Skip to content Skip to navigation

Connexions

You are here: Home » Content » OrCAD Introduction

Navigation

Recently Viewed

This feature requires Javascript to be enabled.

OrCAD Introduction

Module by: Patrick Frantz. E-mail the author

User rating (How does the rating system work?)
Ratings

Ratings allow you to judge the quality of modules. If other users have ranked the module then its average rating is displayed below. Ratings are calculated on a scale from one star (Poor) to five stars (Excellent).

How to rate a module

Hover over the star that corresponds to the rating you wish to assign. Click on the star to add your rating. Your rating should be based on the quality of the content. You must have an account and be logged in to rate content.

:
(0 ratings)

Summary: An introduction to OrCAD Cadence software tool and the circuit that will be designed in this tutorial.

Warning:

The Connexions version of the OrCAD tutorial is still in development. Please click here for the original and complete tutorial. You may also browse this complete tutorial within Connexions by using the Mozilla browser and accessing the main Connexions page at http://cnx.rice.edu. Click on the 'Contents' tab and select Rice University ELEC 424/427 under the 'Courses' tab.

Introduction

OrCAD is a suite of tools from Cadence for the design and layout of printed circuit boards (PCBs). This tutorial covers version 9.2 of the OrCAD suite. This document will give you a crash course in designing an entire circuit board from start to finish. This will be a very small and simple circuit, but it will demonstrate the major concepts and introduce the tools behind completing a PCB design. After you have completed this tutorial, you will know all the steps needed to make PCBs using OrCAD. This is not, however, a guide to the inner workings of the OrCAD interface. You should use this document in conjunction with the online OrCAD help and tutorials.

The circuit you will design is shown in the figure below. The main component is a programmable logic device (PLD) from Xilinx. PLDs, as the name implies, are programmable devices that can be used for a variety of useful tasks, and it is useful to be familiar with using them. In this circuit, we will use the PLD to light up a 7-segment LED display that will be used as a counter. Also in the circuit: a power connector for a 9-volt battery, a header for general purpose IO, a pushbutton switch, a programming interface for the PLD, and some miscellaneous resistors and capacitors.

Figure 1: The ciruit you will design in this tutorial.
Figure 1 (ScreenHunter_013.jpg)

OrCAD really consists of two tools. Capture is used for design entry in schematic form. You will probably be already familiar with looking at circuits in this form from working with other tools in your university courses. Layout is a tool for designing the physical layout of components and circuits on a PCB. During the design process, you will move back and forth between these two tools.

Warning:

Save your work frequently while working on this tutorial. You will not be reminded to do so.

Content actions

Give Feedback:

E-mail the module author | Rate module ( How does the rating system work?)

Rating system

Ratings

Ratings allow you to judge the quality of modules. If other users have ranked the module then its average rating is displayed below. Ratings are calculated on a scale from one star (Poor) to five stars (Excellent).

How to rate a module

Hover over the star that corresponds to the rating you wish to assign. Click on the star to add your rating. Your rating should be based on the quality of the content. You must have an account and be logged in to rate content.

(0 ratings)

Download:

Module PDF

Add module to:

My Favorites (?)

'My Favorites' is a special kind of lens which you can use to bookmark modules and collections directly in Connexions. 'My Favorites' can only be seen by you, and collections saved in 'My Favorites' can remember the last module you were on. You need a Connexions account to use 'My Favorites'.

| A lens (?)

Definition of a lens

Lenses

A lens is a custom view of Connexions content. You can think of it as a fancy kind of list that will let you see Connexions through the eyes of organizations and people you trust.

What is in a lens?

Lens makers point to Connexions materials (modules and collections), creating a guide that includes their own comments and descriptive tags about the content.

Who can create a lens?

Any individual Connexions member, a community, or a respected organization.

What are tags? tag icon

Tags are descriptors added by lens makers to help label content, attaching a vocabulary that is meaningful in the context of the lens.

| External bookmarks