PCB Explorer

PCB Explorer is a utility made to work with CAMCAD, to offer users an extremely comprehensive and easy method of selecting and highlighting different features in a PCB file. Once the basics of PCB Explorer are understood, users will have the ability to perform a wide variety of tasks that far surpass what is possible through standard CAMCAD dialogs.

PCB Explorer is offered free of charge to all CAMCAD users who work with intelligent PCB CAD layout files. Click here to go to the download page.

PCB Explorer communicates back and forth with CAMCAD through the use of API calls, and illustrates how external applications can command CAMCAD to perform actions, and have results of actions communicated back to the external application. In this sense, CAMCAD is acting like a "viewer" of the CAD data, but the user interface is the PCB Explorer utility.

In the same manner, API functionality can be used to integrate CAMCAD and RSI products with existing applications and databases in PCB manufacturing environments. For more information on CAMCAD API calls, click here.

The PCB Explorer Environment

In order for PCB Explorer to be launched, users must first have CAMCAD running and a CAD file imported - otherwise, PCB Explorer will display a warning dialog and exit. When PCB Explorer is launched, communication begins between it and CAMCAD. PCB Explorer gathers data from CAMCAD about the CAD file, including component information, attribute information, netlist information, and placement information. When it is finished, it will display a dialog saying so.

The GUI of PCB Explorer is divided into three tabs - component-based functions (Comp Tools), netlist-based functions (Net Tools), and miscellaneous functions (Misc Tools).

Data is displayed in a list at the top of the dialog in the Comp Tools tab and Net Tools tab. If the selected tab is the Comp Tools tab, the top list of data are the reference designators from the CAD file. If the selected tab is the Net Tools, the top list of data is a netlist.

The basic premise is that you can use easy to understand filters to narrow this top list of information to just the data you want, and then have this data highlighted in CAMCAD.