DownStream Technologies Announces CAM350 Release 8.0
First major release delivers unprecedented usability
and performance to the mainstream CAM marketplace
Bolton, Mass – February 20, 2003 – DownStream Technologies, LLC today announced CAM350™
Release 8, the first major release of the product since purchasing it from
Innoveda (now Mentor Graphics). CAM350 is the acknowledged price/performance
leader in delivering powerful fabrication software solutions to both the design
and fabrication industries.
"The economic decline in high technology has placed
greater pressure on PCB Design groups who now must guarantee designs submitted
for fabrication can be produced without the need for artwork modification,”
said Rick Almeida, President of DownStream Technologies. “Changes made on the
fabrication side could compromise engineering intent, as well as delay
time-to-volume production. Now more than ever, engineering and manufacturing
groups must rely on CAM software to detect and fix potential
fabrication problems earlier in the process. With the release of CAM350 Release
8, we have given the industry a powerful way to address these problems,” he
added.
CAM350 Release 8 features a variety of
updates including a radically new, yet uncomplicated Graphical User Interface
(GUI), performance speed and quality improvements and powerful new usability
and productivity functions — all designed to deliver a highly effective
solution that meets the needs of today’s design and fabrication challenges.
“We have been extremely pleased with
the direction that DownStream has taken with CAM350,” said Ken Cubbedge of
Everett Charles Technologies. “Release 8 is a marked improvement over previous
versions of the software. They’ve done an excellent job in delivering the right
balance of new features and quality improvements to the product which will help
us all to get our jobs done more efficiently and effectively,” he added.
Highlights and Enhancements
Graphical User Interface (GUI) - Release 8 contains a new look and feel utilizing the
latest Microsoft® style guides. The GUI features customizable and dockable
toolbars, standard and user created icons, context sensitive menus, enhanced
mouse support, shortcut bars and new pan and zooming functions. With the new
GUI, users can customize the environment to meet their specific needs, allowing
common procedures to be simplified. Potential errors are diagnosed faster using
new toolbars that pinpoint problems and new graphical comparisons allow the
user to see the problem, not just read it in a text report.
Graphical Netlist Comparison - Since the Netlist Comparison has become the key
verification process between design and fabrication, Release 8 contains an enhanced
netlist comparison process which allows users to view errors graphically
instead of by producing text reports, reducing verification time.
Enhanced Error Verification - Release 8 allows the user to create a sortable Error
Report that is linked to the graphical display. Users can view multiple errors
or sort by feature type, feature size or error size, quickly verifying the
results of any DRC or Analysis function.
Performance Enhancements - Design for Fabrication (DFF) errors are now quickly
identified and automatically repaired without user intervention. Barco Import
and Polygon Pour – processes that are historically slow in CAM tools – have been
improved 5 to 10x.
Negative Plane Analysis - Release 8 enhancements identify potential connectivity
errors such as isolated thermals, even when not completely cleared from copper
as in the case of a manufacturer’s etching process, by simulating the etch
process.
IPC-D-356A Support - The standard netlist format for Design Verification and
Electrical Test is now fully supported.
Filtering Function - The Filtering Function now supports the board outline
as a filter and usability enhancements for Dcode selection.
Panel Editor Macros - Macros are now available for all Panelization Functions,
as well as sample scripts and transition documents for legacy scripts.
Report Sorting - Sort reports for print output into assembly equipment and MRP systems.
Draw to Flash - The Draw to Flash Function now supports any angle and contains soldermask control.
Measure Net to Net - This feature allows users to measure the distance
between any two nets or highlight two nets and view at the same time, allowing
them to troubleshoot problems such as crosstalk, impedance failures and board
failures within CAM350.
CAM350 Release 8 can be previewed at the upcoming PCB
Design Conference West in San Jose, March 10-14 and is
expected to ship in the Spring of 2003. There will be no charge for this update
for all DownStream customers under current maintenance agreements.
About DownStream Technologies
DownStream Technologies’ CAM350 solution allows
engineering and manufacturing teams to work together by supporting the
verification of Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designs early in the product
development process to ensure accurate and efficient manufacturing. CAM350
offers customers in the mainstream PCB marketplace significant
price/performance value over alternative solutions. Customers can find out more
about DownStream at www.downstreamtech.com.
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© 2003 DownStream Technologies, LLC. DownStream
Technologies and CAM350 are trademarks of DownStream Technologies, LLC.
All rights reserved. All other trademarks in this release are the property
of their respective owners.
