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Explore content from blog posts to technical white papers gathered together for your convenience. All written by Altium's community of PCB design experts.

Frank Duggan: Micro Architecture and Aspiring to MIT Judy Warner: What first got you interested in developing your own microarchitecture using discrete logic? Frank Duggan: Without really knowing the specifics, it was something I'd wanted to do since I was little. I was obsessed with my Snap Circuits electronics kit, and liked to challenge myself to build circuits that do various things. At some point, I decided that building a computer was the ultimate challenge. This was probably because I found Read Article

Randy Clemmons, PCB Designer at Ingenu, Leads San Diego Altium User Group Judy Warner: Could you tell us briefly about your career path and where you work now? Randy Clemmons: I'm currently working at Ingenu where we are developing Internet of Things (IoT) networks and end point applications. Altium Designer® is our tool of choice. I started my electronics career at age 19 after volunteering for the U.S. Navy's advanced electronic program. After 10 years of service in the Navy I went to work for 1 year at Litton Read Article

The Best Tools for Multi-Board PCB Systems Design They say that time flies when you’re having fun. Maybe that’s why I feel like time slows to a crawl when I’m constructing a multi-board PCB device. Designing even one board can be an agonizing task, what with trying to avoid EMI, ground everything properly, mitigate static discharge, and optimize your routing. Creating a system of PCBs that all fit together physically and electrically sometimes tests the limits of tedium. Lucky for us there are Read Article

PCB Design Process: The EDA Design Approach The electronic design automation (EDA) approach, which is also referred to as the electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) approach, is composed of a series of software tools that are used to execute and complete the electronic system design process. These systems can include printed boards (PCBs) as well as integrated circuits (ICs). When considering product development for printed circuit boards, a toolchain with a wide array of dissimilar tools Read Article

Advantages of Hierarchical Schematic Design for PCB Schematic Layouts Do you work for a company that has its structure defined on an organizational chart? If so, then you know how useful a hierarchical structure is. By knowing who reports to whom, and which departments have dotted line cross-functional reports, you know who to go to for specific questions or tasks. On the other hand, if your company doesn’t have that kind of hierarchical structure, it can lead to a lot of confusion. The organization of a schematic Read Article

How to Use a Random Number Generator to Create Uncertainty in PCB Design My high school peers knew me as a predictable person—always the first one to show up anywhere—on time, every time. Since they didn’t seem as concerned with keeping their schedules and promises, sometimes I waited hours for my friends. That uncertainty would mess up my schedule, but engineering was a place where I found uncertainty was rarely a problem. Unsurprisingly, I developed a deep interest in physics and engineering, where the results are Read Article

How to Become a PCB Designer in Today’s World What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was a kid, I wanted to be Scotty on Star Trek. No joking, I really did. The idea that someone could fiddle around with electronic and blinking lights to create some gizmo that would save the day was really appealing. A few years later I tried to imitate Scotty by taking all the components for a kit radio and soldering them together on a thin sheet of wood. Without realizing it, I had designed my Read Article

PCB Design and Fabrication Tips to Prevent Open Circuits During PCB Manufacturing For a couple years, I lived in a town with a chocolate and candy factory. It was an amazing and terrible time, because you could go to the factory and buy “seconds,” or messed up candies, for about 75% off the normal price. Usually, the mistake was cosmetic, like the chocolate cracking over the caramel, and everything tasted totally fine. When a PCB manufacturer makes a mistake, sometimes it’s cosmetic, and the board will still function Read Article

How to Create A Component in CircuitStudio This video will cover to create a real, purchasable component with schematic symbol, PCB footprint and 3D model for your PCB design. Read Article

Asset Performance Management: Blazing A Better Path to Operational Excellence Download PDF

How to Activate Your License in CircuitStudio This video covers how to download, install and activate their license for CircuitStudio. Read Article

How to Do Pours and Internal Planes in CircuitStudio This video cover how to use, create and control via rules polygon pours and internal planes. Read Article

ESD Protection For PCB Design From computers and televisions, to automobiles and kitchen appliances, PCBs are found in nearly every aspect of our lives-- many of our devices would not be possible without them. They are the brains of our electronics, and as such, it is of the utmost importance to do everything in our power to ensure our designs are protected from potentially catastrophic threats. Proper routing and schematics, component placement, and special attention to Download PDF

High Voltage PCB Design When it comes to designing high voltage PCBs, it's important to ensure your layout is able to control and optimize electric field strengths for optimal operation and longevity. While the manufacturing process of high voltage PCBs remains similar to that of normal PCBs, careful attention to the materials you use, as well as their properties, are crucial to success. A thorough understanding of spacing rules, clearances, operating frequencies, and Download PDF

How to Create a 3D Donut and Other Unusual Shapes in Your PCB Design It is generally very simple to create realistic 3D mechanical shapes in Altium Designer® using the included Extruded, Cylinder, and Sphere shape types in the PCB Library editor. However, some shapes can be tricky. A board outline can be extremely helpful and can even produce shapes like the polygon (polygon pour). A 3D donut, however, is what we will be focusing on today. Although a hole cannot be cut out of any of the Altium-created shapes, a Read Article

14:01 Thermal Management Part 2: Sizing a Component Heatsink In this episode, Chris Carlson shows how to properly size a heatsink for a component. An expert in PCB design Watch Video

PCB CAD Design for Manufacturing Guidelines: How Trace Routing Can Affect Solder Joints A couple of weeks ago I attended a concert that was a tribute to the big band leader Stan Kenton. I love big band jazz for many reasons, one of which is the configuration of musicians and instruments in the band. There are usually around 15 to 20 musicians on different instruments, and everyone plays a different part. If just one person makes a mistake, it can ruin the balance of the number that was so carefully arranged by the composer. The Read Article