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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.

Crosstalk in Mixed-Signal PCB Traces and Ground Planes Crosstalk in Mixed-Signal PCB Traces and Ground Planes Digital and analog elements, if not properly arranged, mix about as well as oil and water. While many consumer electronics operate in the purely digital regime, there are many devices that could not function without mixing digital signal and analog signaling within a single PCB. Just like in purely digital or purely analog PCBs, crosstalk and EMI can occur in mixed signal PCBs. These potential signal integrity problems can create a major headache Read Article
Component Symbol Information Management and Display Usability Component Symbol Information Management and Display Usability Building a library of PCB components requires compiling information on footprint, electrical specifications, simulation models, pin arrangements, and other specifications. The amount of information in any component library is massive and needs to be aggregated into a single module in your PCB design software. A PCB component library should be flexible enough to allow designers and engineers to define proprietary components and implement the Read Article
PCB Production for Industry Manufacturing with Supplier Information PCB Production for Industry Manufacturing with Supplier Information Moving to PCB production is that breathtaking and nerve-wracking final step in bringing your next electronic device to life. Manufacturers require that a specific set of deliverables be provided by engineers and designers before they begin production. This includes your bill of materials, CAD/CAM drafts of your PCB, Gerber files, and component sourcing information. Probably the most important piece of information is the pricing and lead time Read Article
Creating a Ground Plane for Your PCB Design Creating a Ground Plane for Your PCB Design It used to be that printed circuit boards seemed to have the same basic layer configuration, or at least that’s the way I tend to remember it. This meant that they were usually six layer multi-layer boards, with a ground plane and a VCC plane. The old CAD systems didn’t really have the ability to do much with power planes except to designate layers as a bottom layer or the like. The most you would see in them would be some “X’s” where there was Read Article
Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Assembly (DFA) tips with Jay Colognori Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Assembly (DFA) tips with Jay Colognori Get Design for Manufacturability (DFM) tips from Jay Colognori, Director of Business Development at Electronic Instrumentation & Technology (EIT). DFM and Design for Assembly (DFA) are important to engineers who know you can’t just design a PCB and throw it over the wall to manufacturing. Early and proactive optimization of all the manufacturing functions from fabrication to assembly of the final system is key. Listen to Jay and Judy discuss high Read Article
Start Your Schematic Right with the Best Electronics Parts Management Start Your Schematic Right with the Best Electronics Parts Management I loved building models when I was a kid. Whether it was airplanes, cars, ships, or tanks, it didn’t matter as long as I was gluing pieces together. You can imagine my disappointment then when none of my sons shared the same interest. In fact we just discovered a couple of old models tossed in a box that they had started and then given up on. The really sad thing is that the instructions for these kits are missing, and I have no idea now what Read Article
Planning Your Next HDI Stackup with PCB Layer Management Planning Your Next HDI Stackup with PCB Layer Management Not to toot my own horn, but I just became a homeowner. The moving process will start soon: everything needs to be packed in boxes and creatively arranged in a truck on moving day. I only hope that I can minimize my number of trips between my old apartment and new house without damaging anything. Packing all the family belongings in a truck evokes images of packing more features and components into the limited real estate available on a PCB. At Read Article
PCB layout tips unroutable circuit board Practical PCB Design Tips for an Unroutable Board I grew up in the era before PlayStation ever existed. Back then, generic consoles reigned alongside premium counterparts like Super Nintendo and Sega. I first discovered my stubborn streak while playing Super Mario, a game where a funny looking character starts shooting fireballs after getting power-ups from mushrooms. I lost count of how many times I repeated the entire game even though I was always ultimately defeated at the last level. As Read Article
Controlling High Current LEDs with a TIP3055 Power Transistor Controlling High Current LEDs with a TIP3055 Power Transistor One of the occupational hazards of being a hardware is a growing belly size that is proportional to age. That’s why I try to keep myself fit with a regular workout at the gym. Power bars are indispensable in helping me get through my workout routine by keeping my energy levels high during the entire session. In electronics, the power transistor is equivalent to the power bar. It handles high current components, such as hundreds of LEDs drawing Read Article
Schematic Capture Design Integration Thrives With Unified Partners Schematic Capture Design Integration Thrives With Unified Partners The digital world is an evolving place. Just yesterday file formats were abundant for text and graphics. Or was that today? Sending a file to a friend can turn into disaster if their device doesn’t recognize the extension. Clicks occur rapidly while trying differing file formats to see if they will save and send. It gets a little trying and soon the search turns to a more elegant app. Designing circuits, iterating parallel ideas, and releasing Read Article
More than a Right-Click Menu Multi-Channel PCB Design More than a Right-Click Menu Multi-Channel PCB Design When it comes to creating a schematic I want the tools to work for me and not the other way around. I want easy access to, I want to place and connect those, and I want to be able to do all of this without having to jump through a lot of hoops to get there. Sadly many PCB design CAD systems don’t seem to share my opinion. I’m looking for an easy right-click menu solution while most CAD systems appear to want me to memorize a of ancient texts and Read Article
Switching Units From MM to Mil and Other PCB Design Measurement Preferences Switching Units From MM to Mil and Other PCB Design Measurement Preferences There was a time when the unit of measurement that a PCB designer utilized was dependent on the side of the world they were currently residing in. Gradually, that began to change as the metric system became the standard unit of measurement. The problem, however, was that many older data sheets and designs still referenced imperial measurements. Designers had to arm themselves with a scratch pad, calculator, and a bottle of aspirin to constantly Read Article
From Veteran PCB Designers to Next Gen Innovators - July 2018 From Veteran PCB Designers to Next Gen Innovators - July 2018 OnTrack Newsletter July 2018 VOL. 2 No 4 Welcome to the July edition of the Altium OnTrack Newsletter! In Rock Stars and Superheroes, we talk with veteran PCB Designer Bill Brooks, who has been designing boards since 1969. In Next Gen Designers, we introduce you to the WARR Hyperloop team from the Technical University of Munich, who won the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition II in 2017, and broke the world record as well! In the OnTrack video Read Article
BOM Management Tools for PCB Manufacturing BOM Management Tools for PCB Manufacturing Between the mid-1980s and late 1990s, Spy magazine published a monthly “Separated at Birth” column/pictorial that would pair two selected photos of unrelated celebrities, cartoon characters, or movie characters. The authors would then point out similar physical characteristics from each photo. Mentally picture a space alien from a popular movie paired with a sultry singer to gain some appreciation for their humor. Separated at Birth? Well… Kinda Read Article
PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance From the early 15th century until the 17th century, artists used the Flemish masters’ method to create life-like paintings. This process begins with a pencil, charcoal, or ink pen drawing and continues with the imprimatura—or the first transparent, olive-tinged stain of color. Then, the method moves to the first umber underpainting, sanding, second umber underpainting, sanding, and a monochromatic underpainting. Each underpainting layer focuses Read Article
PCB Design Guidelines for Using a TVS Diode for Transient Protection PCB Design Guidelines for Using a TVS Diode for Transient Protection Although it was highly educational and undeniably inspiring to witness the early days of the Internet, I don’t miss the slow speeds or endless technical issues. In those days, it took ages to check sports stats or open a simple email, not to mention the risk of thunderstorms damaging the computer. On stormy days, it wasn’t unusual to unplug the power to the computer and disconnect the phone cable connecting the computer to the internal dial modem Read Article
PCB Component Failure: How to Workaround a Tragedy PCB Component Failure: How to Workaround a Tragedy Probably, the single thing that drew me to pursue a technical career was the existence of laws that stipulated if you follow the same procedure then you will get the same results. I have always taken comfort in having that security for my work. However, there is another law that at times supersedes all others. That, of course, is Murphy’s law, which states “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” At times it seems that Murphy’s law applies Read Article