Embedded Systems Design Resources

Introduction

A number of basic Cadence tutorial videos are available on YouTube.

Getting Started

1. In Windows, find and open the application Capture CIS (see Cadence Schematic Tutorials)

2. Create and name a new project and add existing part libraries (see Creating a New Project in Cadence)

3. Add parts to your schematic. First, check to see if the parts you need already exist in a library. For example, schematic symbols for header pins (which are useful for connecting to components external to your custom printed circuit board, like batteries, PSoC® boards, and sensors, see Figure 1) can be found by searching for "Header" in the Place Part dialog box (see Figure 2)

Figure 1: Header

Figure 2: Place Part dialog box

4. Create a custom library to store custom schematic symbols for your design that are not included in the built-in libraries (very common), and add it to your project (see Creating a Custom Library in Cadence)

5. Create and save custom schematic symbols in your custom library. If you later need to edit a custom schematic symbol, make sure to replace the edited symbol in the cache (see Creating a Custom Schematic Symbol in Cadence)

6. Create printed circuit board footprints for all components on your printed circuit board

1. For electronic devices with DIP/SOIC/PLCC/QFP/PGA/SIP/ZIP packages (which are typically integrated circuits and plug-in modules with evenly-spaced pins), it is easiest to use the "Package Symbol Wizard" (See Creating a Custom PCB Footprint using Package Designer in Cadence)
2. For all other components, create custom footprints manually (see Creating a Custom PCB Footprint Manually in Cadence)

7. Create custom padstacks for the pads of each custom footprint (See Creating a Custom Padstack in Cadence)