how to minimize vias in PowerPCB/Blazeroute?

[JIF]

Hello friends,
I am using PowerPCB 5.0&BlazeRoute and i want to minimize number of vias in my board,how can i do that in PowerPCB 5.0&BlazeRoute??

 

[Beepster]

The best way has always been the same way.
Route by hand ( no auto-router
It is slow but best.

 

[JIF]

Hi Beepster,
yes, you are right, but i found in the help of the PowerPCB/BlazeRouter keyword"Intensity"and the following statments are written in the software help:

Intensity is a value assigned to objects such as vias to weigh decisions made during the autorouting process in BlazeRouter. The higher the intensity, the less the item is used. For example, set a high intensity for via usage to minimize the amount of vias added to the design.
So,have an idea where can i find this feature instead of manual Routing?

 

[costox]

For purely digital boards, one may use the autorouter, but if analogue is involved, autorouter will create a mess.

If you cannot find the intensity parameter, you can try to manually laying it out using Pads V4.

 

[Beepster]

Jif, No I don't. This may not be an accessible feature at this point. The Spectra-router has a feature to set limits on total vias and limits on vias/net. I have done many complex boards and in the last 2-years I have not turned on a autorouter. The last board was 8-layers, a 876ball-BGA. I achieved 1/3 the vias of a good autorouter. It takes practice and a good strategy.

 

[JIF]

Oh,good point Beepster,actually i did some complex routing befor but i didn't even use manual routing bcz it consume time,but i prefer manual routing in special cases that routeres dosn't satisfy.Anyway i will try to do it manually,also could you please give me some hints help me to improve my skills in manual routing?
i will be appreciate that Beepster for you.
Thanks friend
JIF

 

[Beepster]

Jif, Look for pattens of busses. If general purpose i/o then do swapps to prevent crossovers. Don't simply do (layer 2 = veritcal / layer 3 horzonal) but large S-patterns are very usefull. Place components so these paterns can be used. (It takes a lot of time to see these paterns) I will just look at the board for hours sometimes, selecting busses/ groups to find the flow of the design.

 

[amjad]

Blaze router tools-->options, in stratergy tab,u can define the intensity value, the lower the value set, the faster the routing.Higher settings result in slower routing, fewer vias.