Library

A central library is the primary place from which symbols, footprints, and their metadata can be created,
accessed, and edited. It may be shared across different projects and users. All schematic and layout
projects require a central library connection. We will work from within the central library to create parts
from the ground up and also import a complete part from the PartQuest website.

Creating Symbols
In this lesson, we will create a library symbol for a precision timer device (Manufacturer Part Number
NE555DR). This symbol will later be associated to a library part and a cell. There are two ways to create
symbols – manually or using a CSV spreadsheet. The symbol has 8 pins and will look like this:

1. If you have not already done so, unzip the workshop databases
(C:\SiemensEDA\PADSPro2504\SDD_HOME\standard\examples\ProductIntro\[Link])
and extract the folder to the location of your choice, ideally the C:\ drive.

2. The library needs to be opened from either Designer (the schematic tool) or Layout (the physical
layout tool). To edit symbols, it must be opened from Designer. Open Designer from the Start menu.
This is found under PADS Pro 2504 > PADS Pro Designer 2504.

3. When you first open the tool, it will prompt you for your login credentials by opening a browser
window. Enter your credentials to login and then return to PADS Pro Designer.

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4. Next, open the project and its associated library. Click on the Home Page tab, click Browse from
the Global Command Bar (the vertical bar on the left of the tool window), and navigate to
..\ProductIntro\Module1_CoreFlow\Lesson1_ProductIntro_L1.prj. Click Open.

5. The schematic project opens. At the bottom of the Global Command Bar is a square array of dots.
This is the Application Launcher icon. Click on it, and then click on Library > Library Manager to
open the Library Manager tool.

Note: The path to the Central Library can be edited from within the project Settings, in the Design
section. A relative path has already been set, so you don’t need to edit it.

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 6. A message window may appear, asking which library to open. Click on the radio button for Central
Library and click OK. If this window doesn’t pop up, then skip this step.

Note: The Central Library may be shared and edited across different projects and users. The Project
Library is specific to the schematic project and is mainly used for custom parts.

7. Library Manager opens, and you are ready to continue.

Creating a Symbol from Scratch

8. From the Global Command Bar in Library Manager, choose Edit > Content Editors > Symbol
Editor.

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 Note: The Global Search option at the bottom of the Global Command Bar allows you to search for
any command quickly. For example, search “Symbol” here to locate the Symbol Editor command
without having to figure out which menu it is buried under.

9. The Symbol Editor launches in a new window. Click the New icon on the Global Command Bar of
the Symbol Editor window. A blank sheet opens.

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10. First, create an array from the 3 pins on the right of the symbol. The Place Pin Array dialog is a helpful
method for placing multiple pins at once. From the Global Command Bar, choose Place > Place Pin
Array.

11. The Place Pin Array dialog opens. Enable the List radio button at the top and click the … icon to open a
new pin definition section.

12. In the pin definition section on the right, select the + icon to insert a pin name. Then type “DIS” and
hit Enter.

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13. Repeat Step #5 to enter the following pin names:
THRES
TRIG

14. Ensure that the pin location is set to Left and that the pin spacing is set to 2.

Note: The pin type is set to IN by default. It is optional to use more specific pin types depending on
your needs, such as if you'd like to run schematic rule checks with DRC.

15. Above the table at the bottom of the window, click the + icon. Then choose … to open the Add Pin
Properties dialog.

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16. In the dialog, enable “Set” and enter “7,6,2” to denote the desired pin numbers. Then click OK.

17. Under the Name column, set the dropdown to Pin Number.

18. Enable the Value radio button so that the pin numbers are shown on the symbol. Then click Place.

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19. The left-side pins for the symbol appear on the symbol editor sheet. Move them around the
component origin (+) to look similar to the image below. When satisfied with the placement, click to
place the pins.

20. Next, place pins individually. From the Global Command Bar, select Place > Place Pin.

21. Place "PIN1" through "PIN5" on the schematic such that they are similar to the image below. Then
edit their sides, names, and numbers manually. Click the right-mouse-button to exit the command
once all pins have been placed.

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22. Select the line representing PIN1. The pin is selected and highlighted in the upper
right Pins window.

23. From the Pins window, locate the Side column. For PIN1, change the Side to “Right”.

Note: if the Pins window is closed, you can access it again by searching for “Pins” in the Global
Search and clicking on the Symbol Pin Explorer.

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24. Repeat Step 16 for PIN2. Zoom out on the Symbol Editor using the mouse scroll wheel, or the Fit
All button at the bottom right corner of the tool. The page should look like the second image
below:

25. Area-select PIN1 and PIN2 by clicking in the empty space of the page and dragging the rectangle
over them:

26. With both pins selected, drag them to the right:

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27. Next, use the steps above to make PIN3 and PIN4 both "Top" pins, and PIN5 a "Bottom" pin. Move
these pins so that they look very similar to the image below:

28. Rename the generic pins in the Pins dialog to match the list below. Add the following Pin
Number values as well. Double-click in each field of the Pins window to edit the parameters.

Old Name New Name Pin Number

PIN1 OUT 3

PIN2 CONT 5

PIN3 ~RESET 4

PIN4 VCC 8

PIN5 GND 1

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 Note: Using the tilde ~ symbol will place a bar over the pin name, indicating an inverted or active low
signal.

29. Hold the Ctrl key and select pin numbers 1, 4, and 8 on the page. Make sure to select the numbers
rather than the pins themselves. It will look like this:

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30. In the Properties window at the bottom right, change the Rotation Value to 0 degrees. This will
make the pin numbers appear right-side-up on the sheet.

31. Finally, create the symbol outline. On the Global Command Bar, choose Wiring & Drawing > Draw >
Draw Box.

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32. Draw a box around the pins such that the pins are just outside of it. Use the Esc pin to exit the
command when you are done. It should look something like this. You can move the pins and pin
names around to your preference. Here we placed the origin point is near the bottom left:

Note: The origin is the point where the mouse picks up the symbol when moved. Therefore, place
the origin in a convenient location, like the lower left extent of a symbol, centroid, or symbol pin. To
easily rotate 2-pin passives for example, it is best to place it in the center of the symbol.

33. In the Properties section, add the Ref Designator property using the dropdown, enter the Value as
"U?", and enable the Value. Now the Ref Designator will be displayed on the symbol, with a prefix of
U, indicating that it is an IC:

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34. When you are done editing the symbol, choose Save As on the Top Menu.

35. Choose the IC partition and enter NE555_[initials].1 for the Symbol Name as shown below. Then
choose Save and close the tab for the symbol.

36. You have now finished creating the precision timer symbol. In another section, you will associate
this symbol to a part.

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Creating a Symbol from a CSV File

37. With Symbol Editor still open, click New.

38. A blank sheet opens. Use the Global Search at the bottom of the Global Command Bar, and type
"generate" into the search bar. Hit Enter to search.

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39. The search has returned Generate symbol from pins. Hover over this command and choose RMB
> Show. Now this command will be shown in the Integration command group.

40. Click on the command. A browser pops up. Choose the

file ..\ProductIntro\Module1_CoreFlow\GeneralFiles\[Link] and click Open.

41. A symbol is automatically created from the provided CSV.

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42. Add the Ref Designator Property using the Properties window. Enter "U?" As the Value, making
sure the Value is enabled.

43. Move the objects on the symbol so they look similar to this:

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44. The symbol is complete. Use Save As to save the symbol as "CY7C1049NG30-10ZXSI.1". Choose
the IC partition and click Save.

45. Close the Symbol Editor window. You have successfully created a symbol from a spreadsheet file.

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Creating Cells
In this lesson, we will create a cell for the precision timer device which you created a symbol for in
“Creating Symbols”. Cells are also referred to as “footprints”, which is the symbol representing where a part
will be placed on the physical board layout.

1. To edit cells, Library Manager must be launched from Layout. Layout may be opened either
standalone, or from Designer. Close your current Library Manager window. With Designer open,
click Application Launcher > Layout.

2. The Layout project opens. Next choose Application Launcher > Library Manager to open Library
Manager.

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3. In Library Manager, choose Edit > Cell Editor.

NOTE: The Cell Editor will not be available if Library Manager is launched from Designer. Similarly,
the Symbol Editor will not be available if Library Manager is launched from Layout.

4. The Cell Editor opens. Select the Surface_Mount Partition using the dropdown. Then select the
New Cell icon.

5. Make sure the Create new cell section is enabled, and enter the following data:
Cell name: SOIC127P600X175-8N_[initials]
Total number of pins: 8
Layers while editing cell: 2
Package Group: IC – SOIC
Mount type: Surface

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6. Before clicking Next, from the same dialog box, open the Cell Properties… window. Enter the
following data:
Height: 68.9
Units: th

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7. Click Close to exit the Cell Properties window. Then select Next in the Create Package Cell dialog.

8. After a moment, the Place Pins dialog opens alongside the graphical Cell Editor window. Click the
Select All Pins icon. All pins are then highlighted.

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9. Hold the Shift key while performing the following actions: Under Padstack Name use the dropdown
to select r206_61m216_71. This is the appropriate padstack for all pins on this footprint. You will
see all pins are set to this Padstack Name. Also set the Rotation to 90 using the same steps.

NOTE: For dropdown items in PADS Pro, you can type the first letter of the item you are looking for
(in this case, “r”) to navigate directly to that alphabetical section.

10. Open the Pattern Place tab. Enter the following data as shown in the image below:
Pattern type: SOIC
Rotation: 270
Body Length: 200
Pin-to-Pin Spacing (Y): 213
Pin-to-Pin Spacing (X): 50
Body Width: 154

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11. Click Place. The cell is added to the graphical window.

12. The cell is available to use, but you will complete a few steps to improve the look of it and also add
a silkscreen and assembly outline. Start by holding Ctrl while selecting the two Ref Des text
objects.

13. Use the Right-Mouse-Button and select Properties to open the Properties window. Then enter the
following requirements:
Text: vf_std (at the bottom of the list)
Height: 30
Aspect ratio: 0.9
Pen width: 6
Angle/Mirror: 90

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14. Close the properties window. Select and move the text items around so they look something like
this:

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15. Use Draw Create > Cell Objects > Assembly Outline. Then use F9 to use the Draw Rectangle
command on the Dynamic Bar, which is on the righthand side of the cell editor. Alternatively, you
can click the command directly on the Dynamic Bar.

16. Click and drag to create an assembly outline like this. Click to complete the drawing:

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17. RMB on the new assembly outline to access the Properties menu, and change the line width to 3:

18. Use Draw Create > Cell Objects > Silkscreen Outline. Then use F9 to use the Draw Rectangle
command on the Dynamic Bar. Draw a Rectangle similar to the one shown:

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19. Use RMB on the new silkscreen outline to access the Properties menu, and change the line width
to 6:

20. The cell is complete. Use File > Save and then close the Cell Editor.

21. Click the Refresh button on the Top Bar to refresh the library view.

22. You should now be able to find it from the Navigator window in Library Manager, under the section
Cells > Surface_Mount.

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Creating Parts
In this lesson, we will create a part and associate that part to the symbol and cell we created in the
previous two lessons. This is the final step for getting a complete part into your Central Library, which you
can use in all future projects.

1. In Library Manager, locate the Global Command Bar, and choose Edit > Content Editors > Part
Editor.

2. The Part Editor opens. Use the pulldown next to Partition to select Signal Circuits.

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3. Select the New icon to create a new part.

4. Enter the following part data:

Number: NE555DR_[initials]
Name: NE555DR_[initials]
Description: Single Precision Timer 8-SOIC
Reference des prefix: U

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5. Select the Pin Mapping… button. From this window you will be able to associate your new part to
your symbol and cell that you made previously.

6. Under Assign symbol, click the Import button.

7. In the Import dialog, use the dropdown to select the Central Library partition as IC. In the Filter
section, enter “N” to find the NE555_[initals] symbol. Select it in the Symbol name section.

8. Enter the following details into the Import Symbols dialog:

Create new gate information: [Enabled]
Number of slots in component: 1
Include pin properties: [Enabled]
Include pin number mapping: [Enabled]
Include Ground/Power pins in same gate: [Disabled]
Duplicate pins: None

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9. Click OK to save the symbol information. The symbol name is then populated on the Pin Mapping
page.

10. Next you will assign the cell for your part. Under Assign package cell, choose the Import icon.

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11. The Import Cells dialog appears. Change the Library partition to Surface_Mount using the
dropdown. You will see your Cell name available in the window, “SOIC127P600X175-8N_[initials]”.
Select this, and make sure that Import cell as: Top is selected. Then click OK.

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12. The pin information is populated into the Pin Mapping window.

13. Click OK in the Pin Mapping window. Click File > Save within the Part Editor window and then close
the window.

14. Your part has been created and associated to the proper symbol and cell within your library. Click
the Refresh button in the Top Menu to refresh the data in the Navigator pane.

15. In the Navigator pane, locate Parts > Signal Circuits. You will see you part is available in the library
and associated to the correct cell and symbol. You have successfully created a part for your PCB
library.

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Downloading Components from PartQuest
In this lesson, we will download a component from PartQuest and add it to our central library. This is an
easy way to quickly get a component (including parametric data, symbol, cell and 3D data) added to a
library without needing to create it from scratch.

1. Access the PartQuest website at [Link] . An account is needed in order to

download parts. Click the Login button at the top-right, if you aren’t already logged in.

2. Enter your Siemens credentials to complete the login process.

3. Now you are ready to download your PartQuest part. Locate the search at the top left of the window.
Enter the following manufacturing part number for a 10-kOhm resistor: ERJ3EKF1002V. Click
Search.

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 Note: At this stage, the PartQuest website may prompt you with a question about which Siemens
tool you are using. If so, select your tool and choose Done. If needed, you can change your flow by
navigating to the settings under My Profile.

4. Once the page loads, you'll see an exact part number match was found in PartQuest. Hover over
the Models icons to see that this part has a symbol, footprint, and 3D model available. Supply
Chain data is also available, as indicated under the Supply Chain column.

5. Select the empty space in the row containing the part to select the part. Then click Download at the
top right. The Partitions dialog prompts you to choose a partition. Choose the Resistors partition
and click Download.

NOTE: the Partitions dialog automatically appears the first time you download a part from a specific
PartQuest category. After that time, you can change the download partition by clicking the More
dropdown on PartQuest and clicking the partition information at the bottom right.

The partition selected here (Resistors in the example) controls the parametric database table into
which the part number and properties are loaded. This is where the part will appear within Project
Explorer in Designer. The associated library data (part, symbol, cell) will appear in the PartQuest
partition in Library Manager.
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6. The EDX zip file containing the part is downloaded. Return to the Library Manager window.

7. Choose the File command group on the Global Command Bar and locate the Import section. Click
the + icon to expand the section. Now you can see the Import EDX command. Optionally, you can
use RMB > Show on the command’s icon to keep it visible.

8. Select Import EDX. Browse to the EDX file you just downloaded from PartQuest. Enable Bulk
Mode (this simplifies the import process). Then click OK.

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9. All content is available to import. Select OK again.

10. The EDX file has been imported successfully. Click Close to close the dialog.

11. From the Library Navigator Tree, expand Parts > PartQuest. You will see the part you just imported, with
the prefix PANASONIC (the vendor name). You can expand the Associated Symbols and Associated
Cells sections to see the associated parameters. You have successfully downloaded a PartQuest part and
added it to your central library.

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