News & Updates
Blog
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What Is Solder Mask Expansion and Which Value Should You Use?
Check out our new article explaining how to ensure sufficient pad area for soldering, manage misregistration tolerance, and maintain proper solder dams between components. It also highlights the role of collaboration with fabrication houses and the use of CAD tools in defining land patterns for advanced electronics designs.
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Pi.MX8 Project - Board Layout Part 3
We continue our exploration of the Pi.MX8 open-source computer module project. In this new installment, we focus on routing planning and then cover all the layers' routing with all the details you need to know if you want to prepare a similar project.
Blog
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Mastering Blind and Buried Vias
Check our compilation of essential resources you'll need to use blind and buried vias successfully in an HDI PCB. In our brand new article, we present the main and most valuable information about this technology, which may not be new but is still highly useful in High-Density Interconnect projects.
Blog
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Penn Electric Racing Pushes the Envelope with Altium 365
Discover how Penn Electric Racing builds award-winning, fully electric racecars with Altium 365, pushing the boundaries of technology and design.
On-Demand Webinar
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Bridge the Gap Between Engineering and Procurement: Altium 365 BOM Portal
Learn how to make informed decisions and mitigate supply chain risks with Altium 365 BOM Portal. Improve your time to market and proactively manage supply chain risks.
Blog
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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.
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SPICE Simulation Module: How To Use Automated Measurements in Simulations To Save Time and Money in Design Challenges
Simulation of electronic circuits is a key factor in the success of your design. A SPICE circuit simulator may be used to speed up the design analysis. Learn more about how Altium Designer can help you with automated measurements, saving you time and money during the design process.
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Achieve Seamless Rigid-Flex Design with Altium Designer's Unified Solution
Check out our refreshed feature page about Rigid-Flex PCB Design and see how Altium Designer’s unified environment can help you manage this kind of project with no limitations or additional licensing required.
On-Demand Webinar
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Simplify Your Workflows: Altium 365 Cloud PLM Integration with Duro®
Struggling with manual data errors in your electronics projects? Watch the webinar to learn how Altium 365 cloud PLM integration with Duro® minimizes errors and rework, saving you time and money.
Blog
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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.
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Why the Principles Are Sound, but the Tactics Need a Re-Think
Explore common principles and rituals of Agile and how you can adapt them to hardware product development.
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Pi.MX8 Project - Board Layout Part 1
Our exploration of the Pi.MX8 open-source computer module project progresses. In this third chapter, our focus shifts to the PCB layout preparation of the board. Key topics include defining the layerstack and component break-out routing.
Blog
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PCB CoDesign Whitepaper
Design faster together with the innovative PCB CoDesign feature, exclusively available in Altium Designer. This cutting-edge functionality seamlessly integrates schematic and PCB design, facilitating concurrent work by multiple engineers on the same project. Learn more about this groundbreaking feature in our comprehensive manual.
Blog
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How to Test Suspect Electronic Components
Electronic components power nearly everything in our modern lives. However, as long as there are buyers for parts, counterfeiters will persist in their endeavors. Financial losses resulting from fake components are challenging to ascertain due to enforcement limitations and the difficulty in collecting data on the issue. In this article, we demonstrate how to test and verify components in batch orders.
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The Positive Impact of Supply Chain Visibility on Design to Cost
With increased electronics supply chain visibility, you can develop better products faster and align perfectly with budget constraints early on. Here’s why.
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What Most Agile "Gurus" Get Wrong About Hardware Development
Explore common myths about Agile hardware development and learn how to adapt Agile principles for hardware projects.
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Design Phase – Lid Assembly Electronics Part 2
We are going deeper into lid assembly electronics in our Open Source Laptop project. In this chapter we will tackle the PCB design of the webcam board and show you how to deal with some expected challenges, such as overall small form factor of the board or breaking out the microscopic webcam image sensor.
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Compare Commercial Altium 365 vs Altium 365 GovCloud
If you're trying to understand how commercial Altium 365 differs from Altium 365 GovCloud, you're in the right place. Click to grasp the unique features of each.
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5 Ways Hardware Development Is Just… Different
Explore the challenges and strategies of implementing Agile methodology in electronics hardware development. Understand key differences between hardware and software development within the Agile framework.
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Flexible Circuit Assembly: Thinking Through Component Placement
The flexible circuits are ideal for applications where a thin, small, and lightweight PCB is needed. However, in such cases, challenges in assembly and fabrication often arise. This article delves into these challenges, focusing on component selection and placement and how they can significantly impact the performance of the flexible circuit in its intended application.
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Coding Your Own Networked Test Equipment
Have you ever performed manual tests? If your answer is yes, you're likely aware of how laborious and time-consuming the entire process can be. Allow us to introduce you to the realm of test equipment automation. Our new step-by-step guide empowers you to write code that seamlessly configures your networked test equipment, all from the convenience of your computer.
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Pi.MX8 Project – Schematic structure and component placement
We are advancing with our brand new Pi.MX8 Project. In this chapter, we delve deeper into two crucial aspects: the overall schematic and component placement on the PCB board. Don't hesitate to check it out. Additionally, you can follow this project through our workspace; the link is provided within the article.
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Redefine PCB Boundaries with HDI Design
Dive into the world of High-Density Interconnect (HDI) design to enhance your projects. Explore heightened signal integrity, improved reliability, and the seamless integration of advanced technologies - all within compact and lightweight designs. Discover more about HDI on our updated feature page.
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OrCAD Design Collaboration in Altium 365
Ready to start collaborating on your OrCAD projects in a multi-CAD environment? Check how you can use Multi-CAD File Support in Altium 365 in practice.
Blog
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The Critical Role of Constraint-Based PCB Design in Modern Electronics
A constraint-based approach to PCB design is crucial in today's electronics industry. This article delves deeper into this complex and interesting topic, exploring various types of constraints, their advantages, and providing guidance on implementing them into your PCB design process.
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Pi.MX8 Project – Introduction and Overview
Do you have extensive knowledge about the Pi.MX8 module? We're excited to introduce a new series of articles focusing on an innovative approach to utilizing this module. In this inaugural chapter, we provide insights into the preparation for this project and detail the elements that will be used.
On-Demand Webinar
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ECAD-MCAD Collaboration for Improved Product Development
Working between the Electronic and Mechanical design domains brings unique challenges. ECAD and MCAD tools have different design objectives and have evolved down different paths, and so has the way they store and manage their design and project data. Watch this video to learn about seamless ECAD/MCAD Collaboration on the project, how to comments for other design teams and how to review, Approve or Reject design changes from your mechanical engineer.
On-Demand Webinar
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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.
On-Demand Webinar
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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.
On-Demand Webinar
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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.
On-Demand Webinar
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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.
On-Demand Webinar
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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.
On-Demand Webinar
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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
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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.
On-Demand Webinar
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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.
On-Demand Webinar
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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.
