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Overview
When processing the Parts In a Design, it is very useful to be able to assign a PART_TYPE based on properties extracted for each Part. NetBom provides the user with a flexible system to control the PART TYPES and how parts are assigned to a Part Type.
The list of Part Types that can be assigned is virtually unlimited. For instance, the user can classify parts as IC, POWER_MODULE, CAPACITOR, INDUCTOR, RESISTOR, CONNECTOR, FUSE, MOSFET, BIPOLAR, TRANSFORMER, FERRITE.
Proper PART_TYPE identification is very important in the Net Tracing algorithm, Power Rail Identification, and for many of the individual Design Audit Reports. The Net Tracing Algorithm uses an important CSET called several important CSETs that can be read more about in Net Tracing - Product Documentation.
NetBom provides a configurable PART_TYPE Identification system that uses pattern recognition to determine a known Part Type for the parts extracted from the input designs. Given that rules to identify part - types can vary based on customer designs and need, this system has been expanded to allow for full customization.
The matching rules use groups of regular expressions that are executed in a controlled sequence to find the pick the PART_TYPE.
The User is presented with a flexible GUI interface which that allows them to add PART_TYPE rules. This GUI can be accessed through the Configure NetBom Settings → Configure Part Types dropdown options in NetBom. Clicking on one of the Edit buttons in the GUI that comes up will open the part type rule editor GUI.
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For customers that want assistance with creating a part-type rule sets, this service is available. |
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PART_NUMBER-
Companies that use intelligent part-numbering schemes can take advantage of PART_NUMBER pattern matches to assign part - types.
PART_NAME-
The Part Name is the usually the name of the symbol used to add the part in to a design. This is an easy rule to differentiate a POLARIZED capacitor vs from a NON-POLAR cap capacitor because they typically use different symbols.
REF_DES-
Reference Designators are a great fallback to map a part to a PART_TYPE… a REF_DES starting with U can be mapped to IC, and starting with C can be mapped to CAPACITOR, but is more difficult to assign a more specific Part Type based on the Reference Designator.
DESCRIPTION-
The Description Property if present is a valuable property to differentiate between specialized Part Types like IC, PowerModule, Oscillator, XTAL
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NetBom starts with a default set of Rules to Identify Part Types. The user can override these rules with a JSON formatted configuration file typically named part_type_config.json.txt. This file can be edited by a user familiar with the JSON format, but it's much safer to create and edit it using the PartType Configuration Gui provided by NetBom.
Access the part type editor by clicking on the Configure NetBom Settings button in the main NetBom window, selecting Configure Part Types from the drop-down options, and clicking on one of the Edit buttons in the CSet viewer window popup.
PART_TYPE_CONFIG_FILE Location
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The Part Type Configuration GUI is started using the Customize Rules/Setting Button on Configure NetBom Settings in the Main Guiwindow, and then selecting the Configure Part Type Rules Button from the Menu Types from the drop-down. Then, select one of the Edit buttons in the CSet editor that pops up.
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This will launch your web - browser with the Configuration GUI (and NetBom will wait for the user to either quit or send back the modified configuration Data
HTML Configuration Page
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A quick video is probably the best way to describe the operation of this interface.
Top Buttons
Apply to Old/New Design Pulldown
Send Configuration To NetBom
Load From File
Save To File
Quit and Close
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The part type editor has several sections that perform different functions.
The top red section contains the options for the user to finish editing, load existing settings, save existing settings to a file, or quit entirely without saving. The far left drop-down allows the user to choose which design (new/old/both) the current part type config will apply to (default is both).
The green section is the configuration priority. Each part type config group (part number, refdes, etc) has a priority, and this drop-down indicates the matching execution priority for each group. In the image above, NetBom will first try to determine the part type based on part number, and if it is unable to find a part type based on part number it will continue to the part name.
The blue section is a matching configuration. The far left box is the name of the part type - this is configurable by the user and can be anything but comes with a pre-filled section of basic part types. The middle box contains the RegEx matching rules for that particular part type. And the far right box is a button that will delete the row.
The final purple section allows the user to add additional part type rows to the bottom of the list.
Property Mapping Configuration Tables
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The Order (or Priority) of the Property used to identify the part Type can be controlled by the Priority Pulldown… If the priority of a Mapping Property is changed, that Property’s Mapping Table will be moved accordingly so that the layout of the page shows the Order order of the sequence of properties that NetBom will be using to assign a Part Type.
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For each part in the design, NetBom iterates through these tables in the configured sequence. It builds a list of every pattern match in the mapping table. The list of match patterns is sorted by the length of (so that the most specific matches will be checked first) and the first match that matches the current part property is used to assign the Part Type for that part. If no match is found for the Property, then NetBom chooses the next property in the priority list , and checks all the pattern map matches set for it until an actual match is found. If no matches are found the final PART_TYPE for that part is left blank.
Related CSETS
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When defining different Part Types, it is important to remember that the NetBom Net Tracing and Power Rail Identification Functions rely on Part Types.
NET_TRACE_COMPONENT_STOP
This CSET is very important as it is used to identify starting and stopping points for the Net Traces. If you add a specialized Part Type like Memory, NPU, or Power Module for high pin count parts, you should add them to this CSET.
POLAR_CAP_PART_TYPES
This CSET is used to map the Names you used to identify Polarized Capacitors from your netlists to NetBom's view of Polarized Capacitors.
POWER_RAIL_CAP_PART_TYPES
This CSET is used to identify what PART_TYPES should be considered a CAPACITOR when NetBom is identifying Power Rails.
Helpful Hints
When configuring your Part Type Mapping Rules, It helps to run the Convert Operation (or Diff Netlists) on the design with the default Mapping Rules. The PartList Report can be used to see what Part Types need to be adjusted.
Demo Video
A quick video is probably the best way to describe the operation of this interface.