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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.

Embedded thumbnail for Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey: Part III - PCB Layout
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.

Embedded thumbnail for Use Cases with Dave Young: Harness Design
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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PCB with ice for best cooling
Blog
Thermal Management for Integrated Circuits

As anyone who designs and builds electronic devices knows, the device will generate heat when it’s switched on. Wherever current flows through an impedance, energy losses will manifest themselves as heat. Integrated circuit packaging is getting smaller to meet the trend for more compact devices but at the cost of poorer thermal properties. This article describes the basic thermal management approaches to consider in your next designs. 

Blog
Anatomy of Latitude Part Two: "Thread with a Needle” in the context of energy

We continue to explore the magic of energy conversion in a PWM transducer. Why is it magic? Theoretically, in a PWM transducer this happens without losses, isn't that magic? A PWM transducer, like a tailor with scissors, cuts the “fabric of energy” into pieces, and then, like a sewing machine, stitches the pieces of energy into a dress - DC Magnitude. What is a constant component and how can we get it? Let's explore!

Pulse Width Regulation Module
Blog
Anatomy of Latitude Part One: Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) as a Result of the Evolution of Linear Systems

There are different techniques in the world of technology to achieve various goals, both final and intermediate. Some techniques are so successful that they are commonly used with high efficiency. Electronics is no exception. The greatest example is the use of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals (energy), which is applied in any modern electronic device. To apply PWM effectively, it is necessary to understand the engineering difficulties that engineers faced in the past, and the thoughts and ideas that subsequently were combined into effective, complete PWM power solutions.

Electrolytic capacitor
Blog
What Influences Electrolytic Capacitor Lifespan?

If you speak with a bunch of design engineers, you might quickly form the opinion that the electrolytic capacitor has a particularly dubious reputation. A faulty electrolyte mix used in these types of capacitors led to premature device failures, and quite often, a “bit of a mess” was made to the PCBs on which they were soldered. However, despite the problem of the capacitor plague, this article is focusing on helping the designer understand how to get many more years of useful life from an electrolytic capacitor.

Elegant writing
Blog
Creating Elegant and Readable Schematics

A schematic drawing will not only tell your PCB design software what needs to connect where, but it also communicates the purpose of a circuit to other people. It’s easy to create a schematic, but it can be harder to make a helpful schematic that can be quickly and easily read and comprehended by the reader. In this guide, based on years of industry experience, we will show you how to improve your schematic layout so that your designs are elegant and readable.

Copper rings
Blog
Must Have Rapid Prototyping Tools

Suppose your job involves rapidly iterating designs or creating a wide variety of products for clients. In that case, there are some essential tools available that can save you a tremendous amount of time, bringing high engineering risk devices to completion successfully. Whether you’re working on internal projects or developing high mix devices for clients as a consulting or freelance firm, these indispensable tools will help you ship a higher quality product in less time. 

Blog
Best Practices for Sharing PCB Files vs. Sharing PCB Projects

Even though today’s cloud platforms are immaculately secure and they allow a range of files to be easily shared, there are times where you should limit the data you’re sharing to only the critical files required. For PCB designers, this means either sharing entire design projects or sharing individual files with your manufacturer, customers, contractors, or collaborators. If you want to eliminate liabilities and keep your team’s design data secure, consider these best practices for sharing PCB design data with Altium 365.

Principial Schematic
Blog
Best Practices for Using Reference Designs

Best component companies will release reference designs for their new and legacy products to show designers an example application for a component. If the reference design is good enough and it very nicely illustrates how to quickly engineer around a few main components, I’m likely to use them in the design and the component maker has just earned my business. If you’re a newer designer and you’re wondering whether reference designs are right for your next project, follow these best practices so that you don’t make any mistakes with your reference design.

Traces on PCB
Blog
Transmission Line Fundamentals And Electromagnetic Fields, Part 1

When we deal with “abstract” aspects of electromagnetic fields and how they function, it can be easy to get lost in the weeds regarding them. The first part of this article will address an important aspect of transmission line fundamentals, namely how electromagnetic fields and waves propagate on a transmission line. This article’s end goal is to create a core understanding of these concepts so that when it comes time to design a PDS, the proper design methodologies are followed and a properly working PDS is achieved appropriately, the first time and every time.

BGA pads
Blog
Your Complete Guide to Via Stub Analysis

Via stubs are sometimes viewed as an annoyance, especially when you only need to make a transition between adjacent layers. For low speed, less-dense boards with low layer count, via stubs are an afterthought, or they may not receive consideration at all. For faster edge rates/higher frequencies, the conventional wisdom is to remove all via stubs. The question is: what exactly counts as “high frequency,” and how do you figure out the relevant length?

Thermal camera on people
Blog
Using a Thermal Camera for PCB Diagnostics

Unlike the clumsy human finger, a thermal camera can detect minute temperature differences across its view. This allows you to rapidly identify any components that are consuming current. Any parts or areas of your board that draw current will also generate heat that can easily be picked up by a thermal camera.

Soldering station
Blog
Complete Guide to DIY SMT Assembly In Your Office

I want to share a little secret with you in this article: Assembling SMT prototypes boards is not only easy, but it requires very little equipment. Using just a stencil, I can easily hand prototype down to 0.3 mm pitch ICs, and 0201 (imperial) sized passive components.  If you’re currently hand assembling boards with a soldering station, you need to stop this immediately and start using a stencil instead!

Road 2021
Blog
State of the Electronics Industry 2021

With the challenges of 2020 behind us, what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for hardware designers in 2021? In this article Vince Mazur, Technical Product Marketing Engineer at Altium, looks ahead to three emerging trends and share steps to address each one successfully in the year ahead.

Oscilloscope
Blog
The Mysterious 50 Ohm Impedance: Where It Came From and Why We Use It

When we talk about S-parameters, impedance matching, transmission lines, and other fundamental concepts in RF/high-speed PCB design, the concept of 50 Ohm impedance comes up over and over. Look through signaling standards, component datasheets, application notes, and design guidelines on the internet; this is one impedance value that comes up repeatedly. So where did the 50 Ohm impedance standard come from and why is it important?

Camera in water
Blog
Keeping Your Circuits Dry

For the home hobbyist, protecting their electrical devices usually means keeping the coffee cup or soda can away from anything that carries a large voltage. Good practice indicates that electrical devices should be housed in an enclosure to protect expensive components and reduce the risk of electric shocks from exposed circuitry. However, what do you do if the fantastic new device you’ve designed needs to work in a humid, damp, or dripping wet environment? 

PCB with old components
Blog
Tips for Updating Old PCB Designs with New Parts

Have you ever opened up an old design and wondered how much of it was still usable? Maybe you were contacted by an old client, and they want you to provide some updates on an old design. No matter what the situation is, there are times where updating old PCB designs with new parts makes sense. If done correctly and when armed with all the right information up front, you can cut down the total design time while preserving the best parts of your design in a new iteration. Here’s what you can do to update your old designs successfully and how your PCB design features can help.

Tag
NEW
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.

Embedded thumbnail for Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey: Part III - PCB Layout
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.

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.

Embedded thumbnail for Use Cases with Dave Young: Harness Design
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.

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.

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.

Embedded thumbnail for Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Verifying Changes and Finalizing the Design
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Verifying Changes and Finalizing the Design

In this final installment of our tutorial series on the upcoming extension – Signal Analyzer by Keysight – we will guide you through the process of ensuring that your design meets all necessary performance standards. 

Embedded thumbnail for Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Analyzing Simulation Results and Correcting Violation
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Analyzing Simulation Results and Correcting Violation

We invite you to join the third chapter of the Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials. In this installment, we’ll show you how to analyze simulation results and correct violations to ensure your PCB design aligns with performance standards.

Embedded thumbnail for LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part IV: Step Response
LDO Regulator Essentials
LDO Regulator Essentials: From Basics to Advanced. Part IV: Step Response

In this new chapter of the LDO Essentials series, Rafał Stępień explores the Step Response of LDO regulators using Altium Designer's Mixed Simulation. Discover how to optimize your designs for enhanced stability and efficiency!

Embedded thumbnail for Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Setting Up and Running Simulations
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Setting Up and Running Simulations

We are continuing our tutorial series on the Signal Analyzer by Keysight extension, diving deeper into its setup. We'll guide you through the configuration process and demonstrate how to run simulations using this powerful tool.

Embedded thumbnail for Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey: Part II - Altium Designer Setup for Rigid-Flex
Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey
Kickstart Your Rigid-Flex Journey: Part II - Altium Designer Setup for Rigid-Flex

Learn how to set up Altium Designer for Rigid-Flex PCB projects with step-by-step guidance from Piet Callemeyn. Master both manual and automatic layer stack configuration in just a few minutes!

Embedded thumbnail for Subterranean Robots Secure Our Global Food Future
Altium Stories
Subterranean Robots Secure Our Global Food Future

After discovering the Crover effect, Lorenzo Conti developed a groundbreaking grain-swimming robot to monitor and protect stored cereals. Using Altium-powered design, this innovative technology gathers critical data beneath bulk storage surfaces, reducing waste and enhancing food security. Join us as we explore how these robots are shaping a sustainable future and safeguarding our global food supply.

Embedded thumbnail for Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Initial Setup
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials
Signal Analyzer by Keysight Tutorials - Initial Setup

In our new tutorial series, we will explore how the upcoming Signal Analyzer by Keysight enhances signal analysis in your PCB designs. In this first part, we'll guide you through a step-by-step installation process, ensuring the extension is properly set up in your Altium Designer environment.

Tag
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.