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Explore Altium's Resource hub to discover content from blog posts and design guides to technical white papers, all gathered together for your convenience and written by Altium's community of PCB design experts.

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What is ISO 14300 What is ISO 14300 In looking for the answer of what is ISO 14300, find out about space exploration device requirements and the potential behind CAD tools. ALTIUM DESIGNER PCB Design software with excellent communication through the design process. The International Standards Organization (ISO) represents 163 national standards bodies and functions as an independent, non-governmental entity. ISO meetings bring experts together to share knowledge and to gain Read Article
Taking a Modular PCB Design Approach in Altium Designer PCB design is rarely discussed in terms of designing functional blocks or as connecting modules with different functionality. Simple designs can usually be designed without considering how your PCB layout affects the operation and interaction between multiple functional blocks in your board. With more complex designs, you’ll need to consider more than just the high-level overview of your board when you are designing a complex system. Modular PCB Read Article
Sourcing Military PCB Components in a Unified Design Environment Sourcing Military PCB Components in a Unified Design Environment Whether you are a procurement officer for the military, a prime contractor, or a defense subcontractor, you’ll face a number of obstacles when sourcing components for electronic defense systems. Given the component shortages and potential for counterfeiting in the components market, military PCB components cannot be procured from just any company. Any component for a military electronic system must meet rigorous quality standards and be traceable Read Article
Power Electronics for Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries in Altium Designer Power Electronics for Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries in Altium Designer Power electronics encompasses a massive list of systems that make modern life possible. From automotive systems to power distribution systems, power electronics are responsible for controlling and managing the flow of power throughout an electrical system. With alternative energy systems bound to become more popular in the future, engineers and designers need the right PCB design software for power electronics systems. Design software for power Read Article
PCB Library and Supply Chain Integration in Altium Concord Pro PCB Library and Supply Chain Integration in Altium Concord Pro Anyone planning to manufacture a new circuit board has plenty of challenges to overcome. From component shortages to outdated design data, project managers and designers face obstacles to timely production that arise from stale component data and supply chain information. Sourcing shouldn’t be guesswork, and it shouldn’t require 3rd party tools that only provide visibility to a portion of the supply chain. Supply chain changes can catch any Read Article
PCB Design Reuse and Product Lifecycle Management in Altium Concord Pro PCB Design Reuse and Product Lifecycle Management in Altium Concord Pro Reusing design data is a great way to hasten redesigns of existing hardware. Managing this design data, including version control and component data management, can be a real challenge. Production lead times are decreasing, component lifecycles are shorter, replacement parts are pushed to market sooner, and design data steadily grows as new designs become more complex. Reusing design data for a portion of an existing board or functional blocks Read Article
Connectors Benefit from Compatible ECAD/MCAD Tools Modeling and Placing Connectors Within Altium Designer ALTIUM DESIGNER The most powerful, modern, and easy-to-use PCB design tool for professional use. I/O use connectors for PCB system integration In this guide to PCB connectors, we’ll take a look at connectors within electrical systems, how they benefit from ECAD/MCAD tools, and optimal design specifics like appropriate cable connectors or gold fingers gold plating. Connectors abound on printed circuit assemblies given integrated electrical Read Article
Sourcing Microelectronics for Military Systems Microelectronics for the Defense Industry Defense contractors, military procurement officers, and contract manufacturers face a number of obstacles when designing and manufacturing PCBs for use in defense systems. Defense microelectronics and manufactured PCBs cannot be procured from just any company, and these components must meet rigorous standards that ensure quality and reliability. These components must also be traceable back to a compliant component manufacturer. Only Altium Read Article
How to Keep Your 3D PCB Models Current with Data Management Tools How to Keep Your 3D PCB Models Current with Data Management Tools Any component includes a significant amount of design data. This includes electrical models, 3D PCB model components, and PCB supplier information. Your PCB design software should be allowed to take this data and integrate it with your MCAD tools. This allows you to create 3D body models from your PCB footprints and integrate them into a data library. Ensuring that this data stays up to date takes a data management platform that operates directly Read Article
How PCB Libraries and Data Management Help Prevent Intellectual Property Theft How PCB Libraries and Data Management Help Prevent Intellectual Property Theft Anytime you send your finished design data out for production at an overseas factory, you place yourself at risk of intellectual property theft. Unscrupulous workers can pilfer design data and sell it to a competitor. They can also pilfer finished boards and reverse engineer them. This theft of intellectual property undermines competitiveness and ultimately places a company’s survival in jeopardy. In addition to the problems surrounding third Read Article
ESD Grounding Requirements in Your Next PCB ESD Grounding Requirements in Your Next PCB Any PCB that will be deployed in an environment surrounded by high voltage equipment or power sources is at risk of electrostatic discharge (ESD). Static electricity can also discharge directly into a board and ruin sensitive electronic components if a board is handled without a wrist strap. This induces a transient voltage in the PCB, which can cause damage to sensitive components. In extreme cases, such as lightning strikes or major power Read Article
Digital Input Sampling for Embedded Systems in Altium Designer Digital Input Sampling for Embedded Systems in Altium Designer Whether or not you know it, embedded systems play an important role in providing broad functionality in a number of important applications, ranging from consumer electronics to military and aerospace systems. These systems must often gather analog signals and convert them to digital data, followed by using this data in complex calculations. There is plenty of other functionality to include in these systems in order to make them function as Read Article
Designing Your PCB for Transient Voltage Suppression Designing Your PCB for Transient Voltage Suppression PCBs in aircraft, near high voltage equipment, and with a weak grounding strategy are at serious risk of damage due to electrostatic discharge (ESD). When ESD occurs, a huge spike of current propagates through your board, causing damage to components and thermally sensitive components. There are a number of ways to protect your board from ESD. In addition to implementing the right grounding strategy, choosing the right components for suppressing Read Article
Designing to Military Grade PCB Specifications with Altium Designer Designing to Military Grade PCB Specifications with Altium Designer Military-grade PCBs carry stringent performance, sourcing, and manufacturing requirements that are encoded in a number of standards. Preparing your next Printed Circuit Board for a military electronics system for manufacturing and assembly must also follow important sourcing and quality standards. Meeting all of these requirements is easiest when you have access to all your design and production planning tools in a single program. Only Altium Read Article
Designing Physical Layer Security for Military PCBs in Altium Designer Designing Physical Layer Security for Military PCBs in Altium Designer PCBs for military systems are high performing beasts that must meet stringent design and performance standards. Military systems that store and process sensitive data require extra layers of security that goes beyond locking them in a secure enclosure. You’ll need to design your Printed Circuit Boards to be extremely resistant to EMI, route data so that it cannot be tapped passively, and include blacked-out chips to prevent attackers from Read Article
Data Management for Component Models in SPICE Simulations Data Management for Component Models in SPICE Simulations Simulation software is becoming more powerful as time goes on, but the simplest solutions are sometimes still preferable for many applications. SPICE simulations have been around for decades, yet their applicability to a wide variety of circuits and applications is not lost on anyone. With SPICE simulation tools being so popular, it’s only natural that they appear in PCB design software platforms. Devices continue to become more powerful and more Read Article
Changing PCB Reference Planes During Routing in Multilayer Boards Changing PCB Reference Planes During Routing in Multilayer Boards Routing through multiple PCB reference planes is not the best routing strategy, but there are some simple design tips that can help. Read Article