Welcome, Guest

Sign in to learn, create, and do more with the product you love.

News & Updates

Filters:
Tag
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

Blog
Make Sure to Clean Your No-Clean Flux

No-clean flux has become popular due to its convenience. Learn more about why this solution is used, why cleaning might still be necessary, and how to remove no-clean flux residues. We will try to dispel all these doubts in this brand new article.

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.

Blog
How to Design a Thermal Prototype PCB

Thermal problems in PCBs often go unnoticed until prototyping, which can be costly. Design teams can't afford endless iterations, but they can conduct lower-cost thermal prototypes. Learn more about this approach in our new article.

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.

Blog
DC-Aware Return Current in Mixed Signal PCBs

In this article, we will examine specific cases involving these types of components, where a very low-frequency signal or a DC signal needs to be measured, and the return path must be tracked to ensure the current loop is tight.

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.

Blog
PCB Layout Replication: The Perfect Tool for Test Jigs

Replicate your circuits across multiple blocks with just a few clicks using a flawless preview pane, ensuring consistent, perfect results without the need for trial and error. Check out our new article on the PCB Layout Replication feature.

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.

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!

Tag
How to select high frequency materials
Blog
Best Practices for High-Frequency PCB Material Selection

High frequency PCB design can seem esoteric, and I've heard many an engineer describe it as "black magic"! The subject is also a bit confusing, especially once someone asks which frequencies could be reasonably considered "high". Before you do anything inside the layout for a high-speed or RF PCB, you will need to pay attention to the materials being used in the board. If you're unsure which high frequency PCB materials you should use, then keep reading to learn more.

PCB Noise Reduction
Blog
PCB Noise Reduction: Do You Need Isolation, Shielding, or Filters?

Of all the noise and operational challenges designers face in their PCBs, there is one overarching problem that is arguably most popular: electronic noise. It could originate as an SI/PI problem, it could possibly arise from some external source, or it could be good old-fashioned crosstalk! These tend to fall into three categories: adding shielding, doing something to create isolation, or placing filters. Let's look at all of these as they tend to be the default solution set when confronted with many noise problems.

What’s New in Altium 365
Blog
What’s New in Altium 365: Version Control for Hardware, Layer Stackup in Web Viewer, and SOC 2 Type 1 Certification

In February, we hit a new record in the number of users on the platform. The Altium 365 user community is now 20,000 strong! You can now migrate from an external version control system to Altium 365 preserving the history of commits. We also received the SOC 2 Type 1 certification from KPMG, made layer stack available in the web viewer, and added the brand new capability to track tasks in the context of your design project. Keep reading to learn more!

Rigid-Flex in Altium Designer
Blog
Support for Rigid-Flex in Altium Designer

Rigid-flex in Altium Designer starts with designing a manufacturable PCB layer stack complete with via transitions and any calculated impedance requirements. Flex sections also need to be placed in the layer stack before moving into the PCB layout. Once inside the PCB editor, bending lines can be clearly defined in the PCB layout, and these can be visualized in Altium Designer's 3D PCB design tools. Keep reading to see how Altium Designer supports your flex and rigid-flex designs.

Specifying your stackup
Blog
Communicating PCB Layer Stackup Needs to Manufacturers

In the business of PCB design, communicating needs to manufacturers and vendors is a top priority. The context of our requests is sometimes lost either by not providing the correct information, not listing enough information, or not giving any information. Although the experienced PCB designer can take steps to specify everything they want to see in their PCB stackup, eventaully the manufacturer will handle that decision in an effort to balance available materials with processing capabilities and yield.

Risk Vs. Reward
Blog
Risk Vs. Reward

During the recent IPC APEX expo, there was a lot of discussion about SAP, or semi-additive PCB processes.  As with any new technology adoption there were people that are excited to jump right in and start designing with much finer feature sizes and work through the inevitable changes to the traditional thought process. Others are in a "let’s wait and see" mode and of course there are a few skeptics there as well, so keep reading to learn more.

Parasitic Extraction for your traces
Blog
Parasitic Extraction with an Electromagnetic Solver in PCB Routing

Parasitic extraction: the integrated circuit design community must grapple with this task on a daily basis, especially once gate features are reduced below ~350 nm and chips run at high switching speeds. The PCB community also has to deal with this idea in order to better design power delivery networks, interconnects with precise impedance, and properly quantify crosstalk and coupling mechanisms.

PCB
Blog
Ebook: PDN Simulation and Analysis Guide

Most designers don’t realize they need to worry about power integrity until they have a power integrity problem. Other designers might build boards that can’t handle the demands of modern digital and high frequency components, and they may not realize the problems that lurk in their power delivery network (PDN). Although the basic concepts involved in designing for power integrity are well-known, myths about power integrity abound, and designers need tools to help them evaluate and qualify power integrity in a PDN.

Ferrites in PDN Simulation
Blog
Ferrite Beads and Transfer Impedance in a PDN Simulation

The use of ferrites in a PDN is one design recommendation that is fraught with unclear guidance and over-generalized recommendations. If you see an application note or a reference design that recommends placing a ferrite in a PDN, should you follow this in your specific design, or should you ignore this and focus on adding capacitance? 

PCB Design Outputs
Blog
Overview of PCB Design Output Files

Before your board can be put into production and prepared for assembly, you have to generate a set of files that assist your manufacturer. These are your PCB design output files, also known as manufacturing files, fabrication data, assembly files, and a host of other names. Before you send your design file off to a manufacturer in an email, make sure to get a list of their required fabrication and assembly files first. If you’re a new designer, take some time to read over the basic PCB manufacturing file extensions below.

How transformers work
Blog
Transformer Theory Made Simple

Transformers can provide very effective signal isolation and are used to manipulate AC voltage and current levels. They can achieve all this with a greater than 95% power efficiency, which is why we commonly see them used in bench power supplies, audio gear, computers, kitchen appliances, and wall-warts. However, transformer theory can be unintuitive and in this article we answer on questions about them

Take advantage of the VCS-based workflow in Altium 365
Blog
Using Altium 365 Over Your Vanilla Version Control System

There are all sorts of version control systems (VCS) 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.

Recovering Copper Losses
Blog
Recover Conductor Losses By Clearing Your PCB Ground Layer

Controlled impedance routing at high frequencies is difficult enough, and it's important to make sure that you stay within your loss budget on long routes or in lossy media. When you have to route a long trace or a long differential pair to a connector or another component, what can you do if you're reaching the end of your loss budget? In this article, we’ll take a look at the skip reference routing method and explain how it can help recover some loss budget in a lossy interconnect.

Altium 365 SOC 2 Type 1 Certified
Blog
Announcing SOC 2 Type 1 Certification for Altium 365

We are pleased to announce that Altium 365 is officially SOC 2 Type 1 certified. System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 is a widely recognized attestation of security compliance defined by the AICPA and is considered the standard for ensuring data security and operational maturity. A SOC 2 certification provides valuable information for companies to assess the quality of the security provided by a service such as Altium 365.

Three ways to manage your BOM costs
Blog
Improving Supply Chain Success with BOM Management

It’s no secret that component shortages have become more frequent this year. Companies will continue to grapple with supply chain challenges into 2022 and beyond. The impact of manufacturing delays can be substantial if a part is not available. Delays occur and sales plans get put on hold. It can also be very expensive and risky to replace parts from multiple sources. Fortunately, many shortages can be avoided by introducing proactive supply chain practices.

Tag
Embedded thumbnail for Coming Soon: PCB Layout Replication
How-To's
Coming Soon: PCB Layout Replication

PCB Layout Replication allows quick replication of layouts for repetitive circuitry blocks in a flat PCB design. In this short video we will show you how this new tool (scheduled for release on December 13th) eliminates the need to do repetitive tasks manually or for various workarounds like snippets or multi-channel designs.

Embedded thumbnail for Coming Soon: Constraint Manager
How-To's
Coming Soon: Constraint Manager

Constraint Manager simplifies PCB design by facilitating collaborative constraint definition from both Schematic and PCB. Learn more about this new feature, which streamlines the process of setting electrical clearances and creating rules while centralizing class management for time-saving convenience.

Embedded thumbnail for Debounce Circuit
Simulation in Altium Designer
Debounce Circuit

Learn how to simulate the circuit, identify a common issue, and walk through how to diagnose and correct any errors found in a seemingly well-designed debounce circuit. 

Embedded thumbnail for Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer. Part II: Using an External Library, Internal IPC Compliant Footprint Wizard, and Datasheet-Based Creation
Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer
Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer. Part II: Using an External Library, Internal IPC Compliant Footprint Wizard, and Datasheet-Based Creation

In this video, we will guide you through three distinct manual component import methods; employing an external library, utilizing the internal IPC Compliant Footprint Wizard, or creating one yourself based on documentation.

Embedded thumbnail for Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer. Part I: Manufacturer Part Search & External Plugin
Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer
Import Component Footprints Faster with Altium Designer. Part I: Manufacturer Part Search & External Plugin

In this video, we will demonstrate the first two methods of importing components into Altium Designer; through Manufacturer Part Search or by using an external plugin.

Embedded thumbnail for Buck Converter
Simulation in Altium Designer
Buck Converter

Learn how to run a transient simulation, analyze the waveforms, and measurement techniques you can use to determine a voltage ripple with a buck converter as an example. 

Embedded thumbnail for Edge Plating in RF Design
How-To's
Edge Plating in RF Design

PCB Edge Plating provides additional noise suppression and improves EMC. In this video we provide you some practical tips for creating metalized PCB edges in Altium Designer.

Embedded thumbnail for Custom Paste Mask and Solder Mask
Custom Pad Stack in Altium Designer
Custom Paste Mask and Solder Mask

Altium Designer allows you to freely customize paste and solder mask shapes, which allows you to adapt your design for non-standard component footprints.

Embedded thumbnail for Colpitts Oscillator
Simulation in Altium Designer
Colpitts Oscillator

Learn how to effectively fix errors in circuit simulation and other problem-solving techniques using a Colpitts Oscillator design as an example. 

Embedded thumbnail for Custom Thermal Reliefs for Pads
Custom Pad Stack in Altium Designer
Custom Thermal Reliefs for Pads

Altium Designer allows you to add, remove, and edit thermal relief spikes anywhere on a pad, regardless of its shape. Using these can improve soldering and prevent manufacturing problems like tombstoning.

Embedded thumbnail for Notch Filter
Simulation in Altium Designer
Notch Filter

Learn how to run an AC sweep analysis, execute a Monte Carlo simulation, and interpret the results using a notch filter as an example. 

Embedded thumbnail for Custom Pad Shapes
Custom Pad Stack in Altium Designer
Custom Pad Shapes

Modern components often contain pads with complex shapes. Altium Designer allows you to create custom pad shapes quickly and easily, and manage them like you would a standard pad.

Embedded thumbnail for Low-Pass Filter
Simulation in Altium Designer
Low-Pass Filter

Learn how to modify an op amp low-pass filter circuit for simulation. 

Embedded thumbnail for Design Reuse
How-To's
Design Reuse

If you need to shorten your time-to-market, reduce costs, and minimize errors in the design process. Then you need to make sure that you’re designing smarter, with design reuse blocks. Check out this demo to see how it works.

Embedded thumbnail for Flyback Converter
Simulation in Altium Designer
Flyback Converter

Learn how to use transient analysis on an example flyback converter and handle basic errors during the simulation preparation. 

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.

Tag
Webinar Preview
On-Demand Webinar
Group Editing Tools and Methods in Altium Designer Webinar

Do you ever have to edit a large group of objects on your design? Whether you are dealing with your schematic or PCB, this webinar will help you get acquainted with the main tools for group editing of objects in Altium Designer. You will also learn how to effectively apply group editing methods with filters and selection tools in different design scopes.

Share Designs and track changes easily
On-Demand Webinar
Using Version Control in Your PCB Project Webinar

Version control has been a staple of software development for decades, but hardware development can benefit just as much from a version control system (VCS). Traditionally, VCS has been managed locally tying you down to a workplace, but advances in cloud technology have removed that limitation. Learn how Altium 365 cloud technology enables working concurrently on designs with built-in version control and evaluate its advantages.

Complex Design Made Easy Preview
On-Demand Webinar
Altium Designer® 21: A Better Way To Design

The design process often requires repetitive work with tedious tasks. Altium Designer 21 represents a better way to design by revitalizing long-standing functionality and improving the user experience, as well as performance and stability, based on the feedback from our users. These improvements streamline existing design tasks and empower you to complete sophisticated rigid and rigid-flex designs with realistic 3D modeling.

Printed tracks on PCB in Altium Designer
On-Demand Webinar
Printed Circuit Design in Altium Designer

Printed Electronics is emerging to become as common as 3D printing. With this fast-emerging technology, new possibilities have come into the manufacturing arena, allowing engineers and designers to develop products in markets never before realized. With the emergence of many contract manufacturers possessing this capability, the cost is competitive. Quick-turn prototypes and volume production are now all possibilities, and with Altium 365® you stay connected directly with your manufacturer throughout the design process.

Webinar preview
On-Demand Webinar
Using Output Job Files for Rapid, Repeatable PCB Manufacturing Data Generation

An OutJob is simply a pre-configured set of outputs. Each output is configured with its own settings and its own output format, for example, output to a file or to a printer. OutJobs are very flexible – they can include as many or as few outputs as required and any number of OutJobs can be included in a project. The best approach is to use one OutJob to configure all outputs required for each specific type of output being generated from the project. 

Article preview
On-Demand Webinar
Best Practices: Efficient Use of Snapping in Altium Designer

Getting your PCB layout design done takes patience and precision. Complex footprint geometries, board shape, and dense component placement require accurate primitive positioning. Each stage of PCB design needs a different snapping configuration. Often your settings can be excellent for one stage and be unfavorable for another. Learn more about different snapping usage patterns and best practices of efficient snappings.

On-Demand Webinar
Communicating Design Intent with Manufacturing Outputs

No one wants to do a board respin because of inaccurate or incomplete manufacturing outputs confusing design intent. This webinar covers the information needed for PCB Manufacturing and Assembly, as well as, a simple way to communicate and collaborate with manufacturing.

Article preview
On-Demand Webinar
Editing Your PCB Geometry with MCAD Tools Webinar

You need to define your PCB geometry in the context of your enclosure. If your board cannot physically be assembled into the final product, it doesn't matter how well laid out it is electrically. This webinar focuses on how the MCAD CoDesigner allows you to edit your PCB in the context of a higher-level assembly, allowing you to respect the relevant mechanical constraints.

Article preview
On-Demand Webinar
Editing Your PCB Geometry with MCAD Tools

You need to define your PCB geometry in the context of your enclosure. If your board cannot physically be assembled into the final product, it doesn't matter how well laid out it is electrically.

This webinar focuses on how the MCAD CoDesigner allows you to edit your PCB in the context of a higher-level assembly, allowing you to respect the relevant mechanical constraints.