MultiSIM BLUE – Getting Started Introduction The MultiSIM BLUE circuit design platform allows a wide variety of users interested in circuits to create, explore and build functional electronic designs using components from Mouser Electronics. Using the MultiSIM BLUE platform ,you can wire up a circuit schematic, explore basic circuit behavior using inline virtual instruments combined with built-in basic SPICE models1, create a printed circuit board layout and purchase the required electronic components. A key feature in the MultiSIM BLUE platform is the Mouser Database, which is updated by Mouser Electronics, providing the user with a broad variety of up-to-date components from leading component manufacturers. MultiSIM BLUE Software There are several software modules that make up the MultiSIM BLUE platform. The MultiSIM BLUE application is the primary portal for updating the Mouser parts database, launching the schematic environment and also transferring completed bill of material (BOM) information to the Mouser Electronics website for ordering. The MultiSIM BLUE icon is typically found on your desktop or you can optionally open the application via navigating to your Programs folder.

Once the initial user settings have been properly configured, the main MultiSIM BLUE window can be opened to display available updates and other important messages in the lower left portion of the screen. If you’d like to apply the updates to the Mouser Database click the ‘Download Parts’ button to apply all available updates. To access the schematic environment for building a circuit, click the ‘Launch MultiSIM’ button on the right side of the window to start building a schematic in the MultiSIM BLUE– Mouser Electronics Edition. To manage your components in an existing project with a parts list (also called a Bill of Materials or BOM), you can navigate to My Projects using the selection dropdown and click ‘View Project BOM’ to open up the BOM Viewer window. Several sample circuits and BOMs are prepopulated in MultiSIM BLUE allowing you to explore the application without first having to create your own design. Several links are available, directing you to the MultiSIM BLUE support site, allowing you to locate other sample circuits that you may be interested in trying within the Mouser design environment.

The BOM Viewer allows you to update the parts within your BOM with the latest availability and pricing and part status information and allows you to directly transfer the BOM to an online Mouser cart where you can directly place an order for the components in your project. Within the BOM Viewer you view availability, life cycle, pricing and other important information related to your components in your active projects. You can also multiply the parts in your project to see price breaks if were to you order your project at higher volumes. Follow the brief tutorial below to begin using MultiSIM BLUE. MultiSIM BLUE Step-by-step Guide

1. Within the main MultiSIM BLUE environment, you can press the arrow icon ( ) to refresh the

message display and press the ‘Download Parts’ button to ensure the

Mouser Database has the latest components. Note that the latest

components from Mouser will be locally stored in MultiSIM so that you can have access to

them at any time, giving you the freedom to design whether you are connected online or not.

2. A schematic diagram is the primary way you

‘draw’ the electrical circuit design. In

MultiSIM BLUE, start a new schematic design

by clicking the ‘Launch MultiSIM’ button to

open up the schematic design environment.

Once in the MultiSIM BLUE – Mouser

Electronics Edition, you can create a circuit

design for your project or open up existing

designs.

3. Once in the MultiSIM schematic environment, draw (also known as ‘capture’) your design by

placing desired components, placing required power and ground symbols and then wire those

component symbols together to complete your schematic.

a. Locating the Component Browser. From the MultiSIM design window, right-click in an

empty portion of your schematic and select ‘Place component…’ to open up the

component browser window (Title of window is ‘Select a Component’).

b. Browsing. From within the

component browser, use

the ‘Database:’ dropdown

control, to navigate to

either the Master Database

or the Mouser Database to

view components.

Components are organized

by Group and then further

separated into Families.

The Master Database will contain special schematic symbols such as power and ground

and other selected virtual components for use in a simulation.

The Mouser Database contains specific parts grouped within the given Group and

Family structure, allowing you to find components orderable from Mouser

Components. The Mouser Database contains an up-to-date list of available parts from

Mouser Electronics. These parts may also contain links to basic, virtual or generic

component models1.

c. To place a component, select the name or value from the center

list box and double-click. This action will attach the component

to the mouser cursor for placement in the schematic window.

d. Searching for a Component: If you

prefer to search the part database for a

component by name, description or

other available information, choose the

‘Search…’ button to bring up a search

window allowing you to enter in search

parameters. (Note that a search within

the component browser will search the

local Mouser Database only).

e. Wiring. To wire a component simply

mouse over to a pin and the cursor icon will change to a

wiring tool. Anchor a wire to a pin with a left click and then

continue wiring (a left-click in an empty space adds a bend to the wire). To attach a

wire to another pin, complete the connection by hovering over a pin and left-click.

You can also double-click in a space to allow a floating wire in the schematic.

Tip: You can create a virtual wire connection between two points in your schematic.

Simply double-click on a wire, give the net a specified name and in another wire

location, give the wire the same name and a virtual connection will be formed. A label

will be placed on both wires indicating the

connection.

4. Optional: If models are connected to components in your circuit, you can run a basic

simulation on your design by connecting virtual instruments and pressing the run arrow ( ).

Please review the ‘About SPICE’ topic in the Help menu of MultiSIM BLUE for additional details

on circuit simulation.

Tip: Parts with both a model and footprint will be shown in blue, parts with a model only are

shown in black (simulation only) and parts with footprints but no models will show in green

(layout only).

5. Layout. When you wire your schematic, MultiSIM is creating a netlist of the connections that

allow you to generate a PCB design in the layout tool. To export your design to layout from

the MultiSIM BLUE - Mouser Edition menu, select ‘Transfer to Ultiboard’ from to format the

netlist and send the design to the Ultiboard tool. Refer to the ‘About PCB Layout’ topic in the

Help menu of MultiSIM BLUE for additional details.

Note: Any parts that have been placed as

model only components (no footprint), will

not be transferred. Note that virtual models

in the Master Database do not typically have

footprint data.

6. Generate your BOM: Once you have a

completed schematic and want to explore

component pricing and place an order from

Mouser, start by generating a BOM of your

design from the MultiSIM BLUE- Mouser Electronics Edition. Within the schematic

environment, select ‘Reports -> Bill of Materials’ from the menu and then choose the disk icon

( ) to save as a text based BOM file.

7. Within the MultiSIM BLUE tool simply browse to open the generated BOM. This will open the

BOM Viewer and the parts will update with the latest price and availability information. You

can also transfer the design to an online Mouser cart for ordering

convenience.

8. Verify your schematic and layout design by checking the expected behavior versus the

datasheet information and making sure the footprint data in the layout is correct for your

application.

1. For convenience, basic functional SPICE models are included in the Mouser Database with some parts in MultiSIM BLUE. These models are ideal or model simplified DC or transient level behavior. As such, they do not accurately reflect all specifications and performance metrics that may be exhibited by the device. As with any SPICE or CAD environment, please consult the datasheet before choosing the device for your design or alternatively locate additional information from the manufacturer. In MultiSIM BLUE you can create a new component with a simulation model and footprint that reflects the component detail you would like to explore in detail. Many highly accurate SPICE models from leading manufacturers are available in the Multisim professional tools.