Orcad 16.6 Tutorial

Author: [Your Name] Course: [e.g., Electronic Design Automation] Date: [Current Date]

OrCAD 16.6 remains one of the most widely used versions of Cadence’s industry-standard PCB design suite. Despite newer versions being available, 16.6 is revered for its stability, moderate system requirements, and the vast library of compatible models. Whether you are an electrical engineering student, a hobbyist transitioning to professional tools, or a professional revisiting legacy projects, this OrCAD 16.6 tutorial will walk you through the entire workflow—from schematic capture to generating Gerber files.

By default, OrCAD 16.6 generates a .bom text file which looks messy. To make it a professional report: orcad 16.6 tutorial

In Excel, select Column A.

Go to the Data tab > Text to Columns.

Choose Delimited.

Check Tab as the delimiter.

Click Finish. You now have a clean spreadsheet.

Pro Tip: If you want a cleaner file automatically, check the CSV output box in the OrCAD Bill of Materials dialog (if available in your specific patch version), or add .csv to the end of your output filename in the dialog and use commas , instead of \t in the property string.

Even with a perfect tutorial, errors occur. Here’s how to fix the top three. Author: [Your Name] Course: [e

Error 1: "Footprint not found"

Error 2: "Pin mismatch" (During netlist) In Excel, select Column A

Error 3: Database lock (.dbk files)

Click Import. You should see "Netlist import successful" in the command window.

For a stable 5V supply, a ground plane is essential.

The ground pins will now automatically connect to the copper pour via thermal spokes.