EAGLE 9.2 - The Latest and Greatest
One thing you can truly say about Autodesk EAGLE - the development team like to keep busy and don't rest on their laurels. The version number increment is only small but they have really packed in those features for 9.2 (9.2.1 at the time of writing). With so many changes it's hard to know where to begin so let's just dive straight in with a list of the main changes.
- Quickroute fanout for power and ground
- Paint Roller formatting
- Pin and pad arrays for super fast library part creation
- Mixed mode simulation
- STEP export
- In-line part drop wire trimming
- Layer Stack dialog
Those new features in a little more detail. If you haven't yet purchased then don't delay, buy now and gain all that productivity for your design work for a great low price.
Quickroute Fanout
Don't waste time with power and ground nets when there's no need. No longer do you need to draw a track, place a via and repeat ad infinitum. Break out a device or a net, select preferred fanout direction and go.
Paint Roller Formatting
Think of this like format painter from MS Word on steroids. Not just applicable to text font/size but via size/shape and even X,Y alignment. Select an object to copy from, choose the properties to copy and then click away to paste (apply) these to any number of other objects in your design. There is still the Change command to handle single properties but this takes it to a whole new level of productivity and convenience.
Pin and pad arrays
Do you make your own parts? If so then you won't want to miss this great new time saver. The array options appear under the Pin or SMD command and you get to keep control. Rather than trying to do everything for you (it can if you want!) you have the option of creating complex parts in a series of steps to give you ultimate control.
Mixed Mode Simulation
Most likely only of interest to a minority of PCB designers, but for those that like their simulation then this is a big enhancement. Mixed mode analog and digital simulation is now supported, using digital models (XSPICE) along with your analog components (Berkeley SPICE with ngspice extensions). A new AtoD bridge handles the complexity of converting signals from one domain to the other. Supported by new models and an expanded SPICE library.
STEP export
With EAGLE supporting great bi-directional integration with Fusion 360 who could possibly need STEP export? If you are still stuck with using a more traditional MCAD package then the new STEP export is a great way to provide a 3D model to your MCAD application. It's obviously export only (unlike EAGLE <-> Fusion360) but an invaluable new feature for those who need it.
Auto Wire Trimming
A very small feature but it truly saves a lot of messing around. Do you find yourself ever adding in an extra series component to an existing net such as a current limiting resistor for your LED? Previously you would have been using the Split, Move and Delete commands to add in the component and tidy up the nets but no longer - if you drop a component in the middle of a wire (in series) the wires will snap to the part pins effectively trimming the wire to fit.
Layer Stack Dialog
EAGLE has the power to define complex board layer stacks, anything up to an including multi-layer with blind and buried vias. However this did require some serious reading of the help pages to understand how to specify complex setups using a sequence of numbers and symbols such as [2:(1+(2*3)+(14*15)+16):15]. A new editing dialog makes it easy to build up your layer stack and define the layer pairs. For the true hard core enthusiasts out there the old method is still fully supported.
Summary
Hope you have enjoyed reading about all these amazing new features and we trust they will aid your productivity. For all those with an EAGLE subscription then don't forget all these features are yours, included in your subscription at no extra cost. No maintenance fees, no purchasing upgrades just continuous access to this and future releases during your contract.
For those looking to purchase don't forget you can order a 3 year subscription and automatically save around 5%. Looking to convert from another PCB design package then contact us at software@element14.com for a quote just to see how good value EAGLE can be or if you prefer just visit our page to Buy Now.
