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Nowadays, it feels like the variety of PCB design file formats matches the number of PCB manufacturers. Using a custom file format is advantageous when working with the originating company’s program. However, there are many times when you need the capability to view or use non-native files. This can be a challenge when working with most PCB software companies, but not Altium. Altium offers a free online BRD file viewer powered by the Altium 365...

If you’re familiar with the way smartphones and other devices with touch screens work, then you’re already familiar with capacitive touch sensors. These sensors do more than just allow touch screens to distinguish fingers from other objects. Many sensors use capacitive sensing, sensors for measuring proximity, displacement, force, humidity, and fluid level. With the number of HMI devices that are projected to come into demand in the near future...

Component parameters define features of electronic parts necessary to meet form, fit, and function within the design for use across the enterprise. ALTIUM DESIGNER No matter the model, attributes, or values - input component properties with smart PCB design software. Component parameters describe features of a part PCB Component parameters are simply text strings in EDA software that describe characteristics. Characteristics such as...

Placing PCB special strings is commonplace within Altium’s workspace with direct access to predefined, and custom, special strings in the Properties Panel. Just DO text! ALTIUM DESIGNER Altium special strings allow for a more advanced printed text string and graphic design management during the schematic design and manufacturing process. These special strings, in addition to many other streamlined functions, make Altium Designer the best...

With so many PCB design software packages on the market, you need design software that is adaptable to any design requirements. Features like interactive routing, layer stack, and copper pour management, and defining design rules can make or break your next design. The best circuit design software makes using these tools easy and gives you the power to customize them to meet your design requirements. With Altium Designer, you can rest assured...

The words crosstalk and coupling are used to describe the injection of electromagnetic energy from one transmission line to another running nearby. In printed circuit boards crosstalk is usually two traces running side by side in the same layer or one over the top of the other in adjacent layers. This coupled energy appears as noise on the victim trace and can cause malfunctions if the amplitude is too large. Learn how this noise is transferred...

A transmission line is a pair of conductors used to deliver energy in the form of an electromagnetic field. Most of us are familiar with the wires that lead to our houses delivering the power needed to operate our lights and appliances. In the context of PCB design, it is a signal in a signal layer on top of a plane or between two planes. Transmission Line Termination Techniques for PCB Design The purpose of this section is to explain what...

How often have you started down the PCB development process and been bogged down by time-consuming administrative tasks? Once you get ready for production, working through a design review and correcting any DFM problems takes its own share of time. With hastening product development timelines and shorter product life cycles comes the pressure to increase PCB prototype iteration speed without sacrificing cost or quality. So how can PCB design tea...

The week of October 5, 2020, was a whirlwind thanks in part to the annual holding of AltiumLive. I did my best to attend some sessions at AltiumLive, but there were at least three other critical conferences I was invited to attend or present at, and I couldn’t hit them all. The other events of the week included: Conference on Electrical Performance of Electronic Packaging and Systems (EPEPS), presented by IEEE Electronics Packaging Society Elec...