Removing the Gap Between ECAD and MCAD Design

In today’s competitive technology market it is more important than ever for ECAD and MCAD engineers to collaborate throughout the entire product design cycle. Printed circuit board designs, mechanical enclosures, and related components need to mate, fit, and be correct by design to eliminate re-spins, get designs to market quicker, and minimize production costs.
In order for ECAD and MCAD to collaborate in “real-time” a direct method of communication that facilitates a shared flow of data back and forth between design teams is required. This flow must support “what-if” scenarios of design baselines and change proposals along with the ability to counter-propose changes. Once design agreements are made, the flow must also dynamically update the design databases. This unique ECAD-MCAD (EDMD) collaborative environment has not been available until now.
PADS® EDMD collaboration brings the desktop PCB design industry a real-time integrated ECAD-MCAD collaboration environment that enables Electrical and Mechanical design teams to work together throughout the entire design process.
This paper describes how the consistent and continuous communication channel created by PADS EDMD collaboration keeps design teams synchronized as they work. By keeping ECAD and MCAD engineers working within their own systems’ comfort zone, PADS ensures that designs are up-to-date and accurate and that timeconsuming rework and re-spins are avoided, thus optimizing time to market.