New generation PCB design software on general sale

Protel DXP is now available for purchase from Altium.

Protel DXP is now available for purchase from Altium.

Protel DXP brings a strong holistic approach and true project-level integration to the PCB design desktop, as well as a host of generational improvements, new features and technologies.

Protel DXP is the first single application to address the entire board-design process.

Based on Altium's proprietary Design Explorer (DXP) technology integration platform, Protel DXP has been engineered as a single board-design application that provides seamless integration between its different design capabilities and allows designers unprecedented freedom to move unimpeded throughout the board design process.

"Altium has long held the belief that integration is one of the key elements in effective design, and recently this view has gained increasing recognition in the industry and among designers", says Nick Martin, Joint CEO and Founder, Altium.

"Most Desktop PCB design software has been moving towards trying to more closely integrate independent point tools, but Protel DXP goes beyond this by providing one single, integrated tool with a full range of board-design capabilities.

This approach is different because it puts all design capabilities into a single design environment - not compartmentalised within individual applications.

This has allowed us to deliver significant benefits to engineers and designers, such as project-level bidirectional design synchronisation and the elimination of data translation issues between tools".

With Protel DXP, engineers and designers have access to the full range of PCB design capabilities within a single and consistent design environment.

This provides increased ease-of-use and enables designers to focus on the natural design flows without worrying about transitions between design tools.

With Protel DXP engineers and designers can organise their design processes the way that works best for them - without the artificial constraints imposed by their design tools.

For example, Protel DXP includes integrated signal integrity analysis that can be run from the schematic prior to board layout, as well as on the finished board.

The ability to identify signal integrity issues early means less late rework and therefore significant time savings.

New and enhanced features that Protel DXP brings engineers and designers include native multimonitor support, support for multichannel design, the creation of multiple board variants, and enhanced error checking and synchronisation.

Protel DXP's powerful design capabilities integrate schematic entry, schematic-based FPGA design, Spice 3f5/XSpice mixed-signal circuit simulation, and pre- and post-layout signal integrity analysis, as well as rules-driven board layout and editing that incorporates next-generation Situs topological autorouting and complete CAM output capabilities.

Protel DXP supports a project-level approach to design and provides support for popular third-party document version control systems, project-level design error checking and verification, bidirectional design document synchronisation, and extensive project navigation features.

These enhanced features are coupled to a fully customisable and intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) that provides consistency across all editors and makes Protel DXP an easy-to-use, highly efficient and productive design environment.

Protel DXP is the first of a number of significant product releases from Altium scheduled for 2002/03.

With this next generation of the highly successful Protel product line, Altium continues to break down barriers to innovation and technological advancement by providing every engineer, designer and developer with easy access to the best possible design tools.

While Protel DXP features a host of generational improvements, new technologies and a level of integration not seen before in desktop PCB design software, pricing for Protel DXP will remain in line with the previous Protel 99 SE product.

Protel DXP new licenses are priced at US $7995 and upgrades start at US $1995.

Protel DXP is the most affordable professional board design system available - there are no hidden "high-cost" extras or additional tools to buy.

There is no up-front fee for support as Protel DXP also comes with 12 months free membership to Altium Total Support (valued at US $1495).

Existing Protel customers who are members of Altium Total Support (ATS) will be shipped the new version free of charge as part of their ATS membership.

ATS members can expect to receive their new Protel DXP product by the end of August.

For more product information, or to download a 30-day, fully functional trial version, visit the Protel website.

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