News & Updates
Blog
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Support for Rigid-Flex in Altium Designer
Rigid-flex in Altium Designer starts with designing a manufacturable PCB layer stack complete with via transitions and any calculated impedance requirements. Flex sections also need to be placed in the layer stack before moving into the PCB layout. Once inside the PCB editor, bending lines can be clearly defined in the PCB layout, and these can be visualized in Altium Designer's 3D PCB design tools. Keep reading to see how Altium Designer supports your flex and rigid-flex designs.
Blog
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Communicating PCB Layer Stackup Needs to Manufacturers
In the business of PCB design, communicating needs to manufacturers and vendors is a top priority. The context of our requests is sometimes lost either by not providing the correct information, not listing enough information, or not giving any information. Although the experienced PCB designer can take steps to specify everything they want to see in their PCB stackup, eventaully the manufacturer will handle that decision in an effort to balance available materials with processing capabilities and yield.
On-Demand Webinar
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Intelligent Supply Chain Webinar
Many factors can affect your supply chain. Currently, supply disruptions are being felt due to the effect of the Covid-19 Pandemic. In this webinar, learn how Concord Pro on Altium 365 can mitigate disruptions in your supply chain and help you stay on schedule and budget for your designs.
Blog
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Risk Vs. Reward
During the recent IPC APEX expo, there was a lot of discussion about SAP, or semi-additive PCB processes. As with any new technology adoption there were people that are excited to jump right in and start designing with much finer feature sizes and work through the inevitable changes to the traditional thought process. Others are in a "let’s wait and see" mode and of course there are a few skeptics there as well, so keep reading to learn more.
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Parasitic Extraction with an Electromagnetic Solver in PCB Routing
Parasitic extraction: the integrated circuit design community must grapple with this task on a daily basis, especially once gate features are reduced below ~350 nm and chips run at high switching speeds. The PCB community also has to deal with this idea in order to better design power delivery networks, interconnects with precise impedance, and properly quantify crosstalk and coupling mechanisms.
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Ebook: PDN Simulation and Analysis Guide
Most designers don’t realize they need to worry about power integrity until they have a power integrity problem. Other designers might build boards that can’t handle the demands of modern digital and high frequency components, and they may not realize the problems that lurk in their power delivery network (PDN). Although the basic concepts involved in designing for power integrity are well-known, myths about power integrity abound, and designers need tools to help them evaluate and qualify power integrity in a PDN.
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Ferrite Beads and Transfer Impedance in a PDN Simulation
The use of ferrites in a PDN is one design recommendation that is fraught with unclear guidance and over-generalized recommendations. If you see an application note or a reference design that recommends placing a ferrite in a PDN, should you follow this in your specific design, or should you ignore this and focus on adding capacitance?
On-Demand Webinar
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Preparing your files for Fabrication Release
When you’re done creating a new board, it’s time to send your design data to the manufacturer. Before releasing your designs, you’ll want to make sure that everything is ready and works as intended. In this informative webinar, we’ll review some of the must-have checks before sending your output data for fabrication.
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Overview of PCB Design Output Files
Before your board can be put into production and prepared for assembly, you have to generate a set of files that assist your manufacturer. These are your PCB design output files, also known as manufacturing files, fabrication data, assembly files, and a host of other names. Before you send your design file off to a manufacturer in an email, make sure to get a list of their required fabrication and assembly files first. If you’re a new designer, take some time to read over the basic PCB manufacturing file extensions below.
Blog
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Transformer Theory Made Simple
Transformers can provide very effective signal isolation and are used to manipulate AC voltage and current levels. They can achieve all this with a greater than 95% power efficiency, which is why we commonly see them used in bench power supplies, audio gear, computers, kitchen appliances, and wall-warts. However, transformer theory can be unintuitive and in this article we answer on questions about them
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Using Altium 365 Over Your Vanilla Version Control System
There are all sorts of version control systems (VCS) out there that people have been using with their PCB design software. As discussed in Why Use a Version Control System, we looked at different options ranging for local hard drive storage to sophisticated online revisioning systems. In this article we will be reviewing the differences between a standard VCS and Altium 365.
Blog
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Introducing Octopart Discover: From Part Search to Solutions Discovery
Octopart has announced Octopart Discover, a new platform that shifts electronic component search toward system-level solution discovery. The tool connects design intent with relevant options, enabling engineers to evaluate tradeoffs and identify the best-fit solutions more efficiently.
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How to Choose the Right Components for Your BOM
A strong BOM can make the difference between smooth production and costly delays. Discover a practical approach to choosing components that stay available, meet compliance requirements, and keep your project on schedule.
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From Scattered Requirements to Confident Product Development
See how the Requirements Portal transforms disconnected requirements into a single, live source of truth that engineers can trust at every stage of a project! Real customer stories in the article prove it’s already helping teams cut down on rework and bring products to market faster.
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What is the Best PCB Design Tool For Students?
Students need PCB software that’s intuitive, affordable, and useful for building real skills. This article compares the strengths and weaknesses of leading design tools, from hobbyist platforms to industry-standard software.
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What Is Collaborative Engineering?
Collaborative engineering is all about breaking down silos so electrical, mechanical, and sourcing teams can work as one with shared data and real-time updates. This article shows how that approach helps you spot issues early, reduce rework, and get products out the door with fewer surprises.
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Bend Reliability: How Trace Geometry and Materials Impact Flex Lifespan
Focused on durability under repeated mechanical stress, this piece details how routing strategy, copper thickness, adhesive systems, and bend radius selection determine flex lifespan. Engineers will find actionable recommendations for reducing strain concentration and improving long-term performance in high-cycle applications.
Blog
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PCB Design Process: The EDA Design Approach
Dive into how a modern EDA workflow transforms PCB design by linking electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing requirements from idea to final release. With constraint‑driven integration, you can cut down on respins and bring better boards to market faster.
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Getting Started for Mechanical Engineers
Explore our collection of MCAD Collaboration walkthroughs, where you’ll discover how to synchronize mechanical constraints and keepouts, maintain traceability with advanced history and revision control, and streamline electromechanical connectivity through harness synchronization. These topics and many more are covered in this article.
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Are Your ECAD Tools Holding Back Engineers’ Productivity?
The article highlights that productivity issues often stem from tool limitations rather than engineer effort, especially as project complexity grows. ECAD tools that offer clear version control, cross-discipline integration, and workflow awareness are key to sustaining efficiency.
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How Integrated PCB Design Cuts Development Time for Complex Electronics
Fewer tool handoffs, fewer errors, and smoother collaboration that’s the power of integrated PCB design. Learn how unifying your design environment can cut development time and help you deliver complex electronics faster.
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Registration Challenges in UHDI: Why Fabrication Tolerances Matter in Your Layout
As UHDI structures shrink, achieving accurate layer-to-layer registration becomes less forgiving than ever. Learn why fabrication tolerances matter so much in ultra-fine geometries and how to design with registration limits in mind from the start.
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How Engineering Project Management Tools Are Changing Engineering Teams’ Productivity
Engineering project management tools play a critical role in managing timelines, resources, and cross-disciplinary coordination. This article breaks down the most impactful systems for improving execution and team performance.
Blog
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7 Ways to Catch Rules & Constraints Early – Checklist
Discover seven actionable ways to spot and fix rules and constraint issues before they derail your PCB project. Using Altium Designer Agile, these tips help you build more manufacturable and reliable boards with fewer iterations.
Blog
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Do You Need an IPC-D-356 Netlist?
If your output package is Gerber-based, adding an IPC-D-356 netlist can dramatically improve how your design is reviewed and validated for production. Here’s when it matters, what it contains, and how to generate it quickly in Altium.
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How Agile BOM Management Helps You Lock in Pricing Before Market Shifts
When engineering and procurement work from different BOM versions, delays and cost surprises follow. Learn how agile BOM management brings teams onto one connected BOM so they can respond fast, manage risk, and lock pricing early.
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Flexible Circuits: Enhancing Performance with Shielding, Heat Dissipation, and Stiffeners
A flex circuit can look perfect on paper and still fail in the real world due to EMI, hot spots, or mechanical strain. This article breaks down how shielding, thermal planning, and stiffeners help deliver designs that stay reliable over time.
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