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Embedded thumbnail for Signal Integrity Made Simple - Recording Preview
How-To's
Signal Integrity Made Simple - Recording Preview

Catch up on our “Signal Integrity Made Simple” webinar to explore essential techniques for ensuring high-speed design integrity. Watch the recording to gain practical insights, and don’t miss our upcoming November webinar showcasing the latest Altium Designer release, featuring the powerful Signal Analyzer by Keysight and additional tools to optimize your projects.

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Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey
Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey: Part III - PCB Layout

In this third installment of our series, Piet Callemeyn demonstrates PCB layout creation from scratch for a rigid-flex project, covering key techniques like bend lines and split lines. A must-see for any PCB designer!

Embedded thumbnail for Beyond PCB Design with Altium Designer - Recording Preview
New in Altium Designer 24
Beyond PCB Design with Altium Designer - Recording Preview

We invite you to watch this webinar recording, where you'll discover how to streamline your entire PCB development workflow. Learn how to go beyond design to optimize documentation, outputs, and design specifications using Altium Designer. Check the recording here: COM September Webinar.

Blog
Optimize PCB Design with Integrated BOM and CAD Systems

Discover how integrating BOM management and CAD systems can streamline your PCB design process in this insightful article. Learn how combining these tools enables smoother collaboration, reduces errors, and improves design efficiency, helping you optimize your workflows from concept to manufacturing.

Embedded thumbnail for Advanced Wire Bonding Techniques in Altium Designer - Demo
New in Altium Designer 24
Advanced Wire Bonding Techniques in Altium Designer - Demo

Check out our brand-new demo of the Wire Bonding tool in Altium Designer! Learn step-by-step how to define die chips, create footprints, route bond wires, and set up a proper PCB layout with rules and constraints.

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New in Altium Designer 24
Use Cases with Dave Young: Harness Design

Join Dave Young in this Use Cases video as he walks you through Harness Design in Altium Designer 24. From starting a new harness project to utilizing wires and taps, you’ll discover how easy it is to replace standard schematic views with detailed mechanical drawings. Don't miss this hands-on tutorial and elevate your design expertise!

Embedded thumbnail for Make Smarter Design Decisions - Signal Analyzer Demo
How-To's
Make Smarter Design Decisions - Signal Analyzer Demo

Master the Signal Analyzer by Keysight in this demo! Learn to analyze and fix net classes for impedance, delay, and return loss to optimize your designs. Watch now and take your PCB designs to the next level.

Blog
The Essential Guide to Through-Hole Resistors

Resistors are fundamental components in electronic circuits, essential for controlling current and voltage. This article explores their basic principles, types, and key applications, helping you understand their crucial role in electronics.

Blog
Avoiding Costly Delays: Essential Tips for PCB Designers

Efficient PCB design is crucial for avoiding costly delays in product development. This article offers practical tips and best practices for PCB designers to streamline their workflows, minimize errors, and ensure timely project completion.

Embedded thumbnail for Engineering Aerial Intelligence with Quantum Systems
Altium Stories
Engineering Aerial Intelligence with Quantum Systems

Quantum Systems specializes in engineering advanced drone solutions that deliver critical aerial intelligence to various industries. Watch the new Altium Stories episode to see how Altium Designer and Altium 365 help Quantum Systems streamline their electronics engineering processes, ensuring seamless collaboration across teams.

Blog
Mastering EMI Control in PCB Design: Component Placement for EMC

In the second article of the "Mastering EMI Control in PCB Design" series Dario Fresu explores how effective component placement can reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) in printed circuit boards. He highlights strategies such as board segregation and careful management of high-speed signals and their harmonics to ensure signal integrity and minimize emissions.

Embedded thumbnail for Crover Uses Altium to Develop Subterranean Grain Swimming Robots
Altium Stories
Crover Uses Altium to Develop Subterranean Grain Swimming Robots

Discover how, through Altium's Launchpad program, Crover leveraged Altium Designer and Altium 365 to accelerate iteration and collaborate seamlessly across teams, including their mechanical engineering division. With intelligent part data readily available, they were able to make informed part choices with confidence.

Embedded thumbnail for Use Cases with Dave Young: Multiboard and Harness
New in Altium Designer 24
Use Cases with Dave Young: Multiboard and Harness

In this video, Dave Young demonstrates the use of MultiBoard and Harness in Altium Designer 24, using a custom quadcopter motor part as an example. Learn how these advanced tools can optimize your design workflow.

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Choosing the Right Microphone for Embedded Applications
Blog
Choosing the Right Microphone for Embedded Applications

If you need to capture sound waves for your electrical device to process, you'll need a microphone. However, microphones these days have become very advanced, and there are so many options to choose from. They range from the relatively simple and popular condenser type microphones to state-of-the-art sound conversion solutions incorporating internal amplifiers and other electronic processing functionality. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the options available.

 Computer planet with circuit grid
Blog
Composite Amplifiers and How They Give the Best of Both Worlds

There are many times where you need an amplifier with high gain, low noise, high slew rate, and broad bandwidth simultaneously. However, not all of these design goals are possible with all off-the-shelf components. Here are some points to consider when working with a composite amplifier design and how to evaluate your design with the right set of circuit simulation tools.

Impedance balancing power supply
Blog
Reduce Common-Mode Noise in Your Power Supply with Impedance Balancing

Simple switching regulator circuits that operate in compact spaces, like on a small PCB, can usually be deployed in noisy environments without superimposing significant noise on the output power level. As long as you lay out the board properly, you’ll probably only need a simple filter circuit to remove EMI on the inputs and outputs. As the regulator becomes larger, both physically and electrically, noise problems can become much more apparent, namely radiated EMI and conducted EMI in the PCB layout.

Part 1: Why Your PCB Design Review Process Is Obsolete and What You Can Do About It
Blog
Part 1: Why Your PCB Design Review Process Is Obsolete and What You Can Do About It

A PCB design review is a practice to review the design of a board for possible errors and issues at various stages of product development. It can range from a formal checklist with official sign-offs to a more free-form inspection of schematic drawings and PCB layouts. For this article, we will not delve into what to check during a design review process but rather look at how a review process itself usually unfolds and how to optimize it to get the most out of your time.

Star ground PCB
Blog
What is PCB Star Grounding and Why Would Anyone Use It?

If you look on the internet, you'll find some interesting grounding recommendations, and sometimes terminology gets thrown around and applied to a PCB without the proper context or understanding of real electrical behavior. DC recommendations get applied to AC, low current gets applied to high current, and vice versa... the list goes on. One of the more interesting grounding techniques you'll see as a recommendation, including on some popular engineering blogs within the industry, is the use of PCB star grounding.

Silkscreen on PCB
Blog
Your Guide to PCB Silkscreen

Every PCB has silkscreen on the surface layer, and you’ll see a range of alphanumeric codes, numbers, markings, and logos on PCB silkscreen. What exactly does it all mean, and what specifically should you include in your silkscreen layer? All designs are different, but there are some common pieces of information that will appear in any silkscreen in order to aid assembly, testing, debug, and traceability

Gibbs ringing
Blog
What Causes Gibbs Ringing in High-speed Channel Simulations?

Designing high-speed channels on complex boards requires simulations, measurements on test boards, or both to ensure the design operates as you intend. Gibbs ringing is one of these effects that can occur when calculating a channel’s response using band-limited network parameters. Just as is the case in measurements, Gibbs ringing can occur in channel simulations due to the fact that network parameters are typically band-limited.

Heated component on PCB
Blog
Efficient Heat Dissipation with SMD Heat Sinks Keeps You From Dropping PCBs

In electronics, there is the possibility that your PCB can get pretty hot due to power dissipation in certain components. There are many things to consider when dealing with heat in your board, and it starts with determining power dissipation in your design during schematic capture. If you happen to be operating within safe limits in a high power device, you might need an SMD heat sink on certain components. Ultimately, this could save your components, your product, and even the operator.

RF PCB
Blog
RF Power Supply Design and Layout Guide

One thing is certain: power supply designs can get much more complex than simply routing DC power lines to your components. RF power supply designs require special care to ensure they will function without transferring excessive noise between portions of the system, something that is made more difficult due to the high power levels involved. In addition to careful layout, circuitry needs to be designed such that the system provides highly efficient power conversion and delivery to each subsection of the system.

Prevent Overvoltage, Overcurrent and Heat logo
Blog
Methods to Protect your Circuit

Overvoltage, overcurrent, and heat are the three most likely events that can destroy our expensive silicon-based components or reduce our product’s life expectancy. The effects are often quite instant, but our product might survive several months of chronic overstress before giving up the ghost in some cases. Without adequate protection, our circuit can be vulnerable to damage, so what should we do? Or do we need to do anything?

SUBCKT sharing
Blog
SUBCKT Sharing: The Fastest Ways to Share SPICE Models Online

Today’s PCB designers and layout engineers often need to put on their simulation hat to learn more about the products they build. When you need to perform simulations, you need models for components, and simulation models often need to be shared with other team members at the project level or component level. What’s the best way for Altium Designer users to share this data? Read this article to learn more about sharing your models with other design participants. 

RF Printed Circuit Board
Blog
RF PCB Material Comparison for mmWave Devices

When some designers start talking materials, they probably default to FR4 laminates. The reality is there are many FR4 materials, each with relatively similar structure and a range of material property values. Designs on FR4 are quite different from those encountered at the low GHz range and mmWave frequencies. So what exactly changes at high frequencies, and what makes these materials different? To see just what makes a specific laminate useful as an RF PCB material, take a look at our guide below. 

Testing Challenges and Solutions
Blog
Low Cost Solutions for Automated Hardware in the Loop Testing

In today’s fast-paced world where iterations of electronics are spun at lightning speeds, we often forget one of the most critical aspects of development: testing. Even if we have that fancy test team, are we really able to utilize them for every modification, every small and insignificant change that we make to our prototypes? In this article, we will review a very low cost, yet highly effective and quite exhaustive test system that will get you that bang for your buck that you’ve been looking for.

PCB Assembly
Blog
Best Practices for Using DNI/DNP Entries in Your PCB BOM

If you’ve ever looked at the BOM for a reference design or an open-source project, you may have seen a comment in some of the entries in your BOM. This comment is either “DNP” or “DNI”. If you think about it, every component placed in the PCB requires some level of placement and routing effort, which takes time and money if you’re working for a client. This begs the question, why would anyone design a board with components they don’t plan to include in the final assembly?

Altium Designer interface
Blog
Altium OutJob Files vs. Project Release: What's the Difference?

When it’s time to share your design data with your manufacturer, it’s like taking a leap of faith. Sending off a complete documentation package might seem as easy as placing your fab files in a zip folder, but there are better ways to ensure your manufacturer understands your project and has access to all your design data. For Altium Designer users, there are multiple options for creating and packaging release data into a complete package for your manufacturers.

Tag
Embedded thumbnail for EMI Solutions for Six-Layer PCB Stackups: A PCB Designer's Guide
How-To's
EMI Solutions for Six-Layer PCB Stackups: A PCB Designer's Guide

In our brand new video, our host Zach Peterson explores essential EMI solutions for six-layer PCB stackups, ensuring your designs achieve peak performance and reliability. Stay tuned as he delves into common issues, practical tips, and a detailed Altium Designer example to help you optimize your PCB designs.

Embedded thumbnail for Elevate Your Design Skills: Tips & Tricks for Success - Recording Preview
New in Altium Designer 24
Elevate Your Design Skills: Tips & Tricks for Success - Recording Preview

Unlock essential PCB design tips and tricks in our latest webinar recording. Learn how to streamline your workflow, tackle common challenges, and boost your productivity with Altium Designer. Check the recording here: COM August Webinar.

Embedded thumbnail for Finding Alternate Microcontroller Units (MCUs): Alternate Parts Series: Pt. 4
Octopart
Finding Alternate Microcontroller Units (MCUs): Alternate Parts Series: Pt. 4

Join Phil Salmony in the next part of our series dedicated to navigating the complexities of component substitutions. In this chapter, we'll demonstrate how to use Octopart to find suitable alternate microcontroller units (MCUs). Octopart will guide you in narrowing down critical parameters, helping you select the right component for your specific application.

Embedded thumbnail for Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey: Part I - Introduction to Our Walkthrough Project
Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey
Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey: Part I - Introduction to Our Walkthrough Project

Join Piet Callemeyn in our new 4-part series on Rigid-Flex technology! Discover the full design process, from theory to final integration—perfect for all tech enthusiasts! Catch the premiere episode where our host breaks down the theory, use cases, and stackups of Rigid-Flex technology.

Embedded thumbnail for Achieve Perfect Signal Integrity: Introducing SI Analyzer by Keysight
New in Altium Designer 24
Achieve Perfect Signal Integrity: Introducing SI Analyzer by Keysight

The new SI Analyzer by Keysight lets you run signal integrity simulations directly in Altium Designer. Designed for speed and simplicity, it features an intuitive interface and provides helpful tips for a seamless experience. Learn more in our new introduction video about this feature.

Embedded thumbnail for Altium's Role in Accelerating Muddy Machines' Farming Robots
Altium Stories
Altium's Role in Accelerating Muddy Machines' Farming Robots

Is Altium Designer and Altium 365 can help in a food production industry? The answer is YES! Check how our software helps Muddy Machines be more efficient in a farming robots development process.

Embedded thumbnail for LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part III: Stability Analysis
LDO Regulator Essentials
LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part III: Stability Analysis

Join us for the third installment of our LDO Regulator Essentials series with Rafał Stępień. In this session, we'll dive into stability analysis using AC sweep simulations and explore how to address instabilities or phase and frequency response.

Embedded thumbnail for Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer. Part III: Supply Chain Intelligence
Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer
Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer. Part III: Supply Chain Intelligence

Discover how to leverage supply chain intelligence in Altium Designer! Piet Callemeyn demonstrates enhancing Manufacturer Part Search with real-time data on component availability and pricing in the last chapter of the series about component creation.

Embedded thumbnail for Robotic Harvest: Securing Our Food Future
Altium Stories
Robotic Harvest: Securing Our Food Future

See how Altium's PCB design software, including Multi-board System Design and Harness Design capabilities, supports Muddy Machines, a company building autonomous robots for use in the agriculture industry. This video demonstrates the vital role of technology in creating resilient and efficient agricultural practices for the future.

Embedded thumbnail for Finding Alternate Field-Effect Transistors: Alternate Parts Series: Pt. 3
Octopart
Finding Alternate Field-Effect Transistors: Alternate Parts Series: Pt. 3

In Part 3 of "Expert Insights on Alternative Parts" series, Phil Salmony will demonstrate how Octopart identifies suitable alternative field-effect transistors (FETs). Octopart assists in narrowing down parameters to select the right component for any application. Learn to navigate Octopart's search and filtering tools to choose the best MOSFETs for your specific application.

Embedded thumbnail for Stay Ahead of the Curve: A Half-Year Review of Altium Designer Improvements -  Recording Preview
New in Altium Designer 24
Stay Ahead of the Curve: A Half-Year Review of Altium Designer Improvements - Recording Preview

In the last six months, we have implemented significant enhancements in Schematic Capture, PCB Design, and Harness Design in Altium Designer 24. Check out our webinar recording to learn how these new capabilities can keep you ahead in the electronics industry. You can find it here: July COM Webinar Recording

Embedded thumbnail for How Skeleton Technologies Uses Altium Solutions
Altium Stories
How Skeleton Technologies Uses Altium Solutions

Explore how Skeleton Technologies is transforming industries with their innovative supercapacitors made from “Curved Graphene” materials. These advancements are not only powering AI data centers and stabilizing electrical grids but are also unlocking new energy opportunities and driving progress towards a net-zero future.

Embedded thumbnail for LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part II: Voltage Drop and Regulation
LDO Regulator Essentials
LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part II: Voltage Drop and Regulation

We are returning to our LDO Regulator Essentials series. In this installment, we will focus on understanding the required dropout voltage, detecting when the regulator is out of regulation, and analyzing the performance of the LDO under higher current conditions.

Embedded thumbnail for LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part I: Basics
LDO Regulator Essentials
LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part I: Basics

We invite you to join us for a new video series on LDO (Low Dropout) Regulators. In this series, we will cover everything you need to know about LDO regulators, from fundamental theory to practical implementation. In the first video, we will begin with an in-depth chapter on the theory behind these devices and their implementation in Altium Designer.

Embedded thumbnail for Wearable Design Project - Part VII: PCB Layout part III
Wearable Design Project
Wearable Design Project - Part VII: PCB Layout part III

Check out the final installment of the video series on the Wearable Design Project. In this video, you will learn how to set the rigid and flex parts of the design, modify the board for the project, and complete the PCB routing. For a deeper dive into this project, you can find it on our Altium Community Workspace.

Embedded thumbnail for Optimize Connections and PCB Design with Wire Bonding
New in Altium Designer 24
Optimize Connections and PCB Design with Wire Bonding

Experience our new wire bonding feature, designed to enhance connection integrity and improve PCB design efficiency. One of the main capabilities includes support for chip-up wire bonding configurations and easy validation of bond wiring in 3D view. Don’t miss this opportunity—participate in our Beta Program and be among the first engineers to explore this impressive feature.

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Iterate Faster in Complex Engineering Projects Webinar Cover
On-Demand Webinar
Iterate Faster in Complex Engineering Projects

Learn how Valispace is transforming the world of requirements and systems engineering, enabling teams to do super fast design iterations and develop quality products while ensuring they comply with standards and regulations.

Data Security and Access Controls for Electronics Development Teams
On-Demand Webinar
Data Security and Access Controls for Electronics Development Teams Using Altium 365 GovCloud on AWS GovCloud Infrastructure

Watch the webinar that brings together the expertise of Altium 365 and AWS to introduce the specialized Altium 365 GovCloud within the robust AWS GovCloud infrastructure. This session is designed for IT and security professionals seeking advanced data protection and access control solutions for their electronics development teams.