About Author

John Magyar

With an emphasis on microprocessor systems design, John earned his Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY Polytechnic Institute. He initially worked as a design engineer in the Defense industry developing diagnostic test programs for complex PCBs. Subsequently, John has worked as a senior application engineer in the EDA industry supporting a wide range of ASIC, FPGA, and PCB design and verification solutions.

Recent Articles

Implementing Complex Pad Shapes into Your PCB Designs

Implementing Complex Pad Shapes into Your PCB Designs In some instances, geometrically irregular or complex pad shapes may be required in your designs, and getting them just right can drain a significant amount of time and manual effort. Learn how to save time and energy by quickly implementing complex pad shapes in your PCB design in Altium Designer^®. Read on to find out more. Most component package types have consistent and straightforward rectangular or round pad shapes. Creating footprints for Read Article

Implementing Atmel QTouch with Altium Designer

Implementing Atmel QTouch with Altium Designer Increasingly, I am being asked how to go about designing a touch application using Atmel's QTouch technology. I’ve also had a lot of people ask if it’s possible to develop such an application on a NanoBoard^® 3000. Well it certainly is, and I thought I would take a moment and map out the overall aspects and options of implementing an Atmel QTouch design, including development. With Altium Designer^® 10, we introduced support for the automatic Read Article

The Top Two File Format Alternatives to Replace Gerber RS-274X

The Top Two File Format Alternatives to Replace Gerber RS-274X Despite its popular use in about 90% of all PCBs designed worldwide, Gerber RS-274X has several practical limitations that can lead to a number of problems during your fabrication process. What are the alternatives to this file format? Read on to find out. Meta Description: Although Gerber RS-274X is used in about 90% of all PCB designs it has several practical limitations. Gerber RS-274X is the de facto standard for PCB design software, but that Read Article

Using Customizable Grids to Save Time on Your PCB Layout Process

Defining and Using Multiple Customizable PCB Grids to Save Time on Your Layout Process Relying on one grid size can require frequent step size changes, as well as a unit of measure change, and possibly even board origin location changes, in order to achieve all required grids. Read to understand how customizable grids can help to resolve this complicated and manual process. It’s possible to rely exclusively on your default grid for all aspects of component placement, trace routing, and mechanical or special object placement Read Article

How to Simplify Your Routing with Pin Swapping

How to Simplify Your Routing with Pin Swapping Optimal component placement goes a long way towards minimizing crossover connection lines. However, crossovers can never be completely avoided. Learn how you can simplify your routing process and avoid wasting time with crossover connections. Optimal component placement goes a long way towards minimizing crossover connection lines. However, crossovers can never be completely avoided. A large number of crossover connections make routing a PCB Read Article

Defining PCB Library Types and Methodologies for Your Design Process

PCB Libraries: Defining Library Types and Methodologies for Your Design Process There are various PCB library types and methodologies out there, and selecting which to implement into your design process depends on a number of factors. But how do you know which library methodology is the best? Read on to find out. There are various types of PCB libraries and methodologies out there, and selecting which to implement into your design process depends on a number of factors. While some small business users may require only a bare Read Article

How to Implement Capacitive Touch Sensor Technology

Capacitive Touch Sensor Technology: How it Works and How it is Implemented Capacitive touch sensor technology offers an inexpensive and highly reliable alternative to the traditional mechanical switches that are used in electronics control interfaces. Manually creating or resizing a touch sensor’s complex vendor/technology-specific patterns can be both difficult and time-consuming. Fortunately, there is an automated solution, which enables the easy creation and modification of intricate touch sensor shapes. The Inner Read Article

To Take Training or Not to Take Training? There Is No Question

PCB Creativity and Training: To Take A Training Class or Not? When it comes to learning a new PCB design software, how important is it to take a training class? Something I often ask new users, infrequent users, or prospects considering Altium, is if they thought about taking a training class. The answer predictably starts with a grimace, proceeds with a hesitant “yes, however…”, and typically concludes with multiple objections regarding time away from work, cost of the course, and other associated expenses Read Article