MCAD-ECAD Collaboration

The MCAD CoDesigner enables simple and effective collaboration between a mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer.

Electrical Engineer

Let's transfer this board to our mechanical engineer for further design. The whole transfer process involves pressing the Push button and specifying a comment.

Fig. 1 - Altium downloads page — **Fig. 1 -** **Push** button on the MCAD CoDesigner panel

Fig. 2 - Installation wizard — **Fig. 2 -** Type in a comment and click **Send**

If the mechanical engineer was not yet involved in your project, the administrator can invite them pretty quickly.

Fig. 3 – Launching the plugin — **Fig. 3** - The administrator has the capability to invite others to share data

Mechanical Engineer

Switch to the mechanical CAD tool where we can open the previously pushed board. Pull the board.

Fig. 4 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 4** - **Pull** the project from the MCAD CoDesigner panel

The shape of the PCB can be easily changed by editing the sketch within the MCAD tool.

Fig. 5 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 5** - **Edit Sketch** command in MCAD tool

Place holes of any desired standard or size using convenient and familiar tools for the mechanical engineer.

Fig. 6 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 6** - **Hole Wizard** button on the ribbon

Fig. 7 - Installation wizard — **Fig. 7 -** Standard hole shapes and sizes available in MCAD tools

Change the position of any components on the board and adjust them to the design specifics. If necessary, define the keepout areas and rooms with the custom text requirements.

Fig. 8 - Altium downloads page — **Fig. 8 -** **Move Component** button on the ribbon

Fig. 9 - Installation wizard — **Fig. 9 -** Reposition components

Add models of new components to the board assembly.
If the usage of the native MCAD components is set up, MCAD CoDesigner converts the MCAD components into Altium Designer components and places them with the appropriate footprint.

Fig. 10 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 10** - Insert new components to the model

When finished, Push the board with the comments to the electrical engineer.

Fig. 11 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 11** - Type in a comment and click **Send**

Electrical Engineer

In the MCAD CoDesigner panel there is a notification of new changes made by the mechanical designer.

Fig. 12 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 12** - Notification of new engineering changes from the MCAD side

The display of each change can be seen directly on the PCB before its application. Once the changes are accepted, the PCB gets the identical geometry, layout, and components that have been added from the mechanical side.

Fig. 13 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 13** - A list of engineering changes from the MCAD side

When the PCB design is complete, Push the PCB with the full layout and copper layers to the mechanical engineer for a comprehensive analysis.

Mechanical Engineer

In the MCAD tool, there will be a notification with a comment of the corrections made on the MCAD CoDesigner panel.

Fig. 14 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 14** - Notification of engineering changes from the ECAD side

Review and accept the changes.

Fig. 15 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 15** - Review, accept/reject the engineering changes from the ECAD side

After accepting the changes, if the corresponding option in MCAD CoDesigner’s settings is enabled, the copper layers are displayed in the PCB assembly tree and every layer can be viewed and analyzed.

Fig. 16 - Altium CoDesigner in the menu bar — **Fig. 16** - 3D copper layer is transferred over from the ECAD side as a solid model

Good job! Article is now completed!

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