News & Updates

This one area of PCB design can be contentious among some designers as it is related to copper pour, which it is often stated is not needed in most designs. Regardless of your feelings about copper pour, stitching vias have important uses in PCBs at low frequencies and at high frequencies.

The IPC-2221 standard includes many requirements for printed circuit board design and manufacturability, and there are several online calculators that have been developed based on this standard.

When you’re ready to manufacture a new device at production volume, there are many aspects of the product that must come together. The enclosure, cabling and connectors, embedded software/firmware, and of course the PCBA all have to be considered in totality. There is a quick way to get your product into a usable enclosure, complete with input power and cabling, and with a form factor that fits your PCBA. This overused route to a new product is a box build assembly.

It is essential to ask questions and review the design approaches used with your team. Design reviews are essential in the design process, but they can be inconvenient for team members and lack traceability or history. To create the best designs, you need review methods that are as cutting edge as the boards you're making.

Printed circuit board fabricators have become skilled at manufacturing these technologies and also at understanding the reliability and producibility challenges associated with high-density-interconnect technology. Let’s look at where the PCB industry is at today.

What can the industry do to support PCB designers as they continue taking a more active role in product development? Here at Altium, there has been a progressive shift towards looking at the system level and creating tools that get designers more involved throughout the product development process. As the saying goes, over the wall engineering is over… today’s most successful products are built in a collaborative process.

As the 5G rollout progresses and researchers continue to discuss 6G, many new 5G-capable products operating in sub-GHz and mmWave bands are reaching the marketplace. Devices that will include a 5G-compatible front-end, whether small stations/repeaters or handheld devices, use phased arrays as high-gain antenna systems to provide high data throughput without losing range at higher frequencies.

Via protection is an important part of modern PCB design. It provides additional benefits in PCB manufacturing and assembly, increasing the number of acceptable products.

Version control systems (VCS) have been around for a long time in the software world but can be surprisingly new to some folks in the electronics design industry. Version control tools are great for tracking and maintaining entire codebases without the old-school copying, pasting, zipping, and emailing steps many PCB designers use.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Learn why BOM management is critical for both procurement managers and electronic engineers. Altium 365 BOM Portal helps to bridge the gap between these worlds. Discover how!

Happy New Year! 🎉 We are thrilled to announce that the Altium 365 Assembly Assistant is now officially released and available for direct purchase through the Altium Store.

Creating documentation for hand PCB assembly does not prevent the same documentation from being utilized to assist in automated PCB assembly. Learn more about the optimal format for this data to enhance both your hand PCB assembly and overall assembly processes.

Explore the powerful features of Altium Designer 24! Experience Constraint Manager and revolutionize your PCB design with reusable constraint sets, schematic-to-board rule transition, easy class and differential pair grouping, and more.

Curious about how to solve production blockers before they derail your product launch? Explore how Altium 365® can help you swiftly manage last-minute design changes.

We are advancing our Open Source Laptop project to the next stage: assembling lid electronics. In the first part of this phase, we are focusing on the electronics and PCB design of the webcam module.

The efficiency of production lines is crucial for any successful hardware product development. However, some challenges derail these processes. Do you face these problems, too? Let’s find out!

3D-MID technology seamlessly integrates electrical circuits with three-dimensional mechanical parts. This unique fusion of functionality unlocks a myriad of possibilities across various application areas. Explore more about this innovative feature, available in Altium Designer 24, to delve into the fascinating world of the 3D design process.

The PCB design process is always an exciting journey for a designer or the founder of a project. The first run of it can be breathtaking. In this article, we delve into strategies for minimizing PCB damage in the case of an exemplary circuit.

Explore the hidden impact of fragmented feedback loops in PCB design and testing. Check how minor communication gaps lead to significant financial burdens and learn how to address them.