CIE Components in Electronics
RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents, the global distributor for engineers, will be presenting its design tools at this year’s Embedded World exhibition. DesignSpark PCB Version 7.0, the latest release of the company’s award-winning professional software for schematic capture and PCB layout, will be showcased on RS Stand 348 in Hall 4, as well as the new version 2.0 of DesignSpark Mechanical, the company’s fully featured 3D concept modelling and design tool that is available free of charge to every engineer.
The RS stand will also have the latest Raspberry Pi Model A+, Arduino and Red Pitaya in action, along with the latest energy-efficient open-source Parallella board from Adapteva.
The distributor’s 3D printing offering will be on show, including the RS IdeaWerk, Ultimaker 2 and the MakerBot Z18.
Taking centre stage at the stand will be the upgraded version of DesignSpark Mechanical. Version 2.0 of the software includes several important new features that have been requested by the extensive DesignSpark Mechanical user base to enable an even better user experience. The tool’s new simplified user interface includes built-in help text and Quick Guide tutorials, example designs, and also makes its BOM-quote functionality even easier to find and use. In addition, the tool provides access to a new 3D catalogue allowing the rapid insertion of tens of thousands of 3D models from leading component manufacturers, as well as the integration of all the necessary RS and Allied purchasing data for fast Bill-of Materials (BOM) creation. And thirdly, a ‘quick parts’ 3D printing service is now integrated into the tool, which is available via RS and Allied in conjunction with its partner 3D Systems.
One of the other highlights at the RS stand will be DesignSpark PCB version 7.0. Due to its advanced project design and production capabilities, DesignSpark PCB has gained extraordinarily high adoption, with more than 350,000 users globally, and has become the tool of choice for sharing and collaborating on open-source hardware designs and projects. This latest edition of DesignSpark PCB builds upon the previous version of the tool, which was announced in January 2014 with simplified export functionality to DesignSpark Mechanical, Cross Probe and Custom Shortcuts features. With the Enhanced Part Number handling feature designers are now able to focus on innovation, research and development rather than spending time manually compiling purchasing information into a parts list.
Glenn Jarrett, global head of product marketing, RS, said, “This major event presents an ideal opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to design engineers by providing them with the tools they need to rapidly develop concepts and prototypes and get their products out within a short timeframe. The show is also a perfect platform to highlight our expanding portfolio as a result of our continued collaboration with leading global manufacturers.”
