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Efficient PCB Routing Using Gloss and Retrace Tools

The primary goal of your traces is to carry signals throughout your board without losses. To do this properly, you must familiarize yourself with the requirements for signals on the printed circuit board and how to optimize the topology of the board in terms of signal integrity. We will analyze the most popular routing cases applicable for using the Gloss and Retrace tools in Altium Designer to optimize your signal integrity.

Selecting Materials for High Voltage PCB Design and Layout
Blog
Selecting Materials for High Voltage PCB Design and Layout

High voltage PCBs are subject to certain safety and reliability concerns that you won’t find in most other boards. If your fabrication house specializes in high voltage PCBs and keeps materials in stock, they can likely recommend a material set, as well as a standard stackup you might use for certain voltage ranges and frequencies. If you need to choose your own materials, follow the tips below to help you narrow down to the right material set.

Embedded thumbnail for Shaping the PCB in MCAD
Working with MCAD CoDesigner extension
Shaping the PCB in MCAD

Through the MCAD Co-designer in Altium Designer, you can collaborate with a mechanical engineer to shape the PCB in your MCAD tool and keep it updated in Altium Designer. We’ll show you how in Altium Designer and in your MCAD tool.

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How to work with Selection
Cross Select Mode

Cross Select Mode is a unique tool that allows for cross-selection of objects between the schematic and PCB thanks to the Altium Unified platform. This makes it easy to look for specific components, as well as take advantage of component placement tools.

Via tenting in PCB Layout
Blog
When to Use Tented Vias in Your PCB Layout

There are some guidelines I see many designers implement as a standard practice, often without thinking about it. Some of these practices are misunderstood or implemented without best practices. Others are implemented without thinking about the potential problems. One of these is the use of tented vias, which is sometimes implemented in a PCB layout by default. Is this always the right practice?

Embedded thumbnail for Tools for Efficient Selection
How to work with Selection
Tools for Efficient Selection

Efficient selection tools can make a difference in how long and how clean your design can be. Learn how to utilize the Edit Select Menu tools in Altium Designer to take control over your layout.

Capacitive load termination
Blog
How to Impedance Match and Terminate Capacitive Loads

The idea of a purely capacitive load is something of a fallacy. Yes, capacitors exist, but all capacitors are non-ideal, and it is this deviation from a theoretical capacitance that determines how to impedance match a load that exhibits capacitive behavior. Let’s take a look at this important aspect of interconnect design and see what it really means to terminate a capacitive load.

Embedded thumbnail for Tools for Easily Selecting Objects in the PCB
How to work with Selection
Tools for Easily Selecting Objects in the PCB

Explore more than basic mouse movements by taking a look at the tools that Altium Designer has to offer for making selecting and moving objects in the PCB an easy task. This will increase your productivity and allow you to spend more time designing

Using Altium 365 Over Your Vanilla Version Control System
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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
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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.

Embedded thumbnail for How to Work with The Polygon Manager
Working with Polygons
How to Work with The Polygon Manager

It is important to have a high-level view of all polygons on the PCB design. The Polygon Manager lets you rename polygons, set their pour order, perform re-pouring or disable pouring on selected polygons, add/scope the polygon connection style and clearance design rules, and add polygon classes for selected polygons.

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.

Embedded thumbnail for Assigning Impedance Profiles for Differential Pairs
How to Work with Differential Pairs
Assigning Impedance Profiles for Differential Pairs

When you assign an impedance profile to a differential pair you open up several options for control over your routes. We'll show you how to do just that, as well as how to fix errors that may pop up and how to create classes for differential pairs based on assigned impedance profiles.

Embedded thumbnail for How to Highlight or Select Net Connections in the PCB
How-To's
How to Highlight or Select Net Connections in the PCB

We’ll show you how to highlight net selections so you can easily track where connections are made. We’ll show you how to hide and show nets, and how to use the view configuration and PCB panels to view and highlight nets across your design, and how to assign net colors in both the PCB and the schematic.

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.

Embedded thumbnail for Remove Unused Via Pads
How to Design a BGA
Remove Unused Via Pads

The Remove Unused Pad Shapes tool in Altium Designer gives you control over the via pads in your design. We’ll show you how to use it to increase the usable area of power and ground polygons, increase the density of conductors between hole rows, and fixing incorrect connections.

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.

Embedded thumbnail for Tent Vias under BGA
How to Design a BGA
Tent Vias under BGA

When via are located close to component pads some soldering issues can arise, but this can be fixed with Tented vias. We’ll show you how to manually tent vias and how to tent vias through the Design Rules.

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.

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PCB Routing
Blog
The Anatomy of Your Schematic Netlist, Ports, and Net Names

Electronics schematics form the foundation of your design data, and the rest of your design documents will build off of your schematic. If you’ve ever worked through a design and made changes to the schematic, then you’re probably aware of the synchronization you need to maintain with the PCB layout. At the center of it all is an important set of data about your components: your schematic netlist. What’s important for designers is to know how the netlist defines connections between different components and schematics in a large project.

Produced PCB
Blog
How to Compare PCB Manufacturing Services for Your Board

There are plenty of PCB manufacturing services you can find online, and they can all start to blend together. If you’re searching for a new service provider, it can be hard to compare all of them and find the best manufacturer that meets your needs. While experienced designers can spot bogus manufacturers from afar, there is always a temptation to go with the lowest priced, supposedly fastest overseas company you can find. However, there is a lot more that should go into choosing a PCB manufacturing service than just price.

Low-Pass Filter Arragement
Blog
Pi Filter Designs for Power Supplies

Pi Filters are a type of passive filter that gets its name from the arrangement of the three constituent components in the shape of the Greek letter Pi (π). Pi filters can be designed as either low pass or high pass filters, depending on the components used. The low-pass filter used for power supply filtering is formed from an inductor in series between the input and output with two capacitors, one across the input and the other across the output. Keep reading to learn more about their application in the PCB Design.

Hybrid PCB
Blog
How to Design a Hybrid PCB Stackup

The first question that should come up when selecting materials and planning a stackup is: what materials are needed and how many layers should be used? Assuming you’ve determined you need a low-loss laminate and you’ve determined your required layer count, it’s time to consider whether you should use a hybrid stackup. There are a few broad situations where you could consider using a hybrid stackup with low-loss laminates in your PCB

Battery and clock
Blog
Efficient Battery Power Supplies

Batteries offer a great power source for electrical devices that need to be mobile or located somewhere where connection to a mains electricity supply or other power source is impossible. The biggest problem with battery power is the expectation of users that the device will operate for significant periods with the need for recharging or replacing the batteries. This demand is placing the onus on the designer to improve efficiency and reduce power demand to meet this need.

Blog
What Target Impedance Should You Use in Your PDN?

A number of us on this blog and in other publications often bring up the concept of target impedance when discussing power integrity in high-speed designs. Some designs will be simple enough that you can take a “set it and forget it” approach to design a functional prototype. For more advanced designs, or if you’re fine-tuning a new board that has existing power integrity problems, target impedance is a real consideration that should be considered in your design.

Dual Power Supply Components Cover
Blog
An Overview of Dual Power Supply Design

Dual power supplies are circuits that generate two different output voltages from a single input source. The simplest method of generating dual output voltages is to use a transformer with two taps on the output winding. Bespoke transformers can have any voltage ratio depending on the number of windings in each part of the output side of the transformer.

Power planes inside PCB
Blog
Overlapping Planes in Your Mixed-Signal PCB Layout

With digital boards that are nominally running at DC, splitting up a power plane or using multiple power planes is a necessity for routing large currents at standard core/logic levels to digital components. Once you start mixing analog and digital sections into your power layers with multiple nets, it can be difficult to implement clean power in a design if you’re not careful with your layout.

Altium Designer interface
Blog
Follow Mixed Signal PCB Design Guidelines With the Best CAD Tools

High-speed digital PCBs are challenging enough to design, but what about mixed-signal boards? Many modern systems contain elements that operate with both digital and analog signaling, and these systems must be designed to ensure signal integrity in both domains. Altium Designer has the layout and signal integrity tools you need to ensure your mixed-signal PCB design does not experience interference and obeys important design standards. 

Blog
Get Ready for WiFi 7 under the 802.11be Standard

Just as WiFi 6 and 6E are starting to hit the market and new chipsets become available, WiFi 7 is in the works under the 802.11be standard.  While this technology still has not hit the market, I would expect more inquiries for experimental systems, evaluation modules, and surface-mountable modules to come up once the first chipsets become available. Now is the time to start thinking about these systems, especially if you’re developing evaluation products to support WiFi 7.

Protected electronic device
Blog
What Goes Into Rugged Electronics Design?

Rugged electronics need to take a punch mechanically, but there is more that goes into a rugged system than being able to survive a drop on the pavement. This is as much about enclosure design as it is about component selection and manufacturing choices. Mil-aero designers often use the term “harsh environment” to describe a number of scenarios where an electronic device’s reliability and lifetime will be put to the test. If you want to make your next product truly rugged, it helps to adopt some of their strategies in your PCB layout.

PCB Testing
Blog
PCB Testing 101: Important Methods and Metrics

There are many quality checks used to ensure a design will be manufacturable at scale and with high quality, but a lot of this can happen in the background without the designer realizing. No matter what level of testing and inspection you need to perform, it’s important to determine the basic test requirements your design must satisfy and communicate these to your manufacturer. If it’s your first time transitioning from prototyping to high-volume production, read our list of PCB testing requirements so that you’ll know what to expect.

DDR Memory Chip
Blog
Using SDRAM vs. DDR RAM in Your PCB Design

Embedded computers, vision devices, DAQ modules, and much more will all need some memory, whether it’s a Flash chip or a RAM module. Normally, something like a Flash memory chip or a small eMMC module would not be used for temporary storage as the device requires constant rewrites. Instead, if you happen to need a volatile memory solution, you would go for static (SRAM) or dynamic RAM (DRAM). If you need to decide which type of memory to use in your board, keep reading to see some of the basic design guidelines for SDRAM vs. DDR memory modules.

PCB with big ground planes
Blog
PCB Ground Plane Best Practices in Your Multilayer Stackup

Using a PCB ground plane in a stackup is the first step towards ensuring power and signal integrity, as well as keeping EMI low. However, there are some bad myths about ground planes that seem to persist, and I’ve seen highly experienced designers make some simple mistakes when defining grounds in their PCB layouts. If you’re interested in preventing excess emissions and ensuring signal integrity in your layout, follow these simple guidelines for implementing a PCB ground plane in your next board.

PCB Voltage Regulator Chip
Blog
Using an LDO vs. Switching Regulator in Your PCB

As much as we’d like, the power we supply to electronics isn’t always stable. Real power sources contain noise, they might exhibit power instability, or they dropout unexpectedly. Thankfully, we have power regulators to help prevent some of these problems. For low power devices, we generally see two types of power regulators: a low dropout regulator (LDO) or a switching regulator. You can mix and match these at different points along your power bus, but there’s still the matter of choosing whether to use an LDO vs. a switching regulator in your designs. 

Cloud storage on the phone
Blog
Using Altium 365 for Sharing Simulations in the Cloud

Post-layout simulators for your PCB are very valuable tools. If you’re working through a complex design, it’s a good idea to put it through some level of simulation and analysis to evaluate the design before manufacturing. This is all easy with the cloud collaboration tools in Altium 365 and Ansys field solvers thanks to the EDB Exporter utility in Altium Designer. These existing tools in Altium Designer and any of the Ansys field solver utilities give you a simplified way to share design data, EDB files, and simulation results with anyone on your design team. 

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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.

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

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