Pulsonix announced the release of Pulsonix version 10.5, with over 30 added enhancements based on user requests from professional PCB designers. PCB design created strictly in a 2D environment makes it difficult to avoid physical spacing problems caused by part packages, board enclosures, or other non-electrical components. The Pulsonix 10.5 release includes new 3D viewing options for component and enclosure transparency, lighting, and clash markers, and component-to-component distance measurements.

Users can fix problems in the 3D environment by repositioning objects in single-axis movements, while also maintaining proper alignment with the board and other components. The 3D exploded view enables users to visually inspect the via structures and copper of internal layers of multi-layer PCBs. A 3D SpaceMouse allows users to rotate and zoom the view simultaneously with one hand, while the other uses the mouse to make component positional changes.

New for the 10.5 release is the ability to define constraint rules by area in the schematic around components and nets, and then propagate those rules to the PCB environment. Users can also gain improved control with the ability to turn on or off individual rules, seeing which rules are being violated in a single table view, spreadsheet style filtering of rules, and other convenience features. Improvements in the Pulsonix toolset include track impedance tooltips to see the impedance, capacitance, inductance, and propagation delay for any track on the PCB. Another example is the bus connection and multi-net routing capability in the schematic editor. There are also new dynamic copper pour improvements, thermal spoke additions, and tab routing options in Panel Editor, better layer stackup visualization, and more. The 10.5 release also adds options for importing Eagle designs and exporting OrCAD netlists.

For more information, visit www.pulsonix.com.