NI Multisim (formerly MultiSIM) is an electronic
schematic capture
Schematic capture or schematic entry is a step in the design cycle of electronic design automation (EDA) at which the electronic diagram, or electronic schematic of the designed electronic circuit, is created by a designer. This is done interac ...
and simulation program which is part of a
suite of circuit design programs, along with
NI Ultiboard. Multisim is one of the few circuit design programs to employ the original
Berkeley SPICE
In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...
based software simulation. Multisim was originally created by a company named
Electronics Workbench Group, which is now a division of
National Instruments
The National Instruments Corporation, doing business as NI, is an America, American multinational corporation, multinational company with international operations. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated tes ...
. Multisim includes microcontroller simulation (formerly known as MultiMCU), as well as integrated import and export features to the
printed circuit board
A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a Lamination, laminated sandwich structure of electrical conduction, conductive and Insulator (electricity), insulating layers, each with a pattern of traces, planes ...
layout software in the suite,
NI Ultiboard.
Multisim is widely used in academia and industry for circuits education, electronic schematic design and SPICE simulation.
History
Multisim was originally called Electronics Workbench and created by a company called
Interactive Image Technologies. At the time it was mainly used as an educational tool to teach
electronics technician and
electronics engineering
Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flow ...
programs in
colleges
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...
and
universities
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
. National Instruments has maintained this educational legacy, with a specific version of Multisim with features developed for teaching electronics.
In 1999, Multisim was integrated with Ultiboard after the original company merged with
Ultimate Technology
The National Instruments Corporation, doing business as NI, is an American multinational company with international operations. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment, semiconductor production, and virtu ...
, a PCB layout software company.
In 2005, Interactive Image Technologies was acquired by
National Instruments
The National Instruments Corporation, doing business as NI, is an America, American multinational corporation, multinational company with international operations. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated tes ...
Electronics Workbench Group and Multisim was renamed to NI Multisim.
Pricing
See also
*
Comparison of EDA software
This page is a comparison of electronic design automation (EDA) software which is used today to design the near totality of electronic devices. Modern electronic devices are too complex to be designed without the help of a computer. Electronic dev ...
*
List of free electronics circuit simulators
*
Proteus Design Suite
*
Qucs
*
NI Ultiboard, the PCB layout software that is integrated with Multisim.
*
OrCAD
OrCAD Systems Corporation was a software company that made OrCAD, a proprietary software tool suite used primarily for electronic design automation (EDA). The software is used mainly by electronic design engineers and electronic technicians to ...
References
External links
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National Instruments Circuit Design CommunityCircuit design blog and community to share components, models and footprints
Download Link for NI MultisimAllows a 30-day evaluation of the software
Introduction to Multisim Schematic Capture and SPICE SimulationGetting Started with NI Ultiboard
Electronic design automation software
Electronic circuit simulators
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