FEDEVEL
Platform forum

JohnsonMiller , 01-05-2022, 01:33 AM

Suppose that your design uses an MCU, while it is also possible to use another package of the same MCU (or even an MCU from another manufacturer). Due to the current chip shortage, this may also make more sense! Your design will need two schematic pages, one for package 1 and another for package 2, BUT on PCB only one will be mounted. We need to implement a design variant and generate BOM and design data accordingly.
Of course, we can put both MCUs on the same page, but since it will need a big page size like A2, not comfortable!
I was wondering can we make a schematic page as DNP? Selecting a variant, one schematic page will be selected among the available two pages.

WhoKnewKnows , 01-05-2022, 05:16 PM

Hi, I don't know for certain, but I suspect the solution for this lies in strategic use of variants and hierarchical schematics and or sub circuits

If the design isn't extremely demanding with high frequency signals, you may be able to get away with branching traces and or use of jumpers to steer signals to one footprint or the other.

Depending on the two MCU footprints you could create a hybrid footprint that lets you select on package or the other. Perhaps you could use sub circuits and you could use the variants manager to make one sub circuit "not fitted" and that would make all the components in that sub circuit not fitted.

qdrives , 01-05-2022, 07:55 PM

Just checked: fitted / not fitted is not an option for sheet symbols ("...hierarchical schematics and or sub circuits")

JohnsonMiller , 01-06-2022, 11:55 AM

Thank you for your replies, I would like to add that PCB is not the concern, footprints are created and PCB is already routed. But the schematic looks ugly, I was wondering if we can have a solution.

robertferanec , 01-09-2022, 11:23 PM

- I have not seen anything like this