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Embedded thumbnail for Back Drilling in Altium Designer
How-To's
Back Drilling in Altium Designer

In this video, we will learn about Back Drilling technology, how to set up back drilling using the Layer Stack Manager, and how to set up the Stub Length sizes for back drilling by specifying applicable nets using the Design Rules Editor.

Blog
RF Power Amplifier Module PCB Design

RF power amplifiers can be found in many wireless products, often integrated into chipsets or modems. However, in certain specialized systems, you might require higher power output at a specific frequency. This necessitates a discrete amplifier circuit to deliver that power. In this article, we present an example project for a power amplifier that you can incorporate into your RF project.

Embedded thumbnail for Distributed - Element Circuits in RF Design
How-To's
Distributed - Element Circuits in RF Design

The capacitance and inductance of Distributed-Element circuits are determined by the shape and location of different copper elements in the PCB layout, instead of being concentrated in one point in space. Learn how to work with these circuits in Altium Designer.

Blog
Avoid GIGO in Your PCB Simulation Tools

Simulation tools are extremely useful for understanding electromagnetic behavior in a design. Learn more about how to avoid obtaining inaccurate results during your PCB simulation process.

Embedded thumbnail for Collaborative Editing
How-To's
Collaborative Editing

Save time and minimize reworks while teaming up on a PCB design from anywhere in the world. Watch the video for a sneak preview of the new collaborative editing functionality.

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How To Work with Power Analyzer by Keysight
Exporting Results

After completing your simulation in Power Analyzer by Keysight, you will likely need to export some of the results for further analysis. In this video, we will show you how to prepare a report once the simulation is done.

Benefits of Ultra HDI
Blog
The Benefits of Ultra HDI

Learn more about the combination of using both flexible materials and ultra-HDI feature sizes in this article.

Embedded thumbnail for Plane Connect - Direct in RF Design
How-To's
Plane Connect - Direct in RF Design

Designing high-frequency circuit boards requires a sharp eye toward maintaining signal integrity. Some signal connections are more prone to interruption than others. In this video, you can learn how Altium Designer's Polygon Connect Design Rule and the Thermal Relief option can help in the PCB design process.

Embedded thumbnail for Understanding and Correcting Violations
How To Work with Power Analyzer by Keysight
Understanding and Correcting Violations

When you finish the Power Analyzer by Keysight simulation process, you may find some design problems. In this video, we will learn how to understand and correct any violations that may arise on your board.

Blog
Concept Phase – Cooling and Airflow Part 1

Next step in our open-source laptop project is to explain how to design cooling and airflow. In this article, we can show you the first part of this process, such as airflow concept, fan measurement and clearance.

Embedded thumbnail for Routing Any Angle or Arc in RF Design
How-To's
Routing Any Angle or Arc in RF Design

High-frequency signals require special consideration when routing. Altium Designer allows you to add RF nets to a net class, then apply design rules. Learn how, as well as some other handy high-frequency routing tips, in this video.

Harness Design
Blog
Create Connections with Harness Design

Many modern electronics have multiple boards, and connecting those different boards and systems together are harnesses. Learn more about how Altium Designer can help you create harnesses for your own multi-board designs here.

Embedded thumbnail for Working with Power Analyzer Panel
How To Work with Power Analyzer by Keysight
Working with Power Analyzer Panel

Learn how to use the Power Analyzer software by Keysight panel. This video explains all the basic instructions and provides helpful hints for using the software effectively.

Embedded thumbnail for Which PCB Materials are used in RF Design
How-To's
Which PCB Materials are used in RF Design

High frequency signals are carried on circuit boards via transmission lines. Learn the differences between standard 50 ohm impedance microstrip lines and coplanar transmission lines in this video. We also explore the best-use cases for coplanar transmission lines, how they impact loss and interference, dielectric thicknesses, and more.

Embedded thumbnail for Configuring Autorecognition
How To Work with Power Analyzer by Keysight
Configuring Autorecognition

Before using the Power Analyzer by Keysight, it is important to configure certain parameters. In this video, we will demonstrate how to properly set up the software for auto-recognition.

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Using Altium 365 Over Your Vanilla Version Control System
Blog
Using Altium 365 Over Your Vanilla Version Control System

There are all sorts of version control systems 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.

Why Use a Version Control System in PCB Design
Blog
Why Use a Version Control System in PCB Design

Version Control Systems (VCS) have been around for many decades within the software world but can be surprisingly new to some folks in the electronics design industry. This article will cover what a VCS is, what it does, and why you should be using one for your PCB design projects.

IPC 6012 Class 3 Annular Ring
Blog
Meeting Standards: IPC 6012 Class 3 Annular Ring

Designers often conflate leftover annular ring and pad sizes - they need to place a sufficiently large pad size on the surface layer to ensure that the annular ring that is leftover during fabrication will be large enough. As long as the annular ring is sufficiently large, the drill hit will not be considered defective and the board will have passed inspection. In this article, I'll discuss the limits on IPC-6012 Class 3 annular rings as these are a standard fabrication requirement for high-reliability rigid PCBs.

PCB fabrication notes
Blog
Decoding PCB Fabrication Notes

Sending a board out for fabrication is an exciting and nerve-wracking moment. Why not just give your fabricator your design files and let them figure it out? There are a few reasons for this, but it means the responsibility comes back to you as the designer to produce manufacturing files and documentation for your PCB. It’s actually quite simple if you have the right design tools. We’ll look at how you can do this inside your PCB layout and how this will help you quickly generate data for your manufacturer.

HDI PCB design and HDI PCB manufacturing process
Blog
Design Basics for HDI and the HDI PCB Manufacturing Process

As the world of technology has evolved, so has the need to pack more capabilities into smaller packages. PCBs designed using high-density interconnect techniques tend to be smaller as more components are packed in a smaller space. An HDI PCB uses blind, buried, and micro vias, vias in pads, and very thin traces to pack more components into a smaller area. We’ll show you the design basics for HDI and how Altium Designer® can help you create a powerful HDI PCB.

All About PCB Test Points
Blog
Is It Printed or a Component? All About PCB Test Points

Test points in your electronic assembly will give you a location to access components and take important measurements to verify functionality. If you’ve never used a test point or you’re not sure if you need test points, keep reading to see what options you have for test point usage in your PCB layout.

How to Design to a Differential Impedance Specification
Blog
How to Design to a Differential Impedance Specification

The concept and implementation of differential impedance are both sometimes misunderstood. In addition, the design of a channel to reach a specific differential impedance is often done in a haphazard way. The very concept of differential impedance is something of a mathematical construct that doesn’t fully capture the behavior of each signal in a differential trace. Keep reading to see a bit more depth on how to design to a differential impedance spec and exactly what it means for your design.

Product Lifecycle Management in Electronics Manufacturing
Blog
Product Lifecycle Management in Electronics Manufacturing

An effective product lifecycle management (PLM) solution will integrate the tools and processes employed to design, develop and manufacture a new device. This solution goes beyond engineering activities to include the project management, process control, and financial management of the end-to-end business processes. PLM solutions create this collaborative environment where product development can flourish, bringing additional benefits in efficiencies and transparent communications, breaking silos, and speeding up the development process.

Tight versus loose coupling
Blog
Should You Use Tight vs. Loose Differential Pair Spacing and Coupling?

In this article, we want to get closer to a realistic description of tight coupling vs. loose coupling in terms of differential pair spacing, as well as how the differential pair spacing affects things like impedance, differential-mode noise, reception of common-mode noise, and termination. As we’ll see, the focus on tight coupling has its merits, but it’s often cited as necessary for the wrong reasons.

Engineering Design Review Guide
Blog
How to Solve Your Engineering Design Review Challenges

You’ve possibly gone through plenty of engineering design reviews, both on the front-end of a project and the back-end before manufacturing. Engineering design reviews are performed to accomplish multiple objectives, and with many engineering teams taking a systems-based approach to design and production, electronics design teams will need to review much more than just a PCB layout and BOM. Today’s challenges with sourcing, manufacturability, reliability, and mechanical constraints are all areas that must be confronted in real designs

Schematic Review Checklist
Blog
Schematic Review Checklist

One of the most common points of failure of a device occurs even before you start to layout your circuit board. Mistakes in your schematic design can easily make their way all the way into prototypes or production without a second thought once layout starts. In this article, I’m not going to extol the virtues of a good schematic design. Instead, this article is a simple no frills checklist.

Via current carrying capacity for PCBs
Blog
PCB Via Current-Carrying Capacity: How Hot is Too Hot?

One common question from designers is current-carrying capacity of conductors in a PCB. Trace and via current-carrying capacity are legitimate design points to focus on when designing a new board that will carry high current. The goal is to keep conductor temperatures below some appropriate limit, which then helps keep components on the board cool. Let’s dig into the current state of thermal demands on vias in PCBs and how they compare to internal and external PCB traces.

PCB Shield
Blog
Phalanx, not Failure: PCB Shielding to Protect Your Design

A combination of good printed circuit board design and good shielding mitigates EMI. Good PCB design for EMI shielding revolves around the layout, the placement of filters, and ground planes. A well-designed PCB minimizes parasitic capacitance and ground loops. Keep reading to learn more about PCB shielding.

Man working in Altium Designer
Blog
Best Practices in Hardware Version Control Systems

Any project can get very complex, and the PCB design team needs to track revisions throughout a project. Why worry about tracking revisions? In the event you ever receive changes to product functional requirements, major changes are made to your product’s architecture, or you’re ready to finalize the design and prepare for fabrication, it’s best to clone a project at its current state and begin working on a new version. Keeping track of all these design changes in a PCB design project takes the type of hardware version control tools you’ll find in Altium 365™.

Copper pour and via stitching
Blog
Copper Pour and Via Stitching: Do You Need Them in a PCB Layout?

To pour or not to pour, to stitch or not to stitch… Over many years, some common “rules of thumb” have become very popular and, ultimately, taken a bit out of context. Rules of thumb are not always wrong, but taking PCB design recommendations out of context helps justify bad design practices, and it can even affect the producibility of your board. Like many aspects of a physical PCB layout, via stitching and copper pour can be like acid: quite useful if implemented properly, but also dangerous if used indiscriminately.

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Embedded thumbnail for From Tragedy to Triumph: Personal Safety Made Beautiful
Altium Stories
From Tragedy to Triumph: Personal Safety Made Beautiful

Safety by Cilia has developed a personal safety alarm disguised as jewelry, offering a personalized security solution. Discover how Altium’s solutions can help address the complexities of miniaturization and power management in a small form factor, as the team did.

Embedded thumbnail for Mixed Simulation Series Part 3: SPICE Models & Parameters
Mixed Simulation Series
Mixed Simulation Series Part 3: SPICE Models & Parameters

Learn to select and apply SPICE models in Altium Designer to enhance the accuracy of your circuit simulations. This tutorial provides practical insights into using SPICE models effectively in your designs.

Embedded thumbnail for The Value of Upgrading: Time and Financial Advantages of Recent Altium Versions - Recording Preview
New in Altium Designer 24
The Value of Upgrading: Time and Financial Advantages of Recent Altium Versions - Recording Preview

Watch our exclusive May webinar recording to learn how Altium Designer 24 can enhance your workflow. The full video of this webinar can be found here: COM May Webinar Recording

Embedded thumbnail for How Electronics Enable Exploration of the Earth's Last Frontier
Altium Stories
How Electronics Enable Exploration of the Earth's Last Frontier

Newgrange Design, a PCB design service bureau, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), a leader in ocean research and technology, have partnered to advance oceanographic exploration through innovative solutions. See how Altium software helps in the development of an underwater acoustic modem.

Embedded thumbnail for Mixed Simulation Series - Part 2: AC Analysis Sweeps & Inline SPICE Directives
Mixed Simulation Series
Mixed Simulation Series - Part 2: AC Analysis Sweeps & Inline SPICE Directives

Explore AC analysis and SPICE simulations in Altium Designer to elevate your circuit design and analysis skills. This video guides you through essential techniques for accurate and effective simulations.

Embedded thumbnail for Innovative Kidney Disease Bio Sensor Designed with Altium Software
Altium Stories
Innovative Kidney Disease Bio Sensor Designed with Altium Software

Check how Altium software helps Metyos, pioneers in the development of a biowearable aimed at monitoring chronic kidney disease, in their work. They needed efficient collaboration tools to manage contributions from mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineers, which our software can provide.

Embedded thumbnail for Finding Inductors: Alternate Parts Series: Part 2
Octopart
Finding Inductors: Alternate Parts Series: Part 2

In part two of the Alternate Part series, we delve into the quest for a fitting alternate inductor for a battery controller IC equipped with a switching regulator.

Embedded thumbnail for Mixed Simulation Series - Part 1: Add Sources, Specify Coupled Inductors & Configure Result Plots
Mixed Simulation Series
Mixed Simulation Series - Part 1: Add Sources, Specify Coupled Inductors & Configure Result Plots

Watch this tutorial to learn how to design and optimize a five-block charging circuit using mixed simulation tools in Altium Designer, enhancing functionality and efficiency with practical tips and insights.

Embedded thumbnail for Enhance Design Review Efficiency and Assembly Precision with MultiBoard Draftsman
How-To's
Enhance Design Review Efficiency and Assembly Precision with MultiBoard Draftsman

Discover the capabilities of the multi-board Draftsman feature in Altium Designer 24 in our latest video, where we showcase its role in enhancing documentation processes using a mini-PC multi-board. Learn to create detailed, visually appealing documentation efficiently.

Embedded thumbnail for The Future of Healthcare is Wearable
Altium Stories
The Future of Healthcare is Wearable

Meet Metyos, a startup pioneering the development of a biowearable aimed at monitoring chronic kidney disease. With Altium, Metyos is advancing the future of wearable medical devices, putting healthcare back into the hands of patients and professionals alike. Check out their story in our brand new video about them and collaboration with Altium.

Embedded thumbnail for Hardware Design Masterclasses - Wrocław 2024 Slideshow
HDM Wrocław
Hardware Design Masterclasses - Wrocław 2024 Slideshow

Immerse yourself in the world of hardware design at the Hardware Design Masterclasses in Wroclaw! Explore our slideshow for a peek into the hands-on workshops, expert insights, and revolutionary techniques that made this experience truly unforgettable!

Embedded thumbnail for New Constraint Manager: Creepage Constraints & Resolving Violations
New Constraint Manager
New Constraint Manager: Creepage Constraints & Resolving Violations

Join us for the final video of our Constraint Manager series we explore implementing creepage rules for high voltage designs. Through meticulous adjustments and customizations, we optimize the PCB layout to meet safety standards, showcasing the evolution of our design.

Embedded thumbnail for Mastering Data Management with Altium Designer 24 - Webinar Recording
New in Altium Designer 24
Mastering Data Management with Altium Designer 24 - Webinar Recording

Explore how Altium Designer 24 empowers you to effectively manage, access, and synchronize your data in our April webinar recording. The full video can be found here: COM April Webinar Recording

Embedded thumbnail for Embedded World 2024 Slideshow
Embedded World 2024
Embedded World 2024 Slideshow

We’re still looking back at Embedded World 2024 in awe of what an adventure it was! Shout out to everyone who swung by our booth, bringing boundless enthusiasm, insights, and energy to the mix—you made this event a resounding success! Check our brand new slideshow from this international event.

Embedded thumbnail for V-Scoring vs. Mouse Bites! PCB Panelization Deep Dive
How-To's
V-Scoring vs. Mouse Bites! PCB Panelization Deep Dive

Dive deep into PCB panel design and manufacturing as we explore the intricacies of V-Scoring and Mouse Bites. This comprehensive video sheds light on these pivotal techniques essential in PCB manufacturing.

Embedded thumbnail for Expert Insights on Alternate Parts
Octopart
Expert Insights on Alternate Parts

Join Philip Salmony in this enlightening series as he unravels the complexities of sourcing alternate parts to enhance your designs. In this episode, watch Phil effortlessly locate a substitute Ceramic Capacitor, backed with invaluable tips, tricks, and strategies that will transform your approach to part sourcing and revolutionize your design process.

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