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Embedded thumbnail for Altium Training - Design Environment: Opening a Project from a Local Drive
Altium Training
Altium Training - Design Environment: Opening a Project from a Local Drive

Get your PCB design workflow off to a smooth start. This Altium tutorial walks you through opening projects from your local directory - a core skill that keeps your process efficient and organized from day one.

NEW
Blog
Executive Insights Into Electronic Product Development Gaps You Need To Close

Electronics hardware development is falling behind broader product development disciplines due to fragmented workflows, poor collaboration, and limited compliance visibility. This gap introduces risk, delays, and missed opportunities but executives see real business value in modernizing electronics development through better integration, traceability, and lifecycle visibility.

Blog
Sourcing For High-Mix Low-Volume Electronics Manufacturing

High-mix, low-volume (HMLV) electronics manufacturing requires agile sourcing strategies to handle shifting BOMs, erratic lead times, and component volatility. All while controlling costs and ensuring compliance. Cloud-based tools like Altium provide real-time component visibility, BOM collaboration, and supplier integrations to help navigate HMLV complexities.

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How-To's
What Makes a Great PCB Design Review Submission?

Turn your PCB designs into professional-grade submissions. At Altium, we reveal the key practices that transform schematics, layouts, and documentation into review-ready work that stands out. Watch our brand-new tutorial and take your PCB design process to the next level.

NEW
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Altium Training
Altium Essentials: Design Environment

Take control of your PCB design workflow with Altium Essentials: Design Environment. This tutorial module guides you through the fundamentals of workspace management, from handling panels and documents to mastering menus, context commands, and time-saving shortcuts.

Embedded thumbnail for Altium Training - Workspace Folder Structure: Opening the Explorer Panel
Altium Training
Altium Training - Workspace Folder Structure: Opening the Explorer Panel

Discover the key ways to access the Explorer panel in Altium Designer with this step-by-step tutorial. The video walks you through four different methods, giving you the freedom to choose the approach that best fits your workflow.

Blog
One Vision, Three Powerful Solutions: Introducing Altium Discover, Altium Develop, and Altium Agile

We are excited to announce the launch of three new platform-based solutions that will transform the way electronic products are designed, built, and delivered: Altium Discover, Altium Develop, and Altium Agile. These solutions are designed to simplify processes, accelerate innovation, and make collaboration seamless across the entire electronics lifecycle. Together, they realize the purpose of Altium and Renesas: To Make Our Lives Easier.

Embedded thumbnail for Altium Essentials: Workspace Folder Structure Overview
Altium Training
Altium Essentials: Workspace Folder Structure Overview

Altium Essentials: Workspace Folder Structure is a tutorial series designed for PCB designers who are learning the fundamentals of navigating an Altium workspace. This playlist walks through key Explorer panel skills, including multiple ways to open it (via keyboard shortcuts, menus, panel buttons, and workspaces), navigating projects, and understanding the panel’s six core information areas.

Blog
The Top 5 Workflow Bottlenecks Slowing Down Mechanical Engineering Teams

Mechanical engineering teams frequently encounter delays from fragmented communication, disconnected toolchains, and inefficient synchronization processes. This article examines five critical workflow bottlenecks and highlights how ECAD-MCAD integration with real-time, bidirectional updates can eliminate rework and accelerate design iterations.

Embedded thumbnail for NFC Reader Project Part One: Schematics to PCB in Altium
How-To's
NFC Reader Project Part One: Schematics to PCB in Altium

Check out our new, in-depth NFC Reader Project tutorial! In this two-part video series, we design an ESP32-based NFC transceiver board from schematics to PCB layout. In Part 1, we dive into the TRF7970A NFC chip from Texas Instruments and guide you step-by-step through the complete design process in Altium.

Embedded thumbnail for HDI PCB Design Review: nRF52840 Via Sizing & Stack-Up Best Practices
How-To's
HDI PCB Design Review: nRF52840 Via Sizing & Stack-Up Best Practices

Explore key HDI design strategies, from calculating aspect ratios and optimizing pad diameters to managing drill tolerances and refining stack-ups for improved signal integrity. This comprehensive review highlights practical solutions to common HDI challenges, including via-in-pad layouts, clearance violations, and layer thickness adjustments for both mechanical and laser drilling processes.

Embedded thumbnail for 13 Common PCB Problems & How to Fix Them in Altium
How-To's
13 Common PCB Problems & How to Fix Them in Altium

Stop wasting time on manufacturing rework. This guide shows you how to set up Altium’s design rules to prevent the 13 PCB issues that most often derail production ensuring your boards are built right the first time.

Blog
Building a Model Context Protocol Server for Arduinos

This guide walks you through creating an MCP server that turns AI interactions with Arduino into a predictable, automated process handling tasks like board listing, compilation, and serial communication via a fast, menu‑driven interface. Skip the guesswork of prompt nudging and reduce the risk of unintended device issues.

Embedded thumbnail for What's Inside Your MCU Module?
How-To's
What's Inside Your MCU Module?

Are you curious about what’s inside a microcontroller module? Join us as we take a closer look at the Texas Instruments CC3235 Wi-Fi module under the microscope. In this video, we’ll explore its key components, including the microcontroller, flash memory, and RF circuitry, and explain how they work together to power the module.

Tag
NEW
Blog
Executive Insights Into Electronic Product Development Gaps You Need To Close

Electronics hardware development is falling behind broader product development disciplines due to fragmented workflows, poor collaboration, and limited compliance visibility. This gap introduces risk, delays, and missed opportunities but executives see real business value in modernizing electronics development through better integration, traceability, and lifecycle visibility.

Blog
Sourcing For High-Mix Low-Volume Electronics Manufacturing

High-mix, low-volume (HMLV) electronics manufacturing requires agile sourcing strategies to handle shifting BOMs, erratic lead times, and component volatility. All while controlling costs and ensuring compliance. Cloud-based tools like Altium provide real-time component visibility, BOM collaboration, and supplier integrations to help navigate HMLV complexities.

Blog
One Vision, Three Powerful Solutions: Introducing Altium Discover, Altium Develop, and Altium Agile

We are excited to announce the launch of three new platform-based solutions that will transform the way electronic products are designed, built, and delivered: Altium Discover, Altium Develop, and Altium Agile. These solutions are designed to simplify processes, accelerate innovation, and make collaboration seamless across the entire electronics lifecycle. Together, they realize the purpose of Altium and Renesas: To Make Our Lives Easier.

Blog
The Top 5 Workflow Bottlenecks Slowing Down Mechanical Engineering Teams

Mechanical engineering teams frequently encounter delays from fragmented communication, disconnected toolchains, and inefficient synchronization processes. This article examines five critical workflow bottlenecks and highlights how ECAD-MCAD integration with real-time, bidirectional updates can eliminate rework and accelerate design iterations.

Blog
Building a Model Context Protocol Server for Arduinos

This guide walks you through creating an MCP server that turns AI interactions with Arduino into a predictable, automated process handling tasks like board listing, compilation, and serial communication via a fast, menu‑driven interface. Skip the guesswork of prompt nudging and reduce the risk of unintended device issues.

Blog
Getting Started with the GreenPAK Introduction Kit

Take your first steps into mixed-signal design with the Renesas GreenPAK Introduction Kit. Ari Mahpour shows how to design, simulate, and validate a clock divider project, making it easy for beginners to start experimenting with programmable mixed-signal devices.

Blog
Smarter Electronic Part Sourcing for Automotive Purchasing Professionals

Targeted at procurement professionals in the automotive industry, the article outlines the evolving pressures of sourcing components for electrified and connected vehicles. It highlights Octopart’s ecosystem as a unified tool that centralizes availability, compliance, pricing, and lifecycle intelligence to optimize sourcing efficiency.

Blog
Stack-Up to Success: Avoid the Pitfalls

"Stack‑Up to Success" highlights how a carefully planned PCB stack‑up is foundational to preventing warpage, managing impedance, and avoiding manufacturing delays by clearly communicating layer construction, materials, and tolerance requirements to fabricators.

Tag
Embedded thumbnail for Via-in-Pad for BGA
How to Design a BGA
Via-in-Pad for BGA

We’ll teach you how to use Via-in-pad to reduce inductance, improve signal integrity, and improve power distribution system performance in BGA designs.

Embedded thumbnail for Using HDI Stackups during BGA Design
How to Design a BGA
Using HDI Stackups during BGA Design

Micro Vias and Buried Vias play an important role in high density interconnection layer stackups (HDI Stackups). We’ll show you how to add via and create rules to allow you to take full advantage of the HDI Stackup.

Embedded thumbnail for Automatic Fanout With BGA
How to Design a BGA
Automatic Fanout With BGA

When routing a BGA it can be necessary to use automatic fanout to make the routing process easier and faster. We’ll show you how to run the automatic fanout for routing a BGA and how the rules can affect the outcome of the route.

Embedded thumbnail for Specifying NSMD and SMD for BGA
How to Design a BGA
Specifying NSMD and SMD for BGA

BGA layouts use two types of pads: SMD, Solder Mask Pads, or NSMD, Non-Solder Mask Pads. Here we’ll walk you through the differences and how to specify and edit them for your layout.

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Via Stitching
Via Shielding and Stitching

Altium Designer gives you full control over your via shielding and stitching. We’ll show you how to use our shielding and stitching tools, how to alter their parameters, and how to remove any unwanted via shielding and stitching.

Embedded thumbnail for xSignals for DDR3 and DDR4
How To Work with High-Speed Projects
xSignals for DDR3 and DDR4

In a high-speed design, DDR3 and DDR4 memory chips can utilize xSignal classes to match track lengths from the controller to the memory chip easily and quickly using the xSignals wizard.

Embedded thumbnail for High-Speed Tuning
How To Work with High-Speed Projects
High-Speed Tuning

If you use high-speed interfaces like USB 3.0, PCIE, or DDR3/DDR4, you need to use match length tuning to ensure that they work properly. We’ll show you why and how, as well as demonstrating the different tools for length tuning.

Embedded thumbnail for Using Document Parameters with Draftsman
How to Work with Draftsman
Using Document Parameters with Draftsman

The Draftsman Editor in Altium Designer uses document parameters to allow fine grain control over the draftsman document. We’ll show you how you can use the document parameters in your Draftsman document. 

Embedded thumbnail for High-Speed Features of Creating a Stack
How To Work with High-Speed Projects
High-Speed Features of Creating a Stack

The foundation of any high speed design is the layer stack. We’ll show you some of Altium Designer’s powerful layer stack creation features.

Embedded thumbnail for High-Speed Return Paths
How To Work with High-Speed Projects
High-Speed Return Paths

For high speed designs it is critical to maintain your return path for adequate signal integrity. We’ll show you how, using best practices and error resolutions in Altium Designer.

Embedded thumbnail for Working with Design Variants
How to Work with Draftsman
Working with Design Variants

Altium Designer’s Draftsman Document allows for several different board views and variants that you can work with. We’ll show you how to add new variants and work with their properties to display exactly what you need in your Draftsman Document

Embedded thumbnail for Creating Schematics in High-speed Projects
How To Work with High-Speed Projects
Creating Schematics in High-speed Projects

There are several powerful features in Altium Designer for creating schematics in high speed projects. We’ll show you a few, such as how to utilize nets, net classes, blankets, design rules, and differential pairs.

Embedded thumbnail for Creating Connectivity
How to Work with Multichannel Schematic
Creating Connectivity

Multichannel connectivity can be created in a few different ways. We’ll show you how to create connectivity using ports and net labels efficiently and effectively. 

Embedded thumbnail for Hierarchical Structure for High-Speed Projects
How To Work with High-Speed Projects
Hierarchical Structure for High-Speed Projects

A Hierarchical structure can make your high speed project much easier to navigate and complete. We’ll show you some tips and tricks for creating and maintaining a high speed. Hierarchical design project.

Embedded thumbnail for Schematic Design Reuse Using Snippets
How to work with Snippets
Schematic Design Reuse Using Snippets

Snippets allow you to easily reuse circuitry across multiple parts of your designs. We’ll show you how create a new snippets the Schematic and how to connect and annotate it so you can easily bring your circuitry directly into your board.

Embedded thumbnail for PCB Design Reuse Using Snippets
How to work with Snippets
PCB Design Reuse Using Snippets

Snippets give you easy access to reuse circuitry on your PCB. Let’s take a look at how you can create and configure snippets for the PCB, connect a component link with the schematic and update the PCB to include your snippet.

Tag
Integrating Requirements June 2025 Webinar
On-Demand Webinar Mai 28, 2025
Integrating Requirements into Your PCB Design Workflow
Join our webinar where you will learn about integrated requirements tools who can help you eliminate late-stage design changes, AI support through system requirements and integration of design requirements directly in PCB Design. Don't miss it, register now!
Streamlining Team Collaboration
On-Demand Webinar Apr. 17, 2025
Streamlining Team Collaboration in Industrial PCB Projects
Join us for our upcoming webinar to discover how Altium Designer and Altium 365 can transform your team’s collaboration and take your PCB design projects to the next level. Attend for a chance to win free access to the Altium 365 Training Bundle.
PCB CoDesign Webinar
On-Demand Webinar Jan. 24, 2024
Discover How Altium Designer 24 Revolutionizes Team Dynamics in PCB Design
Expand your collaboration skills and stay ahead of the curve with PCB CoDesign. Design teams often grapple with prolonged design cycles and coordination issues, leading to delays and inefficiencies. In the current landscape, design processes are hindered by fragmented collaboration, resulting in increased layout times and difficulties in synchronizing design updates.