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Registered Member #2893
Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242
I found a cracked copy of OrCAD (yes I know bad boy, but I don't exactly have $10,000 to spend on software), and it seems to be to electronics what Autodesk Inventor is to mechanics. The PSPICE program looks really nice, but I have a problem; how do I use it? The helpfile is of no help at all, and I can't find any guides on the interwebs.
Also in case any of you were wondering why my taskbar is black, PM me and I'll show you how to change it to a whole bunch of different colors.
Edit: Well I figured out how to make schematics (kindof - not really). I can place parts in orcad capture from the libraries and connect them with wires. That's it. No idea how to change values, no idea how to simulate things, no idea how to do anything really. :/ Maybe I need a simpler program.
Edit 2: I give up, This program is ridiculously complicated.
Registered Member #2478
Joined: Mon Nov 23 2009, 03:24AM
Location: Texas A&M University
Posts: 47
I too am wrestling with OrCAD at the moment. I'm using version 16.3. If you are as well, the procedure is as follows:
Open Capture
Create a new project of type mixed A/D
Build your circuit with parts from libraries in the PSpice folder (don't forget the ground--I think it has to be one of the ground symbols with a zero next to it.)
Hit new simulation profile in the PSpice menu
Give the profile a name and choose the settings (transient, AC sweep, step size, etc.)
Hit the play button on the PSpice toolbar. This opens the PSpice A/D application and runs the simulation. It may also ask for confirmation.
To view voltages and currents, add the probes from the PSpice toolbar (in Capture) to your circuit.
In all honesty, I find OrCAD to be incredibly cumbersome for the occasional simulation to explore a new topology. It tries to turn everything into a hierarchical design with version control and makes the assumption that you want to turn everything into a PCB eventually. It does, however, have very good part libraries. For brief standalone simulation, I prefer LTspice. It's free, but only as in beer. As far as I know, there aren't any really good open source simulation applications. There's gEDA, but to my knowledge it only runs on Linux (cygwin?), and I don't know how well it works for simulation.
EDIT: I don't think you'll have much luck running it on your netbook. Most CAD programs like lots of screen real estate.
Registered Member #2893
Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242
Yeah I'm used to doing everything on inventor and photoshop on a small screen, so that's not a problem. I'll attempt to make a circuit again, but how do you change a resistor/capacitor's parameters? I've just been changing the R or C label, but I don't think that's right.
Registered Member #30
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706
I teach PSpice to the 1st year EE students. Yes it is fiddly.
There should be two schematic editors in there. "Schematics" is the one we teach, it's easier to use than Orcad Capture. If there's only Orcad Capture, you got the wrong torrent.
(The free student Version 9.1 of PSpice is easier to use than the latest festering carbuncle caused by Cadence buying Microsim, and trying to merge Orcad with PSpice.)
LTSpice is the best simulator that you can obtain legally for free. It does everything that PSpice student edition does, but the circuit size is unlimited. (And it runs on Linux under Wine.) At my last job we used LTSpice for simulation and Eagle for PCB layout.
Registered Member #19
Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 03:19PM
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 168
Make sure you use the ground named 'source' with a numerical zero next to it. I've never had much luck using the other grounds they must have some special purposes. Also when doing an ac sweep IIRC use the VAC ac supply instead of VSIN.
When you click the button to import your libraries do you see lots of different ones starting with 1_shot all the way to zetex?
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OrCAD help
