Zuken Creates An Unmatched Electronic Design Automation Product With HOOPS Exchange

The Challenge

Founded in 1976, Japanese multinational corporation Zuken is a pioneer in electronic design automation (EDA). The company’s best-in-class software helps electronics manufacturers and customers in other sectors handle key aspects of electronic and electrical engineering, including printed circuit board (PCB), wire harness, and integrated circuit (IC) package design. Kensuke Yoshijima, a Section Manager, EL2, EL Development Dept, at Zuken, explained, “Even the consumer electronics products that we use every day – from microwaves, to televisions and personal computers – commonly require high-precision wiring layouts at the micron level to permit electrical signals at speeds in gigahertz.” At the same time, manufacturers are continually aiming to make their products smaller, faster, and more powerful – often while trying to make them more energy efficient, which adds additional complexity to the design process. Balancing all these requirements is a difficult task, particularly given that electronic systems need to be designed in an interdisciplinary process that encompasses mechanical engineering and other disciplines. “As electrical and mechanical designs increasingly converge, there is little room for error – all aspects of the overall system need to work together perfectly,” said Kensuke Yoshijima. “This convergence has made 3D design a critical need for electronics design. We realized that creating the best possible EDA product and a superior user experience for our customers meant having robust support for the 3D formats associated with mechanical design as well as 2D file formats associated with electrical design.”

A Single Environment for 2D and 3D

When Zuken developed CR-8000 Design Force, a comprehensive tool for PCB design, it turned to HOOPS Exchange in order to effectively combine traditional 2D design with native 3D design. HOOPS Exchange is the fastest and most accurate CAD data translation toolkit. Delivering access to over 30 CAD file formats through a single interface, HOOPS Exchange allows development teams to easily build robust CAD data translation into an application. By leveraging HOOPS Exchange, Design Force is able to provide a multi-object design environment that provides seamless 2D and 3D viewing for customers designing multiple PCBs and chip-packages. Teams can layout their designs in the context of a complete system or product, in a single design environment, without having to switch back and forth between different 2D and 3D applications. “We build a product model in which electrical information and mechanical information are mixed, and use it as the basis for various design verification functions,” said Kensuke Yoshijima. “A design engineer, for example, can easily verify the wiring status and the configuration of surfaces and connections that have been arranged in multiple layers – something that can be difficult to fully perceive when viewed in 2D only.” Zuken feels this seamless approach that combines 2D and 3D gives it a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace. “We’ve created the kind of smooth, cooperative electro-mechanical design environment that has never been possible before,” said Kensuke Yoshijima. “We wouldn’t be able to do that without offering high compatibility with the major 3D data formats on the market, and fast and accurate exchange of data. Having that capability gives us 3D design capabilities that we feel are unmatched by any EDA tool in the industry.” Based on its success with HOOPS Exchange, Zuken anticipates a fruitful long-term partnership with Tech Soft 3D. “Tech Soft 3D accurately grasps our product needs and is very quick to provide a solution to these. Tech Soft 3D also provide a timely support for the latest versions of the 2D and 3D CAD formats that HOOPS Exchange handles,” said Kensuke Yoshijima. “As we continue to evolve Design Force, we plan to extend our 3D modeling capabilities by supporting complex assembly structures, and expand our ability to work with lightweight PRC files.” Kensuke Yoshijima concluded, “Designing electronics has never been more complex, and its importance will only continue to grow in the future, encompassing more products and more industries. Tech Soft 3D will play an important role in allowing us to meet that growing need and successfully address the challenges posed by complex design issues.”

Industry: Electronics manufacturing

Challenge: Electronics design becoming increasingly complex for manufacturers - Convergence of electrical and mechanical design requires bringing together 2D and 3D data - Need to provide support for a multitude of different CAD formats

Solution: HOOPS Exchange is the leading SDK for fast, accurate CAD data translation, allowing developers to easily build robust data exchange capabilities into their products

Results: Deliver access to over 30 of the most widely used CAD file formats through a single interface - Bring together 2D electrical and 3D mechanical data in a single design environment, saving engineers from having to switch back and forth between different design tools - Allow teams to layout their designs in the context of a complete system or product that has little room for error, avoiding potential problems - Ensure software offering continues to keep pace with customer needs and stays at the leading edge of the electronic design automation (EDA) market