On 10/25/2018 12:44 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk wrote:
On 10/24/18 8:06 PM, Jon Elson via cctalk wrote:
Hmmm, you COULD actually use a schematic tool to do this! Maybe create
the components to look like DIPs. I know I could do this in Protel 99
without a great deal of trouble. Then, just draw in all the wires.
I suspect a few other good schematic entry tools could also do this.
I know that I've asked about this on one of the EDA boards and got
nowhere. It seems that it would be possible to construct a schematic
from a netlist, but I've never seen such a tool.
I wonder if such a beast exists.
Well, not totally automatic, but many EDA systems have "back
annotation", where changes to the PCB are taken back to the
schematic. This is generally used to allow easy
reassignment of the identical sections in multi-gate
packages, but at least some of them can do MUCH more. I
know Protel 99 essentially turns the whole board into a
spreadsheet, where everything is available for
reassignment. I suspect that if you laid out all the chips
and then provided the interconnect info, it would create a
VERY messy schematic, which you could then reorganize by
hand. You could also make a PCB design, draw in the wiring,
and it would then be able to make a netlist and take that
back to the schematic.
Jon
