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NOVEMBER 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 55 which provides levels of integration that suits their design environment and product market. From simple PCB design tools created for makers to tools aimed at desktop, small, and mid-sized businesses, to fully integrated enter- prise solutions, the features and capabilities for each tool vary from market to market and from tool vendor to tool vendor. Developed predominantly for the student, hobby, hacker, and maker communities, maker PCB tools are available as freeware or very low-cost tools. They are best suited for making PCBs that are single layer or generally simplistic designs with only a few layers and are typically limited in functionality but intui- tive and easy to use. Small electronics design companies want a few more PCB design tool features and capa- bilities than maker tools provide. These tools typically support more layers, pad and shape definitions, better manual routing, some level of properties and net management, pre-made libraries, and online technical support. They typically lack features like schematic-layout integration, constraint management, and rules-driven place-and-route, yet they are suit- able for creating small products. Mid-sized businesses usually need the horsepower to design complex PCBs without the infrastructure demands and challenges associated with an enterprise tool. These are typically self-contained, integrated, full PCB design flow tools that support hardware engi- neers and small workgroups. With support for FPGA design, enhanced RF, rigid-flex, and high-speed design, MCAD collaboration, part and model libraries, and more, these tools generally have or make available access to the advanced features and capabilities required to design today's modern electronic products. Enterprise tools not only provide access to all PCB design capabilities but also support the level of integration required to address all the complexities of working with big design teams, even those spread throughout the world. The enterprise design flow helps large companies more efficiently leverage design team resources and manage intellectual prop- erty on a global basis by supporting things like IP management, supply chain integration, and design team coordination across multiple divi- sions and sites. 4. Compare the Differences Between PCB Design Tool Features Ensuring that your electronic product can be designed in any PCB design tool flow may very well require taking the time to evaluate and benchmark competitive tools. The aim of benchmarking is not to determine mastery of the tool but rather to identify the product's strengths and weaknesses and use that infor- mation to ensure you are making the correct product selection. There are unique and specific ways that dif- ferent PCB tools approach design. Same-named Figure 2: Differentiation between two mid-sized PCB design tools.