MENTOR GRAPHICS AND VALOR STREAMLINE PCB DESIGN.(Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) and Valor Computerized Systems have formed a partnership to develop the first bi-directional interface between PCB design tools and manufacturing analysis software. This interface will provide design engineers with insight into manufacturing problems early in the design cycle, making the overall process more efficient and cost effective.

The integration is enabled through Valor's ODB++ interface, which not only supports output of manufacturing data from the PCB tool, but also allows Valor's design for manufacturing (DFM) software to post manufacturing rules and analysis results. The feedback capability provides the means for designers to clearly see and understand the analysis results and make the necessary adjustments directly in the PCB tool so the output of manufacturing data is correct-by-construction. This is a significant improvement over current CAD/DFM data exchange processes in which data is manipulated downstream from the design tool to meet manufacturing requirements, resulting in a mismatch between design and manufacturing data.

"Effective design data management has become essential to increasing productivity throughout the entire design flow," said Henry Potts, vice president and general manager, Systems Design Division, Mentor Graphics. "Providing designers with direct feedback of DFM analysis results eliminates the inevitable problems that occur when design and manufacturing data are modified separately."

Historically, PCB design software outputs multiple data file formats for plotting, drilling, assembly and other manufacturing processes. The ODB++ interface allows all manufacturing outputs to be combined into one format that is used to drive the entire manufacturing process. Mentor Graphics will provide ODB++ output data from the Board Station and Expedition PCB layout tools that will be read by Valor's Enterprise 3000 software for DFM analysis. After the analysis, the ODB++ interface will be used to post back rules, warnings and errors into the Mentor PCB tools for evaluation by the designer. The error tracking system that is used in the AutoActive technology for Mentor PCB tools will read the analysis data, then display the potential DFM problems to the designer using special colors and display modes.

"By creating a bi-directional ODB++ interface, we can help customers avoid back-end design problems much earlier in the design cycle," said Schmil Dolberg, CEO of Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. "When analyzing the entire design and manufacturing process, eliminating iterations in this manner is the best way to reduce costs."

Mentor Graphics will begin delivering the Expedition PCB and Board Station ODB++ output software over the web in Q4 2000. The ODB++ feedback capability is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2001.

Valor Computerized Systems [NEUER MARKT: VCR] is a provider of business productivity tools throughout the design-through- manufacturing electronics supply chain. The company's powerful software tools, based on ODB++, the Valor-funded data format which has quickly become the format of choice for high-level data exchange, ensure the rapid transfer of optimized data from design through manufacturing. All Valor products are sold and supported by a worldwide network that includes global subsidiary offices, VARs and OEM channels. More information about the company can be found at http://www.valor.com.

Mentor Graphics Corporation is a provider of electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products and consulting services for the world's largest electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $500 million and employs approximately 2,600 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777, Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314.

Mentor Graphics Corporation can be found on the World Wide Web at www.mentor.com.

For more information, call 720/494-1043.