News & Updates
If you compile a list of skew sources, you'll see that fiber weave-induced skew is only one entry on a long list of skew sources. We'll look at this list of possible skew sources below, and we'll see how they affect the operation of your PCB. From the list below, we'll see that some of these issues with skew are not simply solved by paying attention to the fiber weave construction in a PCB substrate.
We love answering questions from our readers and YouTube viewers, and one of the recent questions we received relates to EMI from switching elements in a switching regulator is "Should a cutout be placed below the inductor in a switching regulator circuit?". Despite the variations in inductors and their magnetic behavior, there are some general principles that can be used to judge the effects of placing ground near inductors in switching regulator circuits. We’ll look at some of these principles in this article
We are happy to announce that the Altium Designer 22.6 update is now available. Altium Designer 22.6 continues to focus on improving the user experience, as well as performance and stability of the software, based on feedback from our users. Check out the key new features in the What's New section on the left side of this window!
Find 9 mistakes in a PCB design and get added into the lucky draw to win a prize from Altium!
This Semi-Additive Process is an additional tool in the PCB fabricators' toolbox that enables them to provide feature sizes for trace width and spacing that are 25 microns, (1 mil) and below depending on the fabricators' imaging equipment. This provides much more flexibility to breakout out tight BGA areas and the ability to shrink overall circuit size and/ or reduce the number of circuit layers in the design. As the PCB design community embraces the benefits of this new printed circuit board fabrication technique, there are of course many questions to be answered.
It’s no secret that component shortages have become more frequent this year. In fact, countries around the world are losing billions in revenue due to supply issues. Having the right components on hand is more crucial than ever as availability, obsolescence, counterfeit products and environmental non-compliance risks continue to grow. Fortunately, many shortages can be avoided by introducing proactive supply chain practices.
Do length-tuning structures create an impedance discontinuity? The answer is an unequivocal “yes”, but it might not matter in your design depending on several factors. Applying a length-tuning structure is equivalent to changing the distance between the traces while meandering. Therefore, you will have a change in the odd-mode impedance of a single trace. The question then becomes: does this deviation in trace impedance in a length tuning structure matter?
The continued miniaturization of both packaging and component size in next-generation electronics is becoming harder and harder to work around and presents a significant challenge for both PCB designers and PCB fabricators. To effectively navigate the constraints of the traditional subtractive-etch PCB fabrication processes, PCB designs require advanced PCB fabrication capabilities while pushing the limits of finer feature size, higher layer counts, multiple levels of stacked micro vias and increased lamination cycles.
Take a look at the inside of some integrated circuit packages, and you’ll find a number of wires bonded to the semiconductor die and the pads at the edge of the component's package. As a signal traverses makes its way along an interconnect and into a destination circuit, signals need to travel across these bond wires and pads before they are interpreted as a logic state. As you look around the edge of an IC, these bond wires can have different lengths, and they incur different levels of delay and contribute to total jitter.
Agile hardware development isn’t just about working faster, it’s about working together in real time. This article explores how shared environments for ECAD, MCAD, sourcing, and requirements management eliminate handoff delays and improve decision-making across teams.
Verification becomes much easier when requirements and system performance data stay connected automatically. This article explains how reusable parameters and V&V rules help teams detect violations earlier and validate designs with greater confidence.
This article explores how modern engineering teams manage complex projects involving multiple ECAD, MCAD, and manufacturing file formats across distributed workflows. It highlights the importance of design authority, disciplined revision control, and bidirectional collaboration to ensure accurate integration between PCBs and mechanical systems.
Complex multiboard designs demand more than just connecting boards together. They require every interface to work flawlessly under real-world conditions. Discover how better pin assignments, return paths, and mechanical planning can dramatically improve reliability and reduce rework.
Engineering and sourcing teams work best when BOM decisions happen with live market data in view. This article explains how integrated cost and availability insights help teams collaborate earlier and avoid redesigns driven by supply chain issues.
Poor ECAD-MCAD coordination often leads to enclosure conflicts, connector misalignment, and costly redesigns. This article shows how integrated collaboration helps teams catch manufacturability issues earlier and keep projects moving smoothly.
Ultra HDI is changing the rules of PCB design and registration tolerance is now part of the design conversation from day one. Discover how smarter spacing, stackup planning, and collaboration with fabricators can dramatically improve manufacturability and reliability.
Because ECAD formats are typically incompatible, teams often struggle with versioning, conversions, and fragmented review processes. This article breaks down how multi-CAD viewers provide a unified, read-only environment that supports structured design reviews, comments, and task assignment across disciplines.
Sharing PCB designs doesn’t have to be complicated. Check out the best online ECAD viewers that let anyone view and collaborate on designs right from a browser.
Rigid-flex PCBs help modern devices get smaller, lighter, and more compact by eliminating connectors and fitting into tight 3D spaces. This article explains how to design them properly to avoid common reliability issues.
This webinar walks through the complete post-release workflow, from generating a managed BOM to sourcing components and assembling the first prototype. It demonstrates how integrated tools streamline data enrichment, supplier selection, and guided assembly to reduce delays and errors.
BOM management is no longer just a checklist. It’s becoming a real-time engine for smarter decisions! Discover how AI, automation, and connected systems are transforming BOMs into powerful tools for navigating supply chain uncertainty.
Working across different ECAD tools can make design reviews messy and inefficient. This article shows how a multi-CAD viewer simplifies collaboration by letting teams view, comment, and manage designs in one place.
This article examines how fragmented ECAD-MCAD workflows create costly misalignments, late-stage conflicts, and inefficiencies in multiboard system design. It shows how unified, collaborative platforms enable real-time synchronization, digital twins, and cross-domain visibility to eliminate rework and streamline development.
Choosing the right PCB tool can define your entire design workflow. Discover how Altium Designer empowers professional product development, while Flux.ai keeps things simple for fast experimentation.
Rigid-flex stackups are more complex than they seem and getting them wrong early can lead to costly failures later. This article shows how smart decisions around materials, transitions, and layer structure help ensure a reliable design.