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Component creation is a necessary evil when it comes to design, and it’s something we all need to do. But instead of spending hours creating your components and having them turn into a complete roadblock, let it be just a simple bump on the road. Altium Designer® has several tools available to you in order to create the different aspects of a component, including the symbol, footprint, 3D model parametric data, supply chain information, and more...

Component creation is a necessary evil when it comes to design, and it’s something we all need to do. But instead of spending hours creating your components and having them turn into a complete roadblock, let it be just a simple bump on the road. Altium Designer has several tools available to you in order to create the different aspects of a component, including the symbol, footprint, 3D model parametric data, supply chain information, and more....

If you ask your fabricator for a standard PCB stackup, you’ll likely see 1 oz. copper plating (~35 micron or 1.4 mils thickness) on the outer layers as well as inner layers. Is this the right value from a manufacturability perspective, or should you use an alternative copper weight on different layers? There are several variables to consider here, ranging from voltage and current requirements on certain interconnects, as well as resin content of...

Since you now have access to the latest version of Altium Designer, let's take a few minutes to get it installed and licensed. It really comes down to three simple steps, let me show you, from the Altium home page.  Step 1: Download the Installer Go ahead and sign in using your AltiumLive login credentials. Once you're signed in, go-to Resources and Support, and then download here on the Altium Downloads page, the latest installer for Altium...

If you haven’t heard about the Internet of Things (IoT) movement by now you’ve probably been living under a rock. Almost all embedded devices these days connect to the internet in one way or another to either collect or send data to the cloud. That data can then be analyzed and/or acted upon depending on different conditions that are set by the server that processes the data. To get the data to the cloud we need smart, reliable, and cheap...

In today’s world where connected devices have become ubiquitous, the term Internet of Things (IoT) has become the de facto description for “widget that is connected to the internet.” While this glorified, camel case, acronym is beautiful in it’s own right there’s so much more to “internet connected devices” than what people realize. In this article I’d like to dive deeper into one of the most prevalent protocols used in IoT devices: the MQ...

What are semi-additive PCB fabrication processes, and what are the benefits? There are a lot of terms being bandied around when discussing new manufacturing processes available that give PCB fabricators the ability to form traces and space not only below the typical three mil line and space but even below the most advanced subtractive etch processes capable of 2 mil line and space. From a design perspective, this new capability is exciting...

2-layer PCBs are a hobbyist’s best friend. They are easy to define in your design software and routing is simple if the net count is low enough. While I don’t normally work on stuff that can be done on only 2 layers, it’s still important to know how to use these boards properly. If you’re clever, you can even use these boards to route some high speed interfaces. In this article, I want to look at some of the important rules for designing a 2...

Everything that goes to making a board works against signal integrity...physics screw things up.  -Bill Hargin Avoid getting your design “skewed”! Today’s guest is Z-Zero’s Founder and CEO, Bill Hargin. Together we will dive into the cause of getting skews in your board. There are many details, and many questions answered, so make sure to watch through the end and check out the additional resources below. Listen to the Podcast: Download this...