About Fractured Components

Working with Views > ECAD Viewables > About Fractured Components

A fractured component is a package of two or more similar functions. The package is a single physical object on a board, but in the corresponding Schematic view, each function is represented as a separate symbol instance on one or more sheets. These are some examples of objects that could be a fractured component in a design:

• Multigate package

• Resistor network

The package has a reference designator in the PCB Layout view. For example, U1. In the Schematic view, each function symbol can have the same reference designator, or each symbol can have a unique reference designator that is derived from the primary reference designator. For example, U1–A, U1–B, and so on. The representation of the fractured component in the

Substructure pane depends on the reference designators:

• Same reference designator—The package has one top-level instance. You can expand it to view all the symbol instances.

• Unique reference designators—Each reference designator has an instance.

The sheet number of the instance appears in curly brackets ({}). In a bill of materials (BOM), a fractured component appears once, and if the reference designator names have suffixes, they are omitted. You can cross-select a fractured component.