“How To Start OrCAD 9.2 Lite Edition (Capture/PSpice)

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
School for Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
The Department of Electronic, Computer, and Software Systems (ECS)
2008-09-16
“How To Start OrCAD 9.2 Lite Edition (Capture/PSpice)
on Stationary LAB-Computers in Kista Campus”.
An example shows Step by Step how to create a Logic Design Project and run Logic Simulation.
DSTM5
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COMMAND2 =
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H
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7400
7408
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U1B
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7432
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U1B
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U1
A
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E
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G
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7408
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740
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Software: PC operating system Windows XP (Professional) Required: User account on the KTH.SE domain
Simulation: Design system OrCAD ver 9.2 Lite Edition with schematic editor Capture and PSpice circuit simulator
1) START WINDOWS EXPLORER
NOW a subfolder of your home directory H:\ called H:\ORCAD must be created. The name H:\ORCAD of this
subfolder must be unique ! You have to solve in the first place any renaming problems if there exist already a folder
with this name.
2) With conditions (above) accomplished Create a New Folder called H:\ORCAD in your home directory H:\
3) Start Windows Internet Explorer and enter on Your keyboard the course web page address:
http://www.isk.kth.se/kursinfo/6b2911/pspice.zip
On this course web page with information on laborations You will find a file named pspice.zip.
4) Copy the file pspice.zip to H:\ORCAD
5) Double-click on the WinZip-file pspice.zip.
6) Click on Extract in the WinZip-window
7) Choose Extract to H:\ORCAD
8) Select (default) ALL files/folders in archieve and Use folder names
9) Click on the Extract-button.
Note 1: A folder named H:\ORCAD\pspice have been created with subfolders: Backup, Common and Lib.
The folder Lib contains libraries (.olb-files) for simulation purposes.
Note 2: The folder H:\ORCAD\pspice is to be used by You as Your Workspace for PSpice simulations. It can be
good to create a folder H:\ORCAD\pspice\examples and in this folder Locate all your folders for design projects.
10) Close the WinZip window (pspice.zip)
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11) NOW START ORCAD (the program OrCAD 9.2 Lite assumed to be installed on the laboratory computer)
Choose from the program menu: Start>All Programs>OrCad Family Release 9.2 Lite Edition
12) Mark Capture Lite Edition and click on the left mouse button. This will start OrCad Capture - Lite Edition.
13) Choose to mark: File>New>Project...
14) Click on the Marked text and You will see that a “New Project” window pops up.
15) Fill in a Project Name
16) Select use of Analog or Mixed A/D
17) Choose a Location always as a sub-folder of your (Workspace) H:\ORCAD\pspice.
If You have created a folder H:\ORCAD\pspice\examples choose it to Locate your new folder for the design project.
You use the Browser... and create a new folder for your project, if you have not done this yet.
18) Back in the “New Project” window Click OK.
19) Create PSpice Project from a blank project. Click OK
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20) Two windows will pop up. One shows the Project Files and The Hierarchy of the Analog or Mixed A/D project
and the Second shows The Schematic (PAGE1).
NOW begin to draw your schematic.
Point to the name PSpice of the icon list if the icon list is grey colored.
Point to the empty schematic window to get the menu with Place command and the submenu
If you point in the File Hierarchy window you get main menu You started your project with again.
21) Select Place from the Main meny and you find commands useful for drawing your schematic !
22) Select Place>Part... and Click on the mouse button. A Place Part-window pops up.
23) The Place-Part-window contains three main text areas: Part:, Part List: and Libraries:
24) The Libraries text area shows the names of symbol Libraries from which components (symbols) can be chosen
to build the schematics.
25) If You need to Add some new symbol library Select the “Place Part Window”-button “Add Library...” and
Browse ... to any place (folder) where you have the library with .olb-files (“Orcad LiBrary files”) with component
symbols which You want to use to build your circuit.
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Note: If you want to add your own component models with symbols these symbol libraries (.olb-files) and their
component model description files (.lib-files) should be placed (in their folders) on Your home directory in the
folder H:\ORCAD\pspice\Lib. This is because you must have write-privileges in order for the program to be able to
create .IND-files (index files).
26) At the start of a Project Your Design Cache (See Libraries text area) is empty. After you have Added a Library
(for example EVAL) and selected a component for example an Inverter 7404 (from library EVAL) You will find that
the Design Cache contains the inverter (7404). The components are also found in Design Cache text area (top row)
shown on Main meny (of OrCAD Capture).
27) Create Your schematic diagram by selecting parts in the “Place Part”-window one by one.
Push End Mode (on the right hand mouse button) each time you are finished to place a given type of part. Connect the
parts together by command “Place Wire”. Likewise end each “wire drawing” by the command End Wire.
Note: You can use the icon list on the right hand side of the Main Window of Capture to select parts, draw wires,
name wires, select GND, select VCC, etc. ! Point in schematic window to find the icon list if the list is not shown.
28) Create a Netlist file and look at the resulting wiring in the Netlist Output file
29) Add Signal Sources for example place a STIM1 generator from the SOURCE library.
Label i.e. given a name for example IN, OUT, A, B, etc.to the wires for signals you will want to plot after the
simulation is done. It will be more easy for you to find the signals if you label wires !
30) Double-click on the source-component symbol STIM1 and fill in the sequence of signal changes (time, value).
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Note: You may need to Edit properties (in this case of DSTIM1) to Display Source Commands and define the signals
if these parameters are not shown on the schematic window. Use the Property Editor.
Important Note: Check that You Filter by: Orcad-PSpice
When you Apply the edited properties of DSTIM1 you may get a message asking You if you want to save the file
prefprop.txt with the defined Stimuli Commands on another place than the C:\-partiton (to which the program tries
to write, but do not have permission to write, answer YES and choose to save “the file prefprop.txt mentioned in this
message” in your Working directory H:\ORCAD\pspice\
Note: The suggested name of the folder to store the file may have the (same) name pspice , but can be located on your
C-directory! If you try to write there you will have the same message again! Therefore in such a case Browse to your
Working directory H:\ORCAD\pspice\ and save the file prefprop.txt there !
31) Create a New Simulation Profile for example named SIM_tran , where you could with “tran” mean Transient
Analysis, the type a logic simulation is considered to be.
In the specification of the SIM_tran Simulation Profile write a value to the parameter “Run to time: “ for example
1000ns if your input pulse sequence only last to 600ns Click OK !
32) Create again a Netlist from PSpice menu, now with the signal Sources defined. Check it in Netlist Output file!
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33) From the PSpice menu choose Run Simulation
34) When a plot window does not appear after simulation is finished… You may have some fault(s) in the
schematic... Some known errors are due to :
a) Wrong Library path. Check the library paths (refer to the text in the first 10 steps of this Guide).
b) Netlist error. Move some components or wires to see that they are connected. Redraw some wires....and try again to
move components or wires to see if they move “together”.
Note 3: In some application programs (usually originating from a DOS system) operations on System Registry, today
normally classified as not allowed for Data Security Reasons, are still used. Sometimes it is difficult to change the
application program to get rid of the problem and to suppress an error message.
In our case You will face this problem (but it can be solved directly by You !).
Even though everything is alright You will, when you start a simulation, receive an Error message:
“Failed to update the system registry. Please try using REGEDIT”.
To be able to continue you must Delete the box with this message. Sometimes you have to seek for the “Message
Box” and will find the message hidden behind some other window!
Click OK in the message window - to get rid of the Error Message Window!
35) Then You have to ..... Run Simulation of PSpice again !
The icon list may be “grey colored” but (then) push PSpice (first) to see the menu and then choose Run simulation !
If the simulation program finishes without Error messages You should now normally see an icon (on the bottom row
of the Orcad Capture Lite Edition Window). This icon is used to start the Probe program to present the data of the
simulation in a graphical way for example signal timing diagrams, frequency response (for analoge circuits) etc.
(If You Save the icon You need not repeat the procedure with the Failure Error!)
36) Click on the icon to start the Probe program !
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37) The plot window will show up and You can begin to enter signals you want to display in the plot window.
Give Command: Trace>Add Trace…
Note: If you have Labeled the wires you will find signals more easily when you select to plot them !
You can choose to show Analog or Digital data , from Voltages, Currents, Power, defined by Alias Names etc
You can change plot x- or y-axis scales, add plot windows etc. Read The Online Manuals for OrCAD PSpice
38) Document the simulation results (Read note 4 below)
Note 4: From the start of work with a design problem, You can document results into one or several MS Word file(s).
To copy a monitored screen graphics window push the Microsoft key on the keyboard, hold this key down while You
push the “prt sc” button (print screen) which you normally find on the keyboard top row on the right hand side. Then
paste the page.... into an already open Word.doc-file. Minimize the .doc file and continue with new presentations of
results from simulations etc.
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39) You can now if You want to ... first give a command Archieve Project (to save with a reduced number of files
(less data)) then Close Project ( and Save Your Files with for example Select YES ALL)
40) Finally Exit (Capture).
41) End of Step-by-Step Guide
“How To Start Orcad Family Release 9.2 Lite Edition” on KTH/ICT/ECS Stationary Laboratory Computers
42) … = ( 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 ) 2 = ( 2 A )16 = ……………… End
READ The Online Manuals and Quick Reference Cards (pdf-files on the CD You can buy) for more information
on Capture (Orcad Capture User´s Guide) and PSpice (Orcad PSpice User´s Guide)
…at the keyboard …O.Thessén (file: SharpStart_ORCAD_080918_end.doc)
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