Powering innovation: How Xpedition add-ons transform PCB design with HyperLynx signal integrity analysis

For many industries, time-to-market defines product success. As a result, engineering teams must continually push the boundaries of innovation while optimizing workflows. For PCB designers, this means leveraging cutting-edge tools that bring precision, flexibility, and speed to the design process. Enter Xpedition with its advanced signal integrity add-ons powered by HyperLynx. 

Xpedition offers flexible, token-based add-ons for seamless integration of pre-layout and post-layout simulation advanced capabilities. These add-ons not only reduce design iterations, they also let teams push performance with confidence in first-pass quality. Let’s explore how these add-ons are simplifying workflows, lowering costs, and driving smarter PCB design decisions proactively. 

This is especially valuable for small and growing teams that need capabilities typically reserved for large enterprises, but without overhead and complexity.

Revolutionizing PCB design with Xpedition tokens

Are your current tool investments delivering maximum efficiency, or is your team struggling with wasted licenses and unused add-ons? The flexible Xpedition add-on token system changes how engineering teams approach licensing for advanced design capabilities. 

Imagine a shared library of tools akin to a makerspace, where designers can borrow and return specialized tools as needed without disrupting their workflow or incurring unnecessary costs. This token-based system maximizes your resources by allowing your team to: 

• Effortlessly enable features like signal integrity analysis or rigid-flex design on demand. 
• Scale capabilities as design needs evolve, without requiring disruptive software transitions. 
• Share token resources across a team, reducing overhead and increasing access to unique tools. 

Watch the Token system in action:

With the Xpedition shared token pool, you only borrow tools for as long as you need, for example, activating the Signal Integrity add-ons, powered by HyperLynx – after which tokens are automatically returned to the pool. This flexibility ensures your licensing investment always works hard to support innovation and efficiency. 

Understanding signal integrity add-ons, powered by HyperLynx

What is Signal Integrity (SI)?

Signal integrity is a measure of a signal’s electrical performance as it travels through a PCB. Common SI issues such as reflections (ringing), noise, and jitter can disrupt functionality, leading to costly redesigns if unresolved. By addressing SI concerns early, teams minimize risk and improve design accuracy. 

With HyperLynx add-ons for pre-/post-layout simulation, Xpedition Standard brings SI analysis into the PCB workflow, enabling PCB designers to catch critical issues at every stage of development. 

By verifying SI earlier, before fab, you can reduce respins and protect schedules, especially as interfaces get faster and stackups get denser. 

HyperLynx pre-layout simulation: design with confidence

Before routing traces or making final design decisions, pre-layout simulation powered by HyperLynx ensures your project starts on the right foot. By running simulations early in the design process, you can identify potential signal integrity issues and eliminate them before they snowball into larger problems. 

Key features: 

• Accurate setup with model libraries: Assign model libraries and IBIS models to align results with your design specifications. 
• Easy-to-use stack-up editor: Review and adjust parameters (e.g., dielectric properties) to meet impedance targets for single or differential pairs. 
• Interactive design guidance: Use tools like the Terminator Wizard to adjust trace lengths and terminator values for optimal design performance. 
• Field visualization and sweeps: Dynamically simulate and evaluate trace coupling, impedance, and other factors in the design. 

Pre-layout simulation empowers teams to make proactive design decisions, minimizing downstream risks by ensuring great design from the start. 

See Pre-Layout in action:

HyperLynx post-layout simulation: validate performance before prototyping

Once your PCB layout is complete, post-layout simulation helps you verify how signals will behave in the real world. Avoid costly prototyping errors by confirming that your design meets all signal integrity requirements. 

Key Features: 

• Seamless integration: Launch HyperLynx directly from Xpedition layout to begin detailed signal analysis. 
• Virtual oscilloscope: Visualize how signals behave across the board, checking for issues like ringing or timing delays. 
• Comprehensive analysis tools: Run batch simulations for crosstalk, signal quality, and electromagnetic compliance (EMC). 
• Detailed reporting: Generate insightful HTML reports with color-coded pass/fail columns and error breakdowns for quick problem identification. 

Using post-layout simulations allows engineers to safeguard signal performance and uncover hidden flaws well before hardware builds, resulting in faster prototyping cycles, reduced development costs, and proactive risk mitigation. 

See Post-Layout in action:

A complete package for PCB designers

Combined, the HyperLynx pre-/post-layout add-ons make signal integrity analysis more accessible and efficient for every designer. By catching potential issues early and validating designs before production, these tools help teams move faster, reduce costs, and deliver higher-quality products. 

Even designers unfamiliar with advanced signal analysis are supported with streamlined workflows, intuitive tools, and built-in libraries that accelerate productivity. When paired with Xpedition add-on tokens, these powerful add-ons can scale as your team’s requirements evolve, offering flexibility and cost savings every step of the way. 

Why choose Xpedition for Signal Integrity?

Efficient licensing, seamless integration, and powerful simulation capabilities make Xpedition Standard the go-to solution for innovative PCB design for small teams. Whether you’re managing a growing design team in a small and medium-sized business or working as part of a global enterprise, the hyper-connected capabilities of Xpedition scale to meet your needs. 

Key benefits at a glance: 

• Optimize SI with HyperLynx add-ons to reduce design risks. 

• Prevent over-investment with scalable, on-demand tokens. 

• Save time while boosting productivity across your design workflow. 

• Empower your team with intuitive tools that maximize efficiency. 

Unlock smarter workflows today

Future-proof your PCB design process with Siemens Xpedition Standard and its HyperLynx Signal Integrity add-ons. From pre-layout to post-layout, these powerful tools give your team the confidence to innovate without compromise. 

Don’t let inefficiency or signal issues disrupt your progress. Unlock smarter workflows, better designs, and industry-leading functionality with Xpedition!