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Explaining Electronic Design Automation (EDA)

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As was told above, there are two forms or stages of electronics design. The first is the use of design tools to create the components that are used to build electronic products. These components can be printed circuit boards (PCBs), integrated circuits, or other electronic components. The people who create the designs for this use what is known as CAD (computer-aided design). CAD is used for many design considerations. Even architects use CAD to design houses and other types of buildings.

EDA can cover many areas but mainly work in the areas of design and mask generation. EDA focuses in on the following:

• Architecture: EDA designs the layout and plans or schematics as they are called in the electronics world. Without schematics, electronic components or products would not be possible.
• Floor layout: Regarding electronics equipment like computer devices, EDA helps prepare the map showing the location for the logic gates, power connectors, I/O pads and connections, and so on.
• Intellectual property layout: With EDA, any elements that require pre-programming are set up at to location on the board.
• Simulation: A good EDA program will also run a simulation program to visualize how the circuit(s) would work once built.

Overall, electronics design from the EDA or CAD standpoint is used primarily to create the blueprints that will layout the way the components are created and put together. If the blueprint and schematic are done correctly, the finished product will work. After the CAD user finishes creating the blueprints or schematics for the components to be made, he or she sends the plans to the manager for approval, who then sends the plans to the production team. The production team uses programmers and equipment technicians to set up the machines to produce the boards according to the layout on the blueprints and schematics.

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