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Explore content from blog posts to technical white papers gathered together for your convenience. All written by Altium's community of PCB design experts.

Engineers Embrace Failure on the Way to Success I'm sure you have worked on a project where you have spent days or weeks trying to make a solution work and at the end wish you had changed directions. I'm a big fan of the 'Fail early, fail fast' concept from software engineering, but I took many years to apply it consistently to electronic design. Some professional environments discourage failure, and unfortunately, many educational settings only offer the option of right or wrong. Changing Read Article

OnTrack Newsletter: PCB Design Zen, Component Management and Brain Food - June 2019 .showvideo:hover { opacity: 0 !important; transition: 0.3s !important } @media screen and (max-width: 600px) {.mobile-column { display: block } .p100 { width: 100% !important; height: auto !important } .p80 { width: 80% !important } .condensed { width: 100% !important; padding: 0 !important; display: block } .condensed90p { width: 90% !important; padding: 0 !important; display: block } .padleftright20 { padding: 0 20px 0 20px } .initial { height Read Article

PCB Design Certifications and Learning Programs Today we’re going to talk about the importance of learning, as Eric Bogatin emphasized at last year’s AltiumLive. Please join my conversation with Ben Jordan where we explore a variety of ways that you can continue to learn and drive your career forward. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights: A current hot topic on the forum is the value of CID or Certified Interconnect Designer Read Article

Continuous Integration: An Implementation Using Altium Designer In a previous article, Continuous Integration and Deployment in ECAD, we discussed the concept of Continuous Integration while testing within a build system (leveraging Git). In this article, we will take a deeper look at how to set this up and run these “tests” against one’s PCB design project. Continuous Integration Tests: Revisited In Software Engineering, the purpose of implementing Continuous Integration into a workflow is to prevent one’s Read Article

The Evolution Of Simulation Technology and Crosstalk In Part 1 of this blog, I discussed the evolution of simulation as it applied to calculating impedance control. This article focuses on crosstalk which, along with impedance, is one of the more straightforward aspects associated with simulation. The following describes the various elements associated with crosstalk, the challenges associated with it and how to ensure that your PCB design meets crosstalk requirements. Crosstalk Solving for Read Article

The Evolution Of Simulation Technology and Impedance When design engineers started using simulation toolsets, we originally cared only about impedance and terminations. Then when things got fast, we had to worry about loss in the path. Next, we had to address differential pairs (which are specialized transmission lines) and skew. Most recently, we have had to worry about the effect of vias at very high data rates. Note: Of all of these elements, skew is the only one which cannot be simulated. From Read Article

Rigid Flex Cost Comparison Are you starting a design and contemplating whether to use a rigid-flex construction or to move forward with multiple rigid boards and wire/cable connections? Using a rigid-flex concept to replace the traditional approach of using cable assemblies to join two or more rigid boards has clear benefits: reduction in space and weight, more design freedom in packaging, reliability, and increased current carrying capabilities. But the rigid-flex Read Article

Addressing The PDS Design Challenge In part 1 of this article, I described the various challenges and problems associated with maintaining the power integrity of a PCB as accomplished through the design of a fully functioning PDS for any given product implementation. This article will address those problems and challenges by outlining the elements that comprise a PDS, what the job of an engineer is in designing a PDS and the resources available for that design process. It should be Read Article

Why and How to Use an Aluminum PCB Substrate for Your Next Design Aluminum can be used for more than just soda cans I don’t drink soda so much anymore now that I’m in my thirties, but I know aluminum has plenty of uses outside of making coke cans. One use is in the core of your PCB as a material for thermal management. Aluminum has high thermal conductivity and can be used to carry heat away from active components on a PCB when other passive or active cooling measures cannot bring component temperatures to a Read Article

The Role of a Decoupling Inductor and Resistor in a PDN You might want to add one of these components to your decoupling network In a previous article, we looked at the role of decoupling capacitors, as well as the difference between decoupling and bypassing. A decoupling capacitor provides the same functions as a bypass capacitor, but it also provides another important function in that it compensates changes in the ground potential as an IC switches. There is another important point involved in Read Article

What Size Decoupling Capacitor Should I Use for My Digital ICs? Are these capacitors sized properly? There is quite a bit of information out there about bypass and decoupling capacitors. Both components are vitally important for maintaining power integrity and signal integrity. When you start looking through the information on this topic, you’ll find that the procedure for sizing a decoupling capacitor for a digital IC is quite simple. Bypassing vs. Decoupling: What’s the Difference? Although you wouldn’t Read Article

Symmetric Stripline Impedance Calculators and Formulas In a previous article, we looked at the inconsistencies that can arise when using different calculators to compute the impedance of surface and embedded microstrip traces. Many of the same issues mentioned in the previous article apply to stripline impedance calculators. Symmetric striplines are easier to address than asymmetric striplines, both numerically and analytically. Here, we’ll give a short comparison of the various impedance formulas Read Article

Ethernet Layout Routing Standards: MAC, PHY, and RJ-45 Connectors Even complex systems like this are easy to design thanks to ethernet layout routing standards Ethernet over copper is likely part of the backbone of your office building’s networking infrastructure. Thankfully, Ethernet routing standards make it easy for designers to create everything from complex networking equipment to single-board computers for any application. The overall architecture for creating Ethernet-capable devices is deceptively Read Article

23:01 Output Job Files for Rapid, Repeatable PCB Manufacturing Data Generation Watch Video

49:24 New Product Overview: Altium Concord Pro There are many risks if your library and component data are not managed efficiently and effectively. Inefficiency occurs when multiple Watch Video

Board Fabrication Tips and Myths Amit Bahl, the Director of Sales and Marketing at Sierra Circuits, is here today to discuss a more holistic view of not only board fabrication, but also assembly as Sierra Circuits does both. He’s going to teach you ways to think more about your total cost of ownership. We also do some fun myth busting around PCB fabrication and assembly. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights: Amit Read Article

PCB Librarians and SMART PCB Component Management In the 1972 classic movie “The Candidate”, Bill Mckay, played by Robert Redford, ran for the State Senate. Although he was a long shot and an underdog, McKay ends up surprising everyone with an incredibly close win. After the concession speech of his opponent, a vast mob surrounds McKay. He fights through the crowd, trying to reach his campaign Manager Marvin (played by Peter Boyles). Finally reaching him, he pulls him aside into a hotel room Read Article