Zuken published two blogs just around the DAC time frame. It is a time when I and most other EDA editors are very busy with what is going on at the conference and do not have much time left to cover those vendors that are not at the conference. Now that I am back at the office I found the time to look at what was going on while I was at the conference in San Francisco.

One of the blogs by Zuken is authored by Steve Dobson from Quadra Solutions. The title: "Success comes from giving PCB designers what they need" may seem obvious, but unfortunately there are instances when such advice is not followed by vendors.
The author starts by saying that "when Quadra Solutions was recently named European CADSTAR Distributor of the Year for 2011-12, Zuken asked me why I thought we’d achieved this success."

The rest of the blog, centered around Zuken's CADSTAR product makes for a very interesting reading, not just because of the details about the product, but to glimpse the philosophy behind the product.

The second blog by Jergen Leinders asks "Is your PCB design software constraining you, rather than your designs?" The blog as the previous one is centered around CADSTAR and looks at the problems facing both electronic and mechanical design teams.

With the mounting pressure of shortened delivery schedules, mechanical and electronic design teams are required to work closely together – but there’s often no opportunity to control the information being exchanged, and ensure that the PCB will fit an enclosure during board layout.
You can read both blogs, and in fact all of Zuken's blog by clicking on the link on the right of the page.