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PCB Data Management

A lot of data is generated during the PCB design process, and your design data must be maintained well beyond the end of the design phase. Altium helps ensure long-term and short-term secure storage of your design data and PCB design reuse. Browse our library of resources on PCB design data management to learn more.

What is PCB Data Management? Design Data Management Solutions Data Management System Structures

Configuring a Hardware in the Loop Project This article will walk through an example project of a board designed in Altium Designer and run through a DevOps flow using hardware in the loop testing against its firmware. Read Article

Best DC Laboratory Bench Power Supplies of 2021 A guide to power supplies, related requirements, technological tradeoffs, and recommended brands and models. Read Article

When Should You Use a Flex Circuit? The two predominant reasons for using flex or rigid flex, are to solve a packaging issue or reduce the space and weight of the electronics package. These two are often interrelated and space, weight and packaging, (SWaP) will continue to be a driving force in PCB design. Read Article

Getting Started with Revision Control in Altium 365 Forget about tracking copies of project files, use the revision control tools in Altium 365 to track project revisions, and protect your design data. Read Article

Increasing PCB Prototype Iteration Speed in the Cloud Stay productive and increase PCB prototype iteration speed with the right set of design collaboration utilities in your PCB design software. Read Article

Altium 365 Getting Started User Guide - Available Now Hi Everyone, A month ago, I announced the release of the Altium Designer Getting Started User Guide. This week we are following up with the release of another helpful guide: Altium 365 Getting Started User Guide. The Altium 365 cloud platform offers the most connected experience for PCB design and realization with direct access from Altium Designer or any web browser. All active subscribers can access Altium 365 to unlock powerful functionality Read Article

23:57 6 Steps to Master Project Storage Access to your design files is critical for the success of your design process. Whether you are working with internal Watch Video

22:14 8 Reasons to Store Your Components in Altium 365 Working with local libraries seems like a simple solution, but we often don’t take into account the added time spent Watch Video

28:11 Using Version Control in Your PCB Project Webinar Version control has been a staple of software development for decades, but hardware development can benefit just as much from Watch Video

Designing to Meet a Target BOM Price and PCB Cost Estimate Creating an accurate PCB cost estimate for design, components, production, assembly, shipping, and even firmware can be challenging tasks for new designers. Even established organizations can have trouble getting it right as it's hard to anticipate every problem that can arise during a design. Manufacturers can help you handle the production and assembly portion of a project, but any time a new design needs to be put into production, components Read Article

Design and Simulate Your Power Supply PCB With the Best ECAD Software A PCB for a power supply can be as difficult to design as high-speed networking equipment and complex embedded systems. These circuit board designs need to account for a range of behaviors and safety requirements, especially when dealing with high voltages and currents reaching the output of the power supply. In addition to safety standards involved in power supply PCBs, component selection is critical for ensuring the design can provide the Read Article

Importance of Signal Integrity for High Speed Designs in Your ECAD Software High speed PCB designs use digital components that have very fast edge rates in their output signals. These components are commonly called “high speed,” and the signals they source can experience significant degradation in standard PCB materials. Signal integrity for high speed PCB designs is important for ensuring data can be passed between components on a PCB, and to ensure signals can be interpreted by a receiver component. There is also the Read Article

Designing for Shock Management in Avionics PCBs Of all the electronics application areas, there is one that needs to carefully consider mechanical and thermal shocks during design: avionics. An avionics system that is put into production within a satellite, aircraft, or spacecraft can experience strong vibration and mechanical shock during flight, and these systems need to be designed with high reliability in mind. IPC standards, MIL-PRF standards, and other standards specify some design Read Article

How to Design and Fabricate a 4-Layer PCB Stackup with Altium Designer Every PCB design project starts with a stackup that has clearly defined signal and plane layers. Make sure you choose the right stackup for your design, and make sure you design your stackup to comply with your fabricator’s requirements. A 4-layer PCB stackup may seem simple, but it needs to be designed with the right layer arrangement to ensure correct fabrication and impedance. Utilize the right PCB design software that helps you build the best Read Article

Customize Your PCB Drill Sizes With Altium Designer Every PCB will need some holes, vias, slots, and other features that are defined in a PCB layout. These features need to be reflected in fabrication documents, and designers need tools to help them automate this process of creating documentation directly from their designs. It’s easy to keep track of your holes, vias, electrical behavior, and much more in Altium Designer, the industry’s top PCB design application for professional design engineers Read Article

Design Your Metal Core PCB in Altium Designer Most printed circuit boards use a thick FR4 core layer to provide structural stability and interior copper layers for a multilayer PCB. If problems like excessive heat and low thermal dissipation are required in your particular application, you might consider designing with a metal core PCB. You’ll see other advantages like greater structural integrity, as well as a natural EMI shield thanks to the internal metal core. These circuit boards Read Article

IPC Classes and Complying with IPC Standards for PCB Design Whether you work in electronics design, manufacturing, or even defense, the alphabet soup of standards organizations is extensive and may seem daunting. The IPC standards are among the most widely accepted and important standards for PCB design and manufacturing. IPC standards will influence how a designer creates their board and how they will prepare it for production in different industries. These standards are meant to ensure performance and Read Article