Allegro Autorouting

Cadence Allegro needs no plugin. You use PCB Auto Router through file exchange: export a DSN from Allegro PCB Editor, route it, export an SES file, and import it back into Allegro.

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flowchart LR
    A("Allegro PCB Editor") -- "export .dsn" --> P("PcbAutoRouter app<br/>GPU-accelerated autorouting")
    P -- "export .ses" --> A

Main program not installed yet? Follow Installation & Configuration first.

Step 1: Export a DSN from Allegro

  1. Open your .brd file in Allegro PCB Editor. Make sure all components are placed and the routing constraints (trace width, clearance, vias) are set.
  2. Click File > Export > Router.
  3. In the dialog, choose where to save and export the .dsn file.

Step 2: Autoroute in PcbAutoRouter

  1. Open PcbAutoRouter, click File → Open DSN... (Ctrl+O), and select the .dsn file you just exported.
  2. Press F5 to start autorouting.
  3. When routing finishes, check for unrouted nets. You can adjust them by hand or reroute individual nets.

Step 3: Export the SES File

Click File → Export SES... (Ctrl+S) and save it as a .ses file.

Step 4: Import the Routing Back into Allegro

  1. Go back to Allegro PCB Editor and open the original .brd file.
  2. Click File > Import > Router, select the .ses file you exported in the previous step, and import it.
  3. After the import, review the DRC results.

FAQ

No traces after importing into Allegro?

  • Make sure you imported the .ses file created by Export SES.
  • Make sure you imported into the same .brd file you exported the DSN from, and that components and nets have not changed since the export.

The software won't open, or shows "Vulkan initialization failed"?

Check your GPU and driver against the System Requirements.