products, Consoma, "such as production engineering in Europe that then moves to production in China." Version 3.6 offers expanded capability for managing arrays in addition to boards and panels, starting from engineering and following through order management, production and shipment. This increased functionality includes expanded quality control for arrays, e.g. managing x-outs in production.

Highlights of the Engenix v3.2.0 release includes a knowledgebase problem solving and customer communications module, which allows engineers to define and share a list of customer problems and how to solve them and create a library of solutions for customers based on their history. Paperwork and disparate forms can be automated in the product via knowledgebase problem solving, Wilson explained, by defining these problems in a database, paired with the solution. For future instances, the knowledgebase automatically brings up this solution. Standards and engineers' input are included in the solution files, which makes them customizable for each customer or for product types. If no solution is available, the database is searchable for similar situations that may offer clues to a solution, Wilson added. These can be communicated to the customer in standard format for consistency and time savings in the interaction between PCB designer and assembler.

A new rules-based plating assignment and thickness calculation feature can compute down to the micron how much copper to use automatically. This version also includes XML-based Web services integration, allowing data to be easily shared across different systems through web servers. Stack-up calculation has always been rules-based, but this new format allows easier use, particularly for high-density interconnect (HDI). Multiple build-up boards with more than one plating, for example, are complex and require precision. The system can calculate the thickness of the copper down to nearest micron, Wilson said. Engineers can see process-by-process how much copper is added on and the plating planarity. "It is a granular view of the critical plating process," explained Wilson. This automatic calculation replaces manual searching through spreadsheets and inherent human error. Engineers have a better view, literally, of what is going on in the design.

"The Cimnet Systems suite of products provides a specialized, end-to-end, fully integrated software platform, from quotation through production," said Scott Malia, general manager of Consona ERP. Companies are working globally and with many different programs, added Wilson, and the opportunity for error and wasted times is rampant. The ERP systems enable a core of engineering standards, definitions, and terms to be ported from country to country, while remaining flexible to cope with variations coming in from various teams on a project, Wilson summarized.

For more information, visit www.cim-sys.com and www.consona.com.