This procedure explains how to design the physical structure of a power distribution board. This is the first step in the PDB design and you have to perform this procedure before you open a PDB layout drawing and associate it with the current PDB.
You design the PDB structure on the Power Distribution Board Structure dialog. Because PDB structure takes the form of a layout grid which is made up of grid units, you need to set the required unit height and width.
Then, you define the number of vertical sections that the PDB will contain. You set the section names and determine the section width (in grid units). The number of sections and their width will determine the width of the PDB. Also, you can define the PDB as double-sided. This allows you to set each section on the front or back of the PDB.
To determine the height of the PDB, you have to define the number of grid rows and set the row names. Note that the height of each row is determined by the setting of the grid unit height. The software allows you to determine the row naming type and exclude any unwanted characters from the row names.
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In the Electrical Index, expand the folder hierarchy Electrical Equipment > Power Distribution Equipment.
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Right-click the Power Distribution Board folder and select Design PDB Structure.
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On the Power Distribution Board Structure dialog, enter the values in the following group boxes:
General definitions
These settings allow you to define the height and width of the grid units that make up the PDB layout drawing. The width of the vertical sections and the height of the grid rows are measured in these units. Also, you can define the current PDB as double- sided.
Section definitions
These settings allow you to define the vertical sections of the current PDB.
Grid rows
These settings allow you to define the vertical structure of the current PDB. That is, you define the number of rows that will make up the height of the current PDB.
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For more details about the values needed for PDB structures, see Power Distribution Board Structure Dialog.
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If you need to change the physical structure of a PDB that is already associated with a PDB layout, the software does not allow you to make any changes to those parts of the structure that are assigned to cells. For example, if you want to delete a section or a row where you have already placed a cell, you have to open the pertinent PDB layout drawing and remove the cell. Only then can you reopen the Power Distribution Board Structure dialog and delete that section or row.