Importing Schematics and PCB layout from Orcad 9.22

[parikshitvarade]

Hello Guys,

I am trying to import old design from Orcad 9.22.
I am able to import the files without any problem but some component pads are getting scattered around the board.
Also I am not able to select components properly. clicking on any component on board results in abnormal kind of selection.
Also width of some tracks seems to be changes automatically and Schematic component and PCB footprint are not linked at all (maybe only through there designator but still unmanageable)
maybe I do not have library for all the components is that the only problem or there could be something else?

Please guide me what can be done in this situation. Thank you.


Parikshit

[mairomaster]

You don't need a library for the components for the import process - you can create one after you've imported the design.

Importing layout from Orcad normally might require a lot of tidy up. In your case it could be even a bigger issue, since you are importing from an old version which might not have been that compatible with Altium.

To do a proper tidy up you will need to have a deep understanding of how the Altium layout works. I can't really give you short tips, it is a massive topic - there are many places where the import would not work ideally, and many potential things you can miss if you don't pay a close attention.

If you select a component and end up with an enormous selection rectangle as with you example, that normally means the footprint contains some big primitives on some layer/layers. Enable all the layers from the View Configuration (press L) and then go through each single layer in a single layer mode (shift + S) to see which are the problematic layers. After that you can export all the footprints to a PCB library and tidy them up in the library.

[robertferanec]

As mairomaster suggested, after you import the layout, create PCB library. Then you can go through all the components and correct footprints.

[parikshitvarade]

mairomaster & robertferanec how to create PCB library after I import the importing the layout. do you mean create footprint individually for each component manually?

[robertferanec]

Go to PCB: Then Design -> Make PCB Library

[mairomaster]

Design - Make PCB Library

EDIT: 1 min too late :P

[robertferanec]

That's funny

[parikshitvarade]

​mairomaster robertferanec Thank you for pointing me into right direction but can you tell me how to link these PCB libraries to schematic component. is there any automated way or do I need to add footprint to each individual schematic component 1 by 1.

Please tell me if you know because it is very important company project

[robertferanec]

If you import schematic, maybe the symbols will keep information about footprint ... but I am not 100% sure about that. Or not?

[parikshitvarade]

Thank you robertferanec. I will try.