What is Board Station XE?
Board Station XE is the next-generation version of the Board Station design flow, which has been widely used by PCB designers for over two decades. Board Station XE is based on a single, modern PCB design architecture that leverages the AutoActive technology, which is a software environment that automates and optimizes many aspects of PCB layout, such as placement, routing, and manufacturing. Board Station XE also integrates with other Mentor Graphics tools, such as the Topology Planner/Router, XtremeAR, and XtremePCB, to provide advanced capabilities for high-speed design, signal integrity analysis, and concurrent team design.
What are the benefits of Board Station XE?
Board Station XE offers several benefits for PCB designers, such as:
Improved design productivity: Board Station XE enables designers to create high-quality PCB layouts faster and easier, thanks to the AutoActive environment that automates many tedious and repetitive tasks. For example, Board Station XE can automatically place components based on design rules and constraints, route traces using intelligent algorithms and interactive guidance, and generate manufacturing data with minimal manual intervention.
Reduced design cycle time: Board Station XE helps designers meet the increasing time-to-market demands of today's electronics market by providing a seamless and efficient design flow that minimizes errors and rework. For instance, Board Station XE uses a common library and front-end tools for both the Board Station XE flow and the Board Station RE flow, which is the legacy version of the Board Station design flow. This allows designers to easily migrate from one flow to another without losing data or functionality. Moreover, Board Station XE supports concurrent team design with XtremePCB, which enables multiple designers to work on the same PCB layout simultaneously and collaboratively.
Support for emerging PCB technologies: Board Station XE enables designers to cope with the increasing complexity and challenges of PCB design, such as higher density, smaller form factor, lower power consumption, and higher performance. For example, Board Station XE supports advanced PCB fabrication technologies, such as microvias, buried vias, blind vias, flex circuits, rigid-flex circuits, embedded components, and HDI (high-density interconnect). Furthermore, Board Station XE provides comprehensive tools for high-speed design and signal integrity analysis with Topology Planner/Router and XtremeAR, which allow designers to optimize the electrical performance of their PCB layouts.
How to get started with Board Station XE?
If you are interested in trying out Board Station XE or upgrading from your existing Board Station version, you can contact Mentor Graphics or visit their website for more information. You can also download a free trial version of Board Station XE from their website or read more about its features and specifications from their product brochure. You can also find some online tutorials and customer testimonials that showcase the capabilities and benefits of Board Station XE.
We hope this article has given you an overview of Mentor Graphics Board Station XE flow 2007.2 and how it can help you create better PCB designs faster and easier. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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