Version 8.6 is a significant release in our PCB development schedule with three main areas of focus.
First, we have introduced comprehensive support for automatic length matching on the PCB. Having configured tolerances and the serpentine shape the user can simply select the relevant tracks and then the invoke the match command from the context menu.
We've also introduced a more formal layer stackup wizard where the build up of the physical PCB can be specified and then passed to the fab house. This allows the user to specifically define the drill passes (drill ranges) used in the board which for multi-layer boards in particular then allows us to provide intelligent via options during track placement.
Finally, we've re-written the design explorer module to enable :
System wide support for Assembly Variants, allowing the user to create a product variant and specify the 'fitted' or 'not fitted' state of individual parts in that variant.
More powerful search and filtering on the schematic, together with property replacement. This makes it fast and simple for example to change the package on all 10nF capacitors in the design.
Progress on the 'push-and-shove manual routing' feature remains on target for beta testing at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, on the Proteus VSM side, we are pleased to announce the completion of the popular STM32 ARM Cortex-M3 family, along with several new variants in the PIC microcontroller families and several new embedded peripheral models.
Finally, we have added support for popular Arduino robot turtle simulation to the Visual Designer module.
Please see the Support Forum for more information.
Proteus 8.6 is available free of charge to all customers whose USC is valid as of 3rd November 2016.