Crocodile Clips
Simple Simulation Software
real PCB and Crocodile Technology 410 launched at the IEE
19 October 2004
On 19th October at the Institute of Electronic Engineers in London, educational software publishers Crocodile Clips will celebrate the launch of the fully featured PCB design package for schools, real-PCB, and a new version of the acclaimed Crocodile Technology.
Crocodile Technology is a comprehensive systems and control simulator which lets students develop and test designs using electronics, mechanisms, microcontrollers and contexts. This term, a new version - version 410 - has been launched, including new components, presentation tools and interactive user-definable environments in which your systems simulate.
Crocodile Technology has, in the past, linked to a program called PCB Wizard to output PCB layouts. However the publishers of this program decided not to continue this link for new versions as they sell an electronics simulator with some of the same functionality of Crocodile Technology. As a result, Crocodile Clips has worked with industrial PCB software designers WestDev to produce real-PCB.
Real-PCB can be used as a standalone PCB designer. Alternatively, schools can import circuits designed in Crocodile Technology v410 or later. By following a simple conversion process, users can produce a PCB layout from their electronic circuit. The 'autorouting' and 'autoplacing' facilities help students create the optimum layout before checking for any errors in their design with the 'quality check'. Pupils can also calculate the costs of their designs using the 'bill of materials' feature.
The combination of Crocodile Technology and real-PCB allows students to work through the entire design process from the initial brief to PCB output.