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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.

Need to Keep Your PCB Project Under Budget? Use a PCB Design Tool that Helps You Do That So how can you keep your project on schedule and under budget from the get go? It helps if you start with the right PCB design tool. Read more about Need to Keep Your PCB Project Under Budget? Use a PCB Design Tool that Helps You Do That Read Article
CS 1.4 has been released - Now easier than ever to migrate from Eagle™ Of particular note in this release, is the addition of Classes. Within the schematic, Net Classes can be generated using the new Net Class directive and Component Classes are automatically generated for each Schematic Sheet within the hierarchy. Within PCB a new Classes dialog is available on the Home tab in the Design Rules section, and this can be used to create Pad, Polygon, Component, Layer, and Net Classes. CircuitStudio is the world’s Read Article
How to Design a 4-20mA Current Loop Receiver with Minimal Components I’ve always been a fan of Gordon Ramsay. He never fails to amaze me with his colorful cursing as raw scallops are continuously served by hapless Hell’s Kitchen contestants. But what really amused me was when he tried his hand at Asian cuisine. The tables were turned, and he learned the hard way that good Asian cuisine is a completely different beast than his usual beef wellingtons. Process Control: Where 4-20mA reign supreme. I had a similar Read Article
Why Increasing Design Complexity Requires the Best Professional PCB Design Software Didn’t everything seem so simple when you were a kid? No job to work at, no mortgage to pay, and no kids of your own to wrangle. My main occupation was to run around outside and try not to get too dirty while playing. Now life is certainly better, but also quite a bit more complicated. Similarly, the PCB industry is also growing up and become more convoluted. Gone are the days of large, simple boards. Now everything has to be small, sleek, and Read Article
Licensing 101 - Altium License Types and Functions Altium Designer provides a streamlined licensing system that enables you to get licensed and up and running with your Altium Designer software in a timely and efficient manner. The licensing system supports a variety of license usage models to suit the asset management needs of the individual or corporate infrastructure. SKIP TO: Licensing structure Geographical assignments Role of Altiumlive accounts and group administrators License types and Download PDF
The Top 3 DFM Problems That Affect Every PCB Design: PCB Design Tips & Tricks - Altium Audio Bites Altium Audio Bites, giving you bite-sized information that's easy to digest and apply to your everyday design tasks. From our PCB Design Tips & Tricks audio series here is: The Top 3 DFM Problems That Affect Every PCB Design. All our audio series are from real PCB designers in the field, detailing their day to day problems and experiences. We hope you can learn from this as much as we have. Give it a listen and let us know what you think in the Read Article
How Proper PCB Layout Can Help You Avoid Adding Heat Sinks to Your Design: PCB Design Tips & Tricks - Altium Audio Bites Altium Audio Bites, giving you bite-sized information that's easy to digest and apply to your everyday design tasks. From our PCB Design Tips & Tricks audio series here is: How Proper PCB Layout Can Help You Avoid Adding Heat Sinks to Your Design. All our audio series are from real PCB designers in the field, detailing their day to day problems and experiences. We hope you can learn from this as much as we have. Give it a listen and let us know Read Article
6 Common Misconceptions about PCB Design: PCB Design Tips & Tricks - Altium Audio Bites Altium Audio Bites, giving you bite-sized information that's easy to digest and apply to your everyday design tasks. From our PCB Design Tips & Tricks audio series here is: 6 Common Misconceptions about PCB Design. All our audio series are from real PCB designers in the field, detailing their day to day problems and experiences. We hope you can learn from this as much as we have. Give it a listen and let us know what you think in the comments Read Article
5 PCB Design Facts That Your Boss Needs to Know: PCB Design Tips & Tricks - Altium Audio Bites Altium Audio Bites, giving you bite-sized information that's easy to digest and apply to your everyday design tasks. From our PCB Design Tips & Tricks audio series here is: 5 PCB Design Facts That Your Boss Needs to Know. All our audio series are from real PCB designers in the field, detailing their day to day problems and experiences. We hope you can learn from this as much as we have. Give it a listen and let us know what you think in the Read Article
2:01 Unified Schematic - Features Watch Video
Should You or Your Manufacturer Specify Every Aspect of PCB Construction? I was finally taking a trip to China; something I had been planning for years. I was about halfway through the flight when all of a sudden, my vacation excitement turned to dread. I realized that back at home, where I am PCB assembling, there might have been a critical board mistake during assembly. I was regretting not specifying that reflow profile. Then again, maybe I was regretting over specifying it? Any mistakes on my board were made days Read Article
8:26 PCB Design: Tips and Tricks for Rigid-Flex Designs - OnTrack Altium FAE, John Magyar, shows you tips and tricks to bring your Rigid-Flex Designs to life. Learn more about Rigid-Flex Watch Video
5:05 PCB Design: Layer Stacks in High Speed Designs - OnTrack Watch Video
Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery vs Lithium Ion For Embedded Systems Two of the most popular battery choices for embedded systems are lithium-ion batteries (Li-Ion) and lithium iron phosphate batteries (Li-phosphate or LiFePO4). These two types of batteries have very different charging and discharging characteristics, although they have similar chemistry and use some of the same materials. In some systems, you could use either type of battery, but each has its advantages in different applications, which can depend Read Article
How Embedded Machine Learning Applications Will Benefit From 5G and the Cloud Editorial credit: Anton_Ivanov / Shutterstock.com When I was studying late at night in college I often wished I had a cybernetic brain implant. Then I could just download any information I needed and instantly recall it later. No more studying, no more forgetting my girlfriend’s birthday, maybe I could even watch Netflix inside my own head. Sadly the illustrious electrical engineers who came before me designed Internet of Things (IoT) devices Read Article
How Internet of Things Wireless Sensor Networks Can Benefit From Multi-Sensor Platforms Some people like dogs or cats, but my family has always been a cat family. We have one important rule to keep us from graduating to a “crazy” cat family. We are not allowed to have more cats than we have family members. Sometimes we don’t want limits, but we still have to have them to keep things from getting out of hand. The same principle applies to the Internet of Things (IoT). While I do think many IoT devices are a bit overboard, their Read Article
Migrating From Cadence OrCAD® To Altium Designer® The core principle of Altium Designer is a unified approach to PCB design. In implementing this approach, you’ll find that our tool differs from many of the more conventional alternatives currently available. There are a number of separate yet connected elements required to complete a successful PCB design, and our workflow brings them all together. TOPICS IN THIS SOLUTION Preparing Your OrCAD and Allegro Files Translating Your Schematics Download PDF