Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Parts
Parts usually correspond to physical objects—gates, chips, connectors, and so on—that come in packages. Think of these packages as physical parts and the parts you place on a schematic page as logical parts. Physical parts that comprise more than one logical part are sometimes referred to as multiple-part packages. To keep it simple, both are referred to as parts in Capture.
Logical parts in a package may have different pin assignments, graphics, and user properties. If all the logical parts in a package are identical except for the pin names and numbers, the package is homogeneous. If the logical parts in a package have different graphics, numbers of pins, or properties, the package is heterogeneous. For example, a hex inverter is homogeneous--the six inverters are identical, except for their pin numbers. A relay--that has a normally opened switch, a normally closed switch, and a coil--is heterogeneous: the three physical parts differ in graphics, number of pins, and properties.
Split Parts
A split part is a multi-sectioned package. You may need to section a part for different reasons:
- Your design may include parts that have thousands of pins. Such large-sized parts may not fit in a single schematic page. To handle such parts, you can split them into multiple sections based on your specification and can place different sections in different schematic pages. This will ease designing.
- You want to partition a large part based on its functionality and use sections individually. For example, you may like to create different sections for pins with the same voltage rating.