The automatic printed wire routing system of BACKIS

摘要

As the printed wiring density on circuit packs and equipment multilayer boards increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for the unaided human to route the printed wire paths needed to interconnect the terminals constituting an electrical node (i.e., a net). Thus, a large amount of effort has been devoted to providing computer aids to assist the designer with the routing problem. The ultimate aim is to provide an automatic routing system which will achieve complete net connectivity meeting all hardware and electrical constraints. While the system presented here does not completely reach these goals, it does represent one of a series of steps in attempting to achieve it. It does this by providing fast, cost effective routers embodied in a system design which permits the user wide latitude in controlling the routing strategy to be used. This paper discusses the concept of a routing strategy, what strategies may be used, and some comments on what has been found to be an effective strategy.