Editor's Pick: Improved PCB workflow in MCAD

Printed circuit board (PCB) workflow enhancements highlight the list of new features in the Summer 2022 edition of Siemens NX mechanical design software. Siemens says these new features will allow users to streamline their mechanical CAD and electronic CAD collaboration workflows. 

The Design Rule Manager in NX PCB Exchange has new features for validating design against corporate design rules. This includes an automatic coloring feature allowing the user to designate a specific color for components within each design rule. 

Siemens says the new Validate PCA command allows more precise engineering of rigid-flex designs containing complicated circuitry. Image courtesy of Siemens.

The company says there is a new way to filter for component type. The Reference Designator is a feature for specifying component attributes. When the Show Log feature is on, the user can then see which components are “playing well” with each other. Siemens says this feature improves PCB feature validation. The filter offers two measuring types, Lightweight (for quick searches using faceted geometry) and Exact (precise measurement using fully loaded geometry). 

Siemens says the new Validate PCA command allows more precise engineering of rigid-flex designs containing complicated circuitry. These products generally require a smaller profile for the electronics components. 

The company says PCB design library management was streamlined. Using imported geometry or out-of-the-box (OOTB) components, users can take advantage of the custom coordinate system for PCB components for working with MCAD and ECAD elements inside NX. 

NX can now convert cutouts to holes, which Siemens says eliminates the need to tag various holes before executing an export. 

There is also an update to NX Manage Mode. Users can now see updates to designs made by teammates and share components within NX. This feature now incorporates MCAD and ECAD elements. All those linked in a collaboration have full access to review and approve designs. 

The Summer 2022 update to Siemens NX is now available directly from the vendor. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.