News & Updates

Altium’s VP of marketing Lawrence Romine discusses the multi-board and harness design capabilities coming in Altium Designer 23.

Controlled ESR capacitors are important for power integrity in your design as they can help smooth out the PDN impedance spectrum in your high speed PCB.

Whenever we say something to the effect of “components can’t work without a correctly designed PCB,” we only have to look at component packaging for evidence. It is true that component packages come with parasitics that affect signal integrity, but there is one area that we don’t often look at in terms of component packaging: power integrity.

In this article, we’ll look at all that is required to start creating your own custom microcontroller-based hardware designs. You’ll see that there actually isn’t too much to this, as microcontroller manufacturers over the years have tried to make the learning curve less steep and their devices more, and more accessible. This is both from an electrical point of view but also – equally importantly – from a programming point of view.

If you’ve taken time to learn about PCB material options and layer constructions, you have probably seen the wide range of materials that are available on the market. Materials companies produce laminates with varying Dk values, Tg values, weave styles, CTI values, and mechanical properties to target various applications in the electronics industry.

Get ready to speed up your design process with new Altium Designer collaboration capabilities. Designing a PCB is a team effort. Engineers must work with customers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to get the best results. You need help to bring your design to life, even if you're a one-person team.

If you’re waiting for truly connected cars on a grand scale, there is still a massive amount of work to be done, both on the hardware and software sides. Connected cars can only become a widespread reality once the automotive industry and telecom carriers can decide which protocol will work best for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. PCB designers will then need to step in to create these systems and fit them into a vehicular environment.

This one area of PCB design can be contentious among some designers as it is related to copper pour, which it is often stated is not needed in most designs. Regardless of your feelings about copper pour, stitching vias have important uses in PCBs at low frequencies and at high frequencies.

Our new article highlights how automation and robotics are transforming wire harness assembly, improving efficiency, precision, and cost-effectiveness. Technologies like robotic wire handling and AI-driven testing are paving the way for smarter production. However, challenges like custom designs and high costs still persist.

Check out the first part of "Best Practices for Electronics Project Management" by Rafał Stępień. It offers valuable advice on enhancing team communication and documentation in hardware design projects.

Wiring harnesses are mission-critical in space systems, requiring strict adherence to ECSS-Q-ST-70-61C and NASA-STD-8739.4A. In "Wiring for the Final Frontier: A Guide to Space-Grade Harness Design", Kamil Jasiński explores key design principles, material selection, and testing to ensure reliability in extreme environments.

Discover how wire harnesses are evolving to meet the demands of electric vehicles and modern electronics. Our latest article explores key trends like higher voltages, lightweight designs, and smart harnesses, along with challenges such as cost and supply chain issues.

Dario Fresu explores effective decoupling strategies for power distribution networks (PDNs) to minimize EMI in PCB designs. The article covers techniques like decoupling capacitors and power planes to ensure stable power delivery for integrated circuits.

Learn how to turn a Raspberry Pi into a custom Android device. This guide covers hardware selection, software setup, and troubleshooting common issues.

Learn how PCB design engineers can securely share design files with team members, clients, and manufacturers. Marek Orzeł explores best practices and tools to protect your intellectual property while ensuring efficient collaboration.

Strong partnerships between OEMs and harness manufacturers are key to efficient, high-quality product development. In this article, Krishna Sundaram shows how collaboration, clear communication, and the right design tools can streamline the harness manufacturing process and drive success.

Read Marcin Lewandowski's article explaining how MOSFETs are replacing traditional diodes for reverse polarity protection. Step into the future of energy-efficient electronics!

Dive into Worst Case Analysis techniques with Kamil Jasiński and ensure the reliability of your circuits. Master sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, and more to confidently address real-world challenges.

Want to learn how the Gerber X3 file format simplifies data exchange by unifying assembly and fabrication details in a single file? This article explores the format and its role in streamlining PCB manufacturing.

Our new article explores best practices and tools for streamlining cable harness design workflows. Learn how to minimize errors, save time, and enhance collaboration by leveraging advanced features in Altium Designer.

This article by Dario Fresu delves into effective techniques for designing PCBs to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI). It covers key topics such as stackup selection, routing strategies, and grounding best practices, offering actionable insights for improved performance.

Altium and Renesas are featured in a new CBS-produced documentary exploring how digitalization and cloud platforms are revolutionizing electronics production for Economy 4.0, driving efficiency and accelerating innovation.

Discover how to streamline your wiring projects with advanced harness and PCB integration tools in Altium Designer. This article explores techniques to prevent wiring errors, enhance collaboration, and ensure accurate design documentation for complex projects.

Altium wishes you all the best this holiday season! May this time be filled with joy, laughter, and cherished moments with your family and friends. We also extend our warmest wishes for a Happy New Year 2025!