What's New in Proteus Design Suite 8.2

The Proteus 8.2 release expanded on Proteus V8.1 with a strong focus on library parts in both the schematic and the layout modules. Our other main development thrust was on documentation and report generation with the introduction of a new module in Project Notes and a major rework of the Bill of Materials module. On the Proteus VSM front, we have been working hard on the Arduino product as well as introducing support for new Atmel® Cortex™-M3, PIC16 and PIC18 processor variants Importing Components (BSDL) The boundary scan description language (BSDL) is a description language for electronics testing using JTAG. It has been added to the IEEE Std. 1149.1, and BSDL files are increasingly well supported by JTAG tools for boundary scan applications, and by test case generators. From a schematic and PCB perspective there are two main benefits in this file format: The part name, number of pins, electrical type and pin names are all part of the file. This means we can automatically create a basic schematic component for the part. The binding between each pin name on the schematic and the pad name of the footprint is included. This means that we can provide an assisted/automatic packaging for the schematic component. Importing Footprints (PADS ASCII) Proteus provides a lot of flexibility and functionality for creating different types of footprints and putting them into libraries for re-use. However, for complex parts or where a lot of parts are needed, the use of third party tools can get the job done faster. Also, if libraries of parts exist from a different product, it is helpful to translate and import them into Proteus. The PADS ASCII Library Part importer is the mechanism by which we support this. PADS ASCII (Layout format) is a widely recognised file format for describing a PCB footprint and offers a semi-automatic way to translate a footprint into a Proteus library part. Proteus now fully supports the PCB Library Expert Toolchain for creating complex footprints. Project Notes Project Notes is a new application module in Proteus for adding documentation or written content to the project. It is a free-form editor so you can add whatever you like in whatever style you want. This may be as simple as scribbling a TBD list at the end of the working day or as formal as an approved revision history for the project. Project Notes are stored inside the main Proteus file (*.PDSPRJ) but can be printed separately or exported to PDF. They can also be appended to the end of the BOM PDF report or included inside the CADCAM ZIP file. Bill of Materials The Bill of Materials module has gone through a major revision with the following significant changes: Switch from screen based layout to physical (page size) layout engine. Support for portrait and landscape modes. Dialogue driven report styling. Addition of links for report content to external sites. Automatic appending of a Project Notes document to the PDF output. Miscellaneous Changes Tighten up the shape of the solder resist mask around the corners of rectangular pads. Added Pre-production check warnings for possible solder bridge points. Changed drc display and pick and place output to use the working unit set (metric or imperial). Maximum zoom level for ARES increased by a factor of 10. Added an automatic 'move to' option relative to part origin. A full list of features and fixes is available from the Updates and Fixed Support Forum.Proteus 8.2 is available free of charge to all customers whose USC is valid as of 10th June 2014.