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22 The PCB Design Magazine • May 2016 Figure 8: As ink resistor technology continues to become more prevalent in PCB designs, Intercept an- swers the need in its Pantheon layout application with its brand new, up to date Ink Resistor Generator. sign phase. But sometimes the added productiv- ity of this movement can be questionable, since STEP model support and setup is not always as automatic as it is said to be. Since the MCAD de- partment will still require its own analysis and approval, and still uses its own native systems, it remains to be seen how the marriage of PCB to MCAD will play out. As for the approach EDA software vendors are taking to these topics and so many others that encompass our world of automation, the most successful is through the tabulation of in- formation gleaned directly from the users. At Intercept, we keep close tabs on the pulse of information, from social channels all the way down to support channels. Areas of frustration are important to listen to, but there is magic in the resounding silence received when an en- hancement is a success among users. EDA ven- dors must have open eyes and ears at all times. PCBDESIGN Speedstack HDI and BluePrint PCB images were used with permission of both companies, respec- tively. Abby Monaco, CID, is with Intercept Technology Inc. and has 15 years of experience in EDA. This article was written in collaboration with Downstream Technologies and Polar Instru- ments Inc. THE STATE OF THE ELECTRONIC DESIGN AUTOMATION NATION