PCB Design ⚯

Welcome to a world of inspiration and innovation in PCB design. We are grateful to our amazing community for helping us foster collaboration and growth in electronics development. We hope to share the knowledge and experience we've gained after decades of research and creating Altium Designer, the best PCB design software, and Altium 365, the agile electronics development platform.

Explore our resources to expand your skills in PCB development and stay up to date with the latest technologies and best practices. Our informative articles and practical resources are aimed at helping electronics engineers and developers bring more successful products to market faster than ever before. Dive in and get inspired!

soc2

Altium Achieves SOC 2 Type 2, Reinforcing Commitment to Data Security and Compliance We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type 2 certification. Read Article

supply chain

The Emerging Role of Mexico in the Electronics Supply Chain In this insightful discussion, Andrew sheds light on Mexico's distinctive edge in electronics production. Furthermore, he provides us with a comprehensive comparison of the logistical aspects between Mexico and China's production processes. Read Article

Altium Announces Launch of Altium 365 GovCloud Altium 365 GovCloud is a dedicated region operated by Altium, exclusively managed by U.S. Persons, and located within the AWS GovCloud region in the United States. Read Article

MCAD-ECAD Collaboration Workflow We invite you to watch our webinar, during which the Altium Product team members will demonstrate the most efficient MCAD-ECAD Watch Video

Inventory Management

Why We Really Need Inventory Management: Strategies and Tips Effective inventory management is crucial for businesses dealing with physical products. Strategies include analyzing demand, setting reorder points, utilizing just-in-time inventory, implementing automation, forecasting, establishing strong supplier relationships, and monitoring inventory levels. Additional steps such as creating early warning bills, identifying long lead times, and communicating with procurement and planning can also help manage inventory effectively. This can lead to improved operational, financial, and customer service goals. Read Article

New Opportunities for PCB Education with John Watson

New Opportunities for PCB Education with John Watson John Watson talks about the importance of education for designers, what it's like working with students, and what new opportunities there are for PCB designers in today's market. Read Article

Flexible Circuits: Start with the Basics

Flexible Circuits: Start with the Basics There are several advantages to using flexible materials. Size, weight, the ability to bend around corners and to flex during use to name just a few. Read this blog to learn more! Read Article

Using ChatGPT for Automated Testing

Using ChatGPT for Automated Testing In this article Ari Mahpour talks about ChatGPT and how to utilize the service to help with automated testing. Read Article

IPC Focus on Substrates, Manufacturers Focus on Boards

IPC Focus on Substrates, Manufacturers Focus on Boards March 24, 2023 ONTRACK BI-WEEKLY This edition of our newsletter focuses on current developments in electronics manufacturing, spanning from packaging to components and PCBs. New pilot projects are being proposed to jumpstart IC substrate production, and a recent acquisition brings a notable electronics manufacturer to the #2 spot in North America by market share. Leading Insights IPC CTC Releases Packaging Report IPC’s Chief Technologist Council Read Article

Henry Crandall

Making Smart Wearable Devices Smarter Making wearable smart devices smarter, is one of the heavily invested research in the tech industry today. Henry Crendall talks more about it in this episode. Read Article

SAP (Semi-Additive PCB Process) – Top 5 Questions Regarding Stack Up

SAP (Semi-Additive PCB Process) – Top 5 Questions Regarding Stack Up This blog addresses commonly asked questions related to circuit layer stack up in relation to the new technology of SAP (Semi-Additive PCB Process). Read Article

The Exciting Path to Mechatronics Engineering

The Exciting Path to Mechatronics Engineering Fergus Downey, Ph.D. student and research assistant at Curtin University in Western Australia (WA), is joining us in this episode and sharing his journey to becoming a Mechatronic Engineer. This will be a fun episode! Fergus will discuss his involvement with the Binar Space Program and give us an overview of CubeSat Read Article

3D Printing Circuit Boards for Fast Prototyping

3D Printed Circuit Boards for Fast Prototyping Sean Patterson joins us to share the technology behind DragonFly IV®, the multi-material 3D printer for electronics fabrication. He will walk us through its current capabilities, and how it can bring your electronic prototypes to the next level. Watch this episode or listen on the go. Read Article

Analog Solar Tracker Project

Analog Solar Tracker Project Learn about light sensors while building an analog solar panel tracking system with Mark Harris. This open-source project covers multi-channel design, window comparators, driving motors, and photosensors. Read Article

Risk vs Reward

Risk Vs. Reward During the recent IPC APEX expo, there was a lot of discussion about SAP, or semi-additive PCB processes. As with any new technology in PCB manufacturing, there were people that are excited to jump right in and start designing with much finer feature sizes and work through the inevitable changes to the traditional thought process. Others are in a let’s wait and see mode and of course, there are a few skeptics there as well. There were a few stand Read Article

Nucleo Shield Multi-Board Design

Nucleo Shields Multi-Board Design Learn how easy it is to create multi-board projects in this practical project article. Mark Harris covers why you would break larger boards into sub assemblies, and connection options between sub assembly boards. Read Article

EnviroSense WiFi Weather Station Multiboard Design

Wireless Module Designs: EnviroSense WiFi Weather Station Multiboard Get started with surface mounted sub-assemblies in this hands-on wireless module designs project. Mark Harris demonstrates the advantages of multi-board assemblies when creating your own surface mount module. Read Article