automatic gate swapping

[lidi]

I trying this feature, but i think its not working.
Only if i manually swap these gates, make the autorouter efficient pcb.

[Johann.Wagner]

ok - do you have a video or screenshots for me ? Can you attache it here because it´s difficulty then to reproduce.

Do you have control the sheet properties where you have an entry for swapping properties (see my screenshot).

Additionally the same in routing options - here also set the swapping check mark then it should works.

Best Regards

[lidi]

Here are the screenschots of the whole process.

[Tien_P]

Hi Lidi,

The pin/gate swap priority is very low in the Ultiroute algorithm and in most cases Ultiroute will not automatically perform this task for you, if you see that you can improve the routing by swapping the pins or gate do it manually. 

[lidi]

Meanwhile i found one thing: if i switch on the realtime gate/pin swapping, and move a bit that component manually, the gates and pins are swapped to optimal!
So its working actually, just not fully automatic, like the jumper placing. 😄

But, i like this software anyways.

[kittmaster]

Can someone explain to me why this feature exists and/or why it is considered useful?

It says in the help file to reduce trace lengths.....yeah i get that, but when you do pin gate swap or automatic pin/gate swap, it reroutes the nets from one pin to another which is changing the netlist data to the physical pin connection to the component.

How exactly is this useful? Seems like a disaster when $$$ must be laid out to produce boards with error on it.

[lacy]

I am also curious to about this. Wouldn't it also make the schematic and board not agree after the pin/gate swap even if the swap would physically work with an IC.

Message Edited by lacy on 02-29-2008 08:24 PM

[kittmaster]

As I retroflect on this question, I guess if you had like a 7404 it could swap the logic part during run time during autorouting, but then it wouldn't match the schematic as defined, so reverse annotate would be required? Boy if that is it, what a mess that would make schematically if you have busses and a logically laid out schematic that uses the rubberbanding mess in MS.

[lidi]

it would useful for example a resistor pack. Draw a schematic, looking good, but when forwarded to ultiboard, the two side of that resistor pack must replace to make nice looking pcb.
It works, but i cant annotate back, and the next time change something in schematic, and forwarding  again, the netlist are the original, but the pcb is optimised. So full of DRC error. This way this function, really useless. Sorry for poor english, but maybe you get it what i am talking.

[lacy]

Yes, I understand what your saying (your english is probably better than mine) and I would agree with what your saying. I usually do not use this feature that is why I was questioning about whether the schematic and board would be in sysnc after doing a swap.

What would be nice if the annotes forward and backward were automated.  That way any change made to the board would automatically update the schematic and vice versa.  Also, any forward annotes would not destory the current netlist and just update to the changes made.That way you could use a feature like this without complications.