Hello, Welcome to the Altium Learning Hub

When designing the power supply for your device, there are lots of different options. The biggest hurdle can sometimes be understanding the difference between the options, some suppliers using various terms for the same thing. So here we will go on a brief tour of the main choices in DC power supply design. DC-DC Converter vs Regulator A DC-DC converter takes an input DC voltage and generates a different output DC voltage. The main aim of a DC...

The radar evaluation module from Texas Instruments shown above is one example of a design that contains an mmWave section complete with RF routing and high power transmission, as well as a moderate speed digital section with multiple ICs. I’m not affiliated with TI, but the main reason I like this board as an educational tool is that it shows one way to use PTFE-based laminates like Rogers or Taconic to build a commercial RF product. Sometimes...

Copper roughness has an impact on high-speed digital designs. Choose your copper wisely! In this episode, circuit materials expert John Coonrod of Rogers Corporation shares his extensive knowledge on copper roughness. Watch this episode or listen on the go; it will help a PCB designer make a sound decision about picking the most suitable copper to use on your next design. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) W...

In simple terms, schematic capture is the process of converting a paper design into an electronic representation that software tools, such as circuit simulation or PCB design packages, can process. Graphically, schematic capture (also known as schematic entry) is the process of arranging components in schematic sheets and defining links between them. In this way, you produce a logical/electrical design that can be used in your other design tools...

Switching power suppliers present the designer with a challenge when it comes to effective filtering. First, the input filter must prevent noise on the input power lines from being conducted through the power supply to the output. Second, the input filter must prevent noise generated by the switching circuitry from appearing at the output. Third, the input filter must prevent the switching circuitry’s noise from being conducted back through the...

There are very few applications where a power supply will not require filtering to be applied. The type of filter and where it is located within the circuit design will depend on many factors. The most common type is input filtering, located between any external power source and the power supply control circuitry. Alternatively, filters placed at the output across the load can be more effective. One of the main concerns for basic power supplies...

Pi Filters are a type of passive filter that gets its name from the arrangement of the three constituent components in the shape of the Greek letter Pi (π). Pi filters can be designed as either low pass or high pass filters, depending on the components used. The low-pass filter used for power supply filtering is formed from an inductor in series between the input and output with two capacitors, one across the input and the other across the...

Electronics designers working in small design houses or in large enterprises often encounter a common set of challenges when interfacing with mechanical designers. For many new products, the mechanical form factor requirements will constrain the electrical design collaboration in terms of physical layout, location of interfaces, and component selection.  For many electronic products, flex and rigid-flex board designs require careful modeling of...

Did you know: if you’re creating a product with different options or capabilities, there’s no reason to create a whole new version of your PCB project! Variants can offer you the ability to quickly layer different options for single components on the same source file.  Watch this video to learn best practices and get into the details about setting up variants in your designs and speeding up your project development. Topics covered in the...