Mobile menu
Data Management
Part Insights Experience

Access critical supply chain intelligence as you design.

Learn More
Cloud Storage and Version Control

Store your libraries and design data in one secure, accessible, and version-controlled space.

Learn More
Variant Manager

Meet demands of a globalized market that requires unique versions of your PCBs.

Learn More
Design RF PCBs With a Coplanar Waveguide Calculator Design RF PCBs With a Coplanar Waveguide Calculator RF PCBs can be complex boards that need careful interconnect design and layout. If you’re designing an RF PCB for microwave or higher frequencies, controlled impedance routing should be top of mind to ensure signal integrity. You can choose from many routing styles, but whichever routing style you choose, it should provide isolation against noise and crosstalk. A coplanar waveguide routing style is an excellent choice for RF PCBs as they can be Read Article
Build Your Next LED PCB Design in Altium's Unified Environment Build Your Next LED PCB Design in Altium's Unified Environment LED driver boards can be challenging designs when running at high power and high voltage. Power systems for driving devices like LED panels need careful planning and layout for power supply sections, and the LED PCB board design itself needs to be laid out to ensure low-temperature operation. These objectives can be difficult to balance without the best PCB LED circuit design software features and DC analysis tools. When you need to create a high Read Article
PCB Developing: Preparing Your Circuit Board for a PCB Etching Service There are times where you don’t need to produce a finalized, silk-screened board at high volume, and you may only need to use a blank PCB with no components or silkscreen. Blank PCBs can be useful for prototyping, breadboarding, experimenting with components, and accessing external traces. These boards do not need to go through a special production process, they only need a limited documentation package to begin fabrication. ALTIUM DESIGNER® The Read Article
Transition from Hobby PCB Maker to Professional Designer with Altium Transition from Hobby PCB Manufacturer to Professional Designer with Altium Most new designers start off with freeware when they need to create their first PCB designs, but free PCB design software lacks many features required to create real circuit boards. Hobby PCB designers and makers need a range of tools to create high-quality circuit boards and eventually create real devices. Instead of using free PCB layout software and other programs to help get designs into production, hobby PCB makers need professional design Read Article
Model Train Circuits in the Best Electronics Design Software Model Train Circuits in the Best Electronic Model Railroad Design Software Model train circuits include multiple elements that hobbyists might find in other common electronics. LEDs, buzzers, alarms, motors, and much more can be found in model train circuits. Designing train circuit boards takes a great schematic editor and component library with real and generic components for use in a circuit board. Use the best circuit board design software to create your model train circuits and start your PCB layout in a single Read Article
Underwater ROV Design and Component Selection Underwater ROV Design and Component Selection Underwater ROVs need to obey the same reliability standards as other high-performance, high uptime products like aerospace and military systems. High reliability is all about component selection and designing boards that are fully manufacturable while keeping a system safe. The DFM features, supply chain tools, and design verification engine in Altium Designer give underwater ROV builders a complete package for electronics design and fabrication Read Article
pcb supply chain Take Control of Your PCB Supply Chain with Altium Designer and Altium 365 Circuit board manufacturing should be simple, but today's supply chain challenges can delay or derail any design that gets sent in for PCB fabrication and assembly. Today's major challenges in the PCB supply chain include trouble sourcing parts, logistics challenges when managing multiple suppliers, delays in production and delivery, and high costs when stocks get low. Many design teams still make the mistake of waiting until the end of a design Read Article
How to Prepare Your Project for PCB Cart Manufacturing with Altium Designer How to Prepare Your Project for PCB Cart Manufacturing with Altium Designer The electronics industry is massive and there are plenty of PCB manufacturers to choose from for your next order. When you need to prepare your next board for fabrication and assembly, how can you quickly generate deliverables for manufacturers like PCB Cart? Instead of generating all manufacturing documentation manually, designers need an easy way to create deliverables for fabrication and assembly. If you plan to work with PCB Cart to produce Read Article
The Best High Voltage PCB Design Software Package The Best High Voltage PCB Design Software Package Of all the different boards a designer can create, a high voltage PCB design can be complicated and requires strict attention to safety. If not laid out correctly these boards can be safety hazards or can fail to function on first power up, leaving a designer with wasted time and effort. In the best case, the board will function reliably for a long period of time thanks to correct layout practices. When you’re planning your next high voltage PCB Read Article
Altium’s Parameter Table Editor Lets You Control Your Project Settings Altium’s Parameter Table Editor Lets You Control Your Project Settings There’s a lot of data that goes into any PCB design project. The design files and project files all have their own parameters, and these can be customized to provide plenty of useful information for data management. ECAD software users need a simple way to keep their parameter sets organized within their project files, component libraries, and much more. Parameters can appear in all types of objects in your ECAD software, as well as in any type Read Article
Altium Designer Beats Any OEMSTrade Electronics Part Search Altium Designer Beats Any OEMSTrade Electronics Part Search Finding and sourcing new components for your design should be an easy process. Parts specifications can get very detailed, and there are many component options and part browsers on the market (e.g. Ultra Librarian, SamacSys, DMS, etc.). How can designers narrow down to the components they need and source components from authorized distributors? Using an OEMSTrade electronics part search and other distributor websites only gives you a partial view Read Article
Build a Comprehensive Electronic Symbols Library in Altium Designer Build an Electronic PCB Schematic Symbols Library in Altium Designer Electronic symbols are the basis for the CAD documents you’ll create before you prepare a circuit board layout. An electronic symbols library contains basic symbols and figures that are used in electrical drawings, and they need to be linked to the PCB footprints that will appear in your PCB layout. When you need to prepare and organize clear PCB layouts and electrical drawings, you need a reliable source of CAD symbols and PCB footprints, and it Read Article
Design and Simulate Any Low Pass Filter Circuit for Your PCB Low Pass Filter Simulation for Your PCB Design Many engineers will do some basic calculations by hand in order to understand their filter and amplifier circuits. However, for complex circuits that do not obey standard series and parallel rules, or that use nonlinear components like diodes and transistors, more sophisticated methods are needed. As such, designers need an easy-to-use but powerful simulation application to aid filter design and simulation. Some programs make simulations Read Article
Managing Component Obsolescence with a Unified Data Solution Managing Component Parts Obsolescence with a Unified Data Solution 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. If components stayed competitive forever, your smartphone would run on vacuum tubes. Obsolescence is an essential part of electronics. It represents an advance in technology, although it is incremental. However, it can also create some pain points for PCB designers Read Article
Save Money and Keep PCB Costs Down with Consistent Documentation Tools Save Money and Keep PCB Pricing Down with Consistent Documentation Tools Calculating PCB costs requires professional PCB drawing tools with mechanical and electrical standards incorporated intelligently for aggressive pricing. But how to reduce PCB cost? ALTIUM DESIGNER PCB design tools are capable of tracking costs and keeping production expenditures within the budget. Produce low-cost instructions with elegant drill files Calculating printed circuit board fabrication and assembly costs requires knowledge of the Read Article
When Should You Use a Flex Circuit? When Should You Use Flexible Printed Circuit Cables? 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
Include IC Pin Numbers in Your Altium Designer Parts Data Include IC Pin Numbers in Your Altium Designer Parts Data When you create components, you’ll really be creating 3 different CAD models: a schematic symbol, PCB footprint, and 3D model. Integrated circuits need multiple pieces of information, including courtyards, IC pin numbers, designators, and electrical simulation models to be most effective in your PCB design and analysis tools. If you’re working with most CAD tools, you won’t have the features you need to perform all of these tasks. Enter Altium Read Article