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Schematic capture software with a built-in SPICE simulation package can help you stay productive while you work through some of the basic simulations needed to evaluate electrical behavior. SPICE simulations are important for evaluating system-level electrical behavior, but they are also useful for circuit optimization as part of the design process. PCB simulations begin in the schematic capture phase of a design project, where SPICE simulations are used as part of circuit design.
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Some aspects of a design are simply too expensive to test for some designers. Why use PCB design simulation tools instead of testing everything? It is often the case that some electrical characteristics are difficult to test without building specialized test boards and fixtures, or without using some kind of circuit tester program. Instead of testing every aspect of a design, electrical circuit design simulation software can be used to calculate electrical behavior in your PCB before production. Designs will generally go through electrical testing during fabrication and assembly, but there are some specialized areas of mechanical and electrical behavior that are difficult to quantify during a test once the board is assembled. Every PCB needs to go through some level of evaluation before it can be placed into high volume production.
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