© National Instruments Corporation 3-1 NI Ultiboard User Manual
3
Setting Up a Design
The following sections explain the basic functions you must perform to get
your board set up. These tasks should be performed before you begin
placing parts and/or traces.
Some of the described features may not be available in your edition of
Ultiboard. Refer to the NI Circuit Design Suite Release Notes for a list of
the features in your edition.

Working with Layers

The following are discussed in this section:
•Defining Copper Layers
•Accessing Layers

Defining Copper Layers

Ultiboard lets you define boards from 2 to 64 layers thick. Your initial
design decisions are important because it is difficult to change the design,
for example, from a 6-layer design with blind and buried vias to a normal
feed-through design, after the board has been completed. Your decisions
are also important in terms of manufacturing cost. A 6-layer board with
blind and buried vias will cost significantly more to manufacture than a
4-layer board with normal feed-through vias.
When setting the number of copper layers you also select the lamination
settings that will be used when the board is manufactured. This is important
as these settings are used by Ultiboard’s internal design rule engine when
placing blind and buried vias or micro vias.
There are two methods of fabricating a PC board (both methods can be used
in combination):
• The first method uses layered pairs of copper on a substrate (usually
cured fiberglass/resin) that have been etched and are then laminated
together with a partially cured fiberglass/resin substrate (prepreg).
Heat and mechanical pressure are used to activate the prepreg and bond
layered pairs with other layered pairs.