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In high-speed PCB design, many standard interfaces are impedance-controlled, meaning the trace connecting to a chip must have a specific impedance value. This article is not necessarily about calculators or formulas for calculating impedance, but rather how and when to use the calculation in a stackup design process. PCB stackups can be custom designed, selected from a standard stackup, or there may not be any data given to you at the beginning...

Mini commercial products do not have just a few PCBs; they use multiple PCBs in a single enclosure to create a product. Most easy design software does not fully accommodate multi-board PCB design, but it is a powerful approach that helps verify connectivity across an entire board stack. The overall workflow for multi-board design starts with schematics and completes the remaining electrical design, followed by the preparation of manufacturing and...

Any product, including circuit boards and electronic components, will become obsolete and must be replaced with completely new versions. If a product is ever manufactured and taken to market, the product and its components will inevitably have a finite life cycle. Products are eventually upgraded to new versions and capabilities or components are added, or they become obsolete and are replaced with completely new circuit designs and technology...

Let’s face it: PCB design is complex, and not all design software packages have the tools to help you be successful. Whether you’re creating a simple two-layer board or a complex high-speed digital system, Altium Designer has the design tools and PCB design tutorial you need to get started and succeed. You’ll have access to multiple PCB design tutorials to help you gain a better understanding of advanced features as you venture deeper into PCB...

Altium Concord Pro™ as a standalone product and brand name has been discontinued and the capabilities are now available as part of our Altium enterprise solutions. Learn more here. Memories Fade, but a Diamond Good Documentation is Forever In a previous article, we took a look at how to create perfect layout templates for your schematics. In particular, how to craft the title block and how to style the components. My obsession with creating...

There are three main components in a CAN-bus node: Microprocessor CAN-bus controller CAN-bus transceiver The CAN-bus controller implements all the low-level features of the network protocol, ISO 11898–1, while the transceiver communicates with the physical layer. Different transceivers are required for different physical layers, such as high-speed can, low-speed fault-tolerant can, or high-speed can with variable data rate. In a typical...

Last year I wrote about buying a laptop or components to build a desktop computer but did not cover pre-built computers. This year we have updated those articles and are also going to be looking at the best pre-built computers for CAD workstations, for things like design, engineering, and hardware development in general. While building a CAD workstation computer is going to allow you to use the latest technology and get the best value for your...

A year ago, I wrote an article about buying a laptop for engineering software. Over the past year, many CAD spec laptop series have taken a great leap forward as new models have come out. The majority of options considered for the list last year were running 7th-generation processors and therefore got ruled out of consideration entirely. Most of the laptops that were considered had 8th-generation Intel processors, and there were no AMD processors...

The AltiumLive Virtual Summit is just around the corner! So in a unique episode of OnTrack, we share clips of Robert Feranec, motherboard designer and founder and CEO of Fedevel Academy, speaking on such topics as IoT device security in an increasingly connected world, the pitfalls of underestimating the complexity of your fellow stakeholder’s job, and the value of attending AltiumLive. This is a short and impactful episode you shouldn’t miss. ...