Modular Design Re-use

Gaylyn Johnson
Design Solutions Inc.
gjohnson@designsol.com
512-837-3880

The ability for multiple design personnel to work on a single design is essential for quick turn designs, especially for mixed signal technology. One method of accomplishing this is through modular design implementation with interface points. In this implementation of modular designs, the total design is divided into placement regions. Most commonly, but not exclusively, these regions are rectangles on a grid. Design features that are wholly contained within a region are handled in a normal fashion. Features that span multiple regions use a concept of interface points to allow a feature to cross from one region to the next. There are several benefits of modular designs. Several people can simultaneously work on this type of design at the same time. This condenses the total time spent on a design and allows specific talent to be applied where needed. RF engineers design the rf portion of the board, while digital engineers design their region. Upissuing of existing designs is simplified also. Only those modules needing changes are modified and read back into the top level design. This paper describes how to implemented this method of modular designs using a combination of blind pin geometries (interface points), placement regions, to_layout and the Layout merge traces command in the A.3 to B.4 releases of software. Highlights of C.1 (Board Architect) ease of use is described.

Bio:
Gaylyn Johnson is a Senior Design Consultant for Design Solutions Inc. in Austin, TX. She has 17 years of printed circuit board design experience, dating back to the Apollo Mentor DN300 5.2 release of software. Her primary focus is board level layout with mixed technology in the flat sheet, hierarchical, and modular formats.