About Allegro
Allegro is a brand that delivers powerful and scalable PCB design environment with the ability to connect various options which further expand its functionality.
The design of electrical circuit diagrams in Allegro can be made using one of the circuit editors:
- System Capture – new, useful and powerful electrical circuit editor from Cadence, included in Allegro
- OrCAD Capture – not expensive and easy-to-learn editor, part of OrCAD, suitable for small companies
- DE-HDL – old schematic editor, supplied in Allegro for compatibility with older projects
The tool for PCB layout is Allegro PCB Editor. Regardless of the configuration you purchase, the development environment remains the same all the time. The user interface, logic and working methods, commands and tools remain unchanged. Differences in licenses are only in additional tools that appear with the expansion of functionality
The main advantages of Cadence Allegro
- Easy to learn, good support
- Stability and error-free operation of the tools
- Scalable from low-cost OrCAD to powerful Allegro Venture
- Huge selection of reference designs and libraries in Allegro format
- Simulation directly in the schematic editor and PCB editor, integration with PSpice and Sigrity simulation systems
- Convenient and powerful Constraint Manager
- High efficiency when working with complex PCB projects
Why PCB designers choose Cadence Allegro?
Allegro has ability to import PCB projects and libraries from P-CAD and Altium, along with a simple and user-friendly interface. This makes Cadence Allegro the best option for a gradual “seamless” transition to new technologies. Reports built into Allegro make it possible to display design documentation directly from CAD.
A convenient link between the schematic editor and the PCB editor allows you to “drag” a component from the schematic to the printed circuit board when placing it, select a component on the schematic and see it on the PCB, select a pin or net on the board and see it on the schematic. The functionality of a single enterprise library of components, OrCAD Component Information System (CIS), or Allegro EDM reduces the number of errors associated with the human factor when creating components.
You can use the widest range of library components not only from the installation folder, but also from Internet portals such as DigiKey, Ultra Librarian, SamacSys. The ready-to-use components can be placed to your design directly from the Internet, and then you can adjust them and save them in a single standalone library.
Powerful manual routing functionality allows you to instantly route single signals, differential pairs, signal groups. The signal length and delay alignment system effectively meets all modern requirements for routing high-speed interfaces such as PCIe, Ethernet, HDMI, DDR (T-connections, Fly-By) etc.
Full integration with enterprise component libraries, PDM systems (SolidWorks EPDM, Windchill, TeamCenter, etc.), mechanical EDA tools (AutoCAD 3D, SolidWorks, Creo, etc.), the ability to import and export 3D STEP models of components, housing and printed circuit assembly make Cadence Allegro the ideal solution for large enterprises developing complex electronics.
User opinions
Here’s what some PCB designers said after switching to Allegro:
“This software is much more stable – and those PCB design tools in which we worked before constantly hung or crashed on complex projects.
The tabular rules editor is much more convenient and easier to work with than the rules in the form of “requests”, besides, it is much more powerful and faster”
“Online checks do not slow down the work of Allegro at all – and before we had to turn them off or minimize their number, and it took so long to complete the final DRC check”
“The built-in calculation of impedance and layer structure is very useful – this distinguishes Allegro from other EDA tools. And impedance analysis right in the PCB design window is just unbelievable”
“In Allegro there is no such problem as “incomplete connection of lines to pads”. This means that my net length rules will always work correctly”
“Unlike other PCB design software, where old errors are not fixed and new ones multiply, in Allegro we see the emergence of new functionality and careful work to correct the noticed errors”
“The permanently open window of options for the current command, the filter for selecting objects and controlling the visibility of layers is very convenient – unlike competitor tools, where you have to constantly rummage through menus and windows”
“Allegro has great options for customizing hotkeys and mouse control functions”
“When working with very large projects, unlike other EDA, Allegro does not crash or slow down…”
“The function of duplicating the channels works amazingly – it never fails, and does not require the creation of hierarchical schematics”
“The good news is that Allegro has a powerful system for pre-topological analysis of signal integrity, with high reliability of results, and it really can and should be used for work”
“PSPICE mixed signal simulation tool is the best solution, especially with Advanced Analysis and behavioral modeling in C++”
“Possibility of high-quality import of old projects from P-CAD, Altium, PADS is really good”
“Amazing in terms of convenience and quality, the system for working with polygons allows you to lay from 50 to 100 polygons per day without much effort and does not slow down. Moreover, setting properties for polygons, pins, holes is all done on the fly and very quickly. Polygons are instantly dynamically updated during all topology editing operations”
“Linux support is also an important feature”
“The scalability of the solution and floating licenses allow you to get the best price of a seat, which cannot be compared with any competing system”
“Advanced options such as High Speed, Team Design offer features that other, simpler CAD systems basically do not have, for example, control of delays in chips, via delay, automatic length alignment of DDR signals, auto-alignment of phase in a differential pair with dynamic mismatch tracking”