If there\u2019s one thing for certain about today’s design, it\u2019s that things are changing dramatically, but in the world of ECAD software, we\u2019re struggling to keep up with the change. Gone are the days of separately designing PCBs, and separately making enclosures, everything is connected. But here we are, working with tools that are still competing, and still struggling to communicate. Things need to change. Autodesk EAGLE 8.3 is taking EDA where it has never been before, ushering in a whole new dimension of PCB design.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n PCB design problems are universal. Does anyone out there not struggle to collaborate with their mechanical engineer? Or does anyone not do the back-and-forth dance with their manufacturer with emails and phone calls? And does anyone not spend more time than they would like trying to properly document their design, only to find out a respin is lurking just around the corner?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n These are problems that plague every electronics designer out there. I don’t care where you\u2019re from, or where you work. Chances are if you\u2019re designing electronics, then you\u2019re dealing with at least one of these problems. And all of these are problems we want to fix, or at least lay the foundation for future fixes, in Autodesk EAGLE 8.3. At the root of these problems is an underlying issue with data, and we all play the same game:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The focus of this release then is all about addressing the root cause of these engineering problems that have been bogging down our minds and methods for decades. Because if we\u2019re ever going to work together, if we\u2019re ever going to get into the mindset of designing products, not just PCBs, then it all has to start with our data. So without further ado, let\u2019s look at how we\u2019re using this intent in our biggest release so far, Autodesk EAGLE 8.3.<\/p>\n\n\n We all know the drill in EAGLE, you start your board layout with a generic lined box on the Dimension layer, and that\u2019s about the best you\u2019ll get as far as board shapes go. But does this \u201cdimension\u201d actually mean anything outside of a set of lines? Nope. We\u2019ve improved this with the new Board Shape object. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n This Board Shape Object will allow you to create a fully-fledged physical shape for your PCB that isn\u2019t just a set of connected lines; it actually includes some built-in data. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you can now use the Board Shape to create a shape that includes dimension and mill information, all while being a physical object that can interact with your DRC. Are your components placed too close to the edge of your board? DRC will know where that edge is now, based on the new Board Shape object. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Adding an actual board shape object is one major step towards laying the groundwork for future manufacturing and ECAD\/MCAD features. In the future, we can start adding new attributes and features, including things like 3D, custom shapes, customizable cutouts, embedded passive designs, and a whole lot more.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n This new board shape tool is even going to help with our plans for board analysis and simulation. How can you run those kinds of simulations when the original board shape in EAGLE had no intelligence or data behind it? You couldn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n For manufacturing, imagine being able to define all of the specifications for your board materials and layer stackup right in EAGLE. Overall, this feature will make your life a whole lot easier when all of that rich data gets automatically packed into your manufacturing data, without you having to call anything out or create special notes.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n You likely have a ton of old designs in EAGLE, and we haven\u2019t forgotten about those with this new feature. Here\u2019s what to expect – when you open an existing design in Autodesk EAGLE 8.3, the software will look for any closed bounding boxes on the Dimension layer. If there is one, it will be replaced with the new Board Shape object without you having to do a thing. And if EAGLE detects any closed bounding boxes within your newly established board shape, then it will define those as cutouts. Boom!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n We all know that routing is an exercise in focus, and having to do anything out of the ordinary can totally pull you out of your zone. So those days of having to pop open your layer panel and sort through 52 different layers just to get yourself in a visible-layer set up have come to an end. After all, who has time for that frustration!?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n The new Single Layer Mode makes it simple to filter out all existing layers from your view except the one that you’re working on, all with a click of a button You might be working on two layer boards now, but what happens when you get to six? Trying to route when you have six visible layers all at once can be a nightmare and opening that layers panel can get frustrating. Single Layer Mode stands alone on its own as a tool of efficiency and focus. We wanted to make it easy to remove all of the visual clutter from your engineering life so you can focus on what matters. All without having to open another menu and tick a bunch of boxes just to get the result you expected.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Here it is, we’ve got a feature that gets to the core of a data-focused problem and also causes a lot of frustration for every engineer – ECAD\/MCAD collaboration. We\u2019ve all been there, sending our board files through email and tracking changes through spreadsheets. At its worst, this problem manifests itself as an enclosure that doesn\u2019t fit at the last minute, and a complete layout rework. Simply put, all of these problems are horrible, which is why we\u2019re excited to introduce Fusion 360 interoperability in Autodesk EAGLE finally.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n This feature has required a ton of back-end work to get Fusion 360 and Autodesk EAGLE on the same page. As you can imagine, this was no easy undertaking and required several individual components to be put into place to make the whole operation work. Here\u2019s how it breaks down:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n First, we addressed one of the biggest problems with ECAD\/MCAD collaboration, having available 3D models for each component on your board. We\u2019ve solved this by creating an Online Library Editor for our recently introduced Online Managed Libraries<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n This editor will allow you, or third party vendors like Sparkfun and Adafruit to attach 3D models to our growing online parts catalog. Within this editor, you\u2019ll be able to easily add or edit the footprint for the package and add\/create 3D models as needed. Once you save changes to either a new or existing package, a new version of the package gets created and ready for use from your <\/span>Add dialog<\/b> in Autodesk EAGLE.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you upload your libraries you can add your 3D package within this editor.<\/p>\n\n\n To build on top of the Online Library Editor, we’ve also added a helpful icon next to each Online Library in EAGLE that has an included 3D model. If you decide to add one of these parts to your design, then the 3D model will automatically be embedded and available when you share your design with Fusion 360.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also see a preview of the 3D model directly in the Add dialog.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n Next, we\u2019ve established core functionality that will allow you to easily link your EAGLE .brd file to a Fusion 360 PCB file. Within Autodesk EAGLE you\u2019ll see a new Fusion Sync dashboard that allows you to integrate your board file with its 3D representation in Fusion, and this is where all of the magic happens for true ECAD\/MCAD collaboration.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that every engineering workflow is unique, so we\u2019ve built this system with flexibility in mind. Here\u2019s how you might find yourself working with EAGLE and Fusion 360:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n These two workflows come together to offer what we\u2019ve always been wanting – true ECAD\/MCAD synchronization and collaboration. Now changes can flow back and forth. If you update your board file, you can push those changes to Fusion, which will create a new version of a 3D PCB model for your mechanical designer. And if your mechanical designer needs to change the shape of your board or the placement of 3D component models, they can push those changes from Fusion to EAGLE, and you\u2019ll be notified about the new update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, for our mechanical designers, we\u2019ve added the ability to edit the 3D model of a PCB directly in Fusion 360. Your 3D PCB model will appear in your left-hand side project sidebar along with any other models you\u2019re working on, and you can make the following changes:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no way around it, electrical and mechanical engineers are coming together more than ever. Many of us aren\u2019t just designing PCBs these days, or just enclosures. We\u2019re designing products where electrical and mechanical blend together, and our engineering workflows need to do the same.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n We respect the specialized needs of both electrical and mechanical engineers, that will never change. What we\u2019re after here is to give engineers the tools they need that can communicate and collaborate with each other, and that starts by sharing a common foundation of data.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready to get started with true ECAD\/MCAD collaboration? <\/span>Try Fusion 360 for free today!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out the Fusion 360 What’s New Blog<\/a> for all the new features! Oh and here is awesome video:<\/p>\n\n\nThe Intent Behind This Release<\/h2>\n\n\n
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The New Board Shape<\/h2>\n\n\n
What is it?<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"eagle-board-shape\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Screenshot-2017-07-14-14.47.35.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy does it matter?<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"embedded-passives\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/componentProcessing1.jpg\")
What about your old designs?<\/h3>\n\n\n
The New Single Layer View<\/h2>\n\n\n
What is it?<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"active-layer-mode\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Screen-Shot-07-14-17-at-02.11-PM-e1500599869481.png\")
(or type SET SINGLE_LAYER_MODE On in your command prompt)<\/span>. When this option is applied, all of your non-active layers will become grayed out and muted. We\u2019ve also made it easy to see exactly which layer is selected when sifting through complex layer stackups.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"active-layer-mode-view\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Screen-Shot-07-14-17-at-01.54-PM.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nWhy does it matter?<\/h3>\n\n\n
Fusion 360 Interoperability<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n
What is it?<\/h3>\n\n\n
Online Library Editor<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n
![\"online-library-manager\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Screen-Shot-07-14-17-at-02.08-PM.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n3D Models In Libraries<\/h4>\n\n\n
![\"3d-models-libraries\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Screen-Shot-2017-08-03-at-1.49.21-PM.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPCB Sync With Fusion 360<\/h4>\n\n\n
![\"pcb-sync-with-fusion-360\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Screen-Shot-07-14-17-at-01.49-PM.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"fusion-sync-dialog\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Screen-Shot-07-13-17-at-12.23-PM.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nPCB Modeling In Fusion<\/h4>\n\n\n
\n
![\"pcb-modeling-in-fusion\"](\"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com\/products\/fusion-360\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eagle\/2017\/08\/Pasted-image-at-2017_07_14-06_04-PM.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nWhy does all of this matter?<\/h3>\n\n\n