Ultiboard

Introduction:Ultiboard is the PCB layout application of National Instruments Circuit Design Suite that assists us in carrying out the major steps in the circuit design flow. Ultiboard is used to design printed circuit boards, perform certain basic mechanical CAD operations, and prepare them for manufacturing. It also provides automated parts placement and layout.

User Interface:1. The Birds Eye View shows you the design at a glance and lets you easily navigate around the workspace. 2. The 3D Preview shows you a three-dimensional preview of the board. 3. The Design Toolbox lets you show, hide, or dim elements of your design. 4. The Spreadsheet View allows fast advanced viewing and editing of parameters including component details such as footprints, Reference Designators, attributes and design constraints. 5. The Status Bar displays useful and important information. 6. The Workspace is where you build your design. 7. The Menus and Toolbars give you access to the Ultiboard commands.

Comparison of Auto Routing and Manual Routing Mode in Ultiboard:In Ultiboard we can create the PCB layout using the Auto Route mode which is located in Auto Route menu. This process will simply create the PCB layout based on following four fundamental tracerouting functions:
1. 2. 3. 4.

Router preprocessing Initial routing Rip-up and retry passes Optimization.

Ultiboard uses combinations of these functions to route a board.

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While creating the PCB manually we have to use our own logic and design capabilities to create the PCB layout. We can point out following advantage/drawbacks of both PCB creation techniques.
1.

Critical nets should be manually defined using either manual trace placement or the follow-me router because the auto router may not be able to define the correct routes. While doing manual routing we have complete design control so we must be careful not to create routes that will cause design rule errors or put into questions the validity of our design. This means that sharp or obtuse angles in the routes should be avoided that can cause loss of signal integrity. Space Optimization is another important aspect in PCB design. While Auto Route mode will always try to make the circuit compact, we should take care that the circuit does remain open for troubleshooting for future. i.e. If the Auto Route mode passes a connection between two legs of IC, which is under the IC, then in future, if there occur any problem, we have to replace the whole circuit if that connection is not accessible.

2.

3.

PCB Layout In Ultiboard (Astable Operation Of 555 timer IC):i) Auto Routing:-

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ii)Manual Routing:

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