Easy-PC has acquired IPC-2581 export capability along with other improvements with the introduction of version 26, according to Number One Systems, which develops the PCB design tool.
IPC-2581 is a standard for PCB manufacturing and assembly data transfer which goes beyond Gerber files and adds information such as stack-up, nets and components.
“As IPC-2581 has become a more common and even the preferred standard, our user-base has increasingly requested this capability,” said Number One Systems marketing manager Fiona Colman. “Version 26 fully implements the standard and includes a number of options to create the output required for manufacturing, assembly and test.”
Amongst other changes, v26 has new and enhanced design rules checks (DRCs) and design-for-manufacturing options in both schematic capture and PCB design phases, including minimum solder mask width, solder-mask-to-track and minimum text size.
‘Modified pour areas’ alerts the designer to incomplete design changes that would not be incorporated in manufacturing, according to the company and ‘unconnected gates’ removes unnecessary DRC warnings related to unconnected power pins in a multi-gate package.
To improve usability, ‘new toggle layers’ dialog gives control over how a user wants to view the design in various scenarios, with fast layer switching and combinations.
‘IDF Export’ has been added to protect intellectual property, which includes removing illegal characters from component names and including or excluding component values, explained the company.
A 3D viewing option, ‘exclude off-board items’, excludes components and other items not entirely within a board outline from the view. “This can help, for example, if it’s a standard drawing outline with title blocks, it will exclude those portions that are not on a board,” said Number One Systems.
Other enhancements include ‘interactive mitre/fillet of any angle segments’, changes to rulers for 4K monitors, ‘cancel move after paste’, ‘goto text and values’ and an enhanced library manager report.
The latest version of Easy-PC can be found on this webpage.
Based in Gloucestershire, Number One Systems has been developing Easy-PC for over 24 years. The software is used in over 105 countries, it said.
