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AD18 What's New Feature Summary

David Haboud
|  Created: December 4, 2017  |  Updated: October 27, 2020
|  Open as PDF
AD18 What's New Feature Summary

ALTIUM DESIGNER® 18 - WHAT’S NEW FEATURE SUMMARY

AD16 vs AD18

Altium continues its focus on delivering user-focused, easy-to-use and performance-enhancing printed circuit board (PCBs) design tools as part of a single price solution with the introduction of Altium Designer 18.

HIGH PERFORMANCE MADE SIMPLE

Altium Designer 18 significantly enhances user experience and productivity using a modern interface to streamline your design workflow, while enabling unprecedented performance optimization with 64-Bit architecture and multi-threading.

You can create interconnected multi-board projects and render high density, complex PCB assemblies quickly and accurately. The modern user interface, along with updates to enhance routing, BOM creation, rule-checking, and manufacturing hand-off capabilities, enable you to design more efficiently and productively than ever.

When you have the latest version of Altium Designer, you can rest assured you have the most powerful, modern, and easy-to-use printed circuit board (PCB) design technology at your fingertips.

  • POLYGON REPOUR ALL
  • GERBER FILES GENERATION
  • ONLINE DRC
  • FILE OPENING (WITH SCENE BUILDING)
  • PROJECT COMPILATION TIME

Project A: 4-Layer, Tracks 39.6K, Components 1925, Nets 1267, Polygons 369

  • POWERFUL PCB DESIGN
  • HIGHLIGHTS
  • ADVANTAGES

64-Bit architecture and refactored, multi-threaded code make better use ofyour computer’s resources for features you use regularly.

Design large, complex boards faster than ever with the assurance of neverrunning out of memory.

Leverage more efficient algorithms to significantly improve task execution,speed and design time on many common tasks - including online DRC, schematic compile, polygon pour, and output generation.

  • MODERN INTERFACE EXPERIENCE
  • HIGHLIGHTS
  • DEFINITION
  • ADVANTAGES

Properties Panel

The Properties Panel combines property dialogs and the Inspector Panel, simplifying access to object attributes and parameters using selection filters, document/snap options, shortcuts and object properties.

Libraries Panel and Global Search

The Libraries Panel enables fast search and placement of components, whileincorporating relevant supply chain data from over 100 verified suppliers.

Layers and Color Panel

The Layers and Colors Panel equips you with complete power to customizelayer scale, masks, 3D objects, and even system colors visibility.

Displays important design information in one location for a more streamlined experience - including context sensitive information to clearly visualize your design workflow.

Memorizing a command or accessing a certain dialog is no longer a hassle. Use the global search to quickly access your entire design for anything from computer-aided design objects to commands.

Quickly switch between savable configuration view styles to filter out the noise and clutter so that you can focus on your design without distractions.

  • INTERCONNECTED MULTI-BOARD ASSEMBLY
  • HIGHLIGHTS
  • DEFINITION
  • ADVANTAGES

Multi-Board Assemblies and NATIVE 3D™ Rendering

Connectivity management and enhanced 3D engine allows you to render design models and multi-board assemblies while defining interconnections between them

Define interconnections between multiple boards to render cohesive, realistic assemblies that work right the first time.

Plus, switch between 2D and 3D layouts in an instant without needing to switch to another program - optimizing design speed and performance while providing detailed

shading and realism.

ActiveRoute®

Visual Constraints and user-guided routing automation enable you to route complex topologies across layers.

Rapidly route a large number of connections (i.e. BGA, DDR, Busses, etc.) and complex topologies at the speed of a computer, but the quality of a veteran PCB designer.

  • REAL-TIME BOM MANAGEMENT
  • HIGHLIGHTS
  • DEFINITION
  • ADVANTAGES

ActiveBOM®

Real-world items link to your BOM, so every part is associated with real-time availability, price, and supply chain information from over 100 verified suppliers and personal supplier contracts.

Easily track the availability, price, lead time, and approved supplier source early in the design phase - while leaving part purchasing decisions until the final stages. Simply place generic parts in your design and link to real-world items from suppliers on your own timeline.

  • SEAMLESS PCB DOCUMENTATION PROCESS
  • HIGHLIGHTS
  • DEFINITION
  • ADVANTAGES

Draftsman®

Directly place all of the necessary assembly and manufacturing views with actualsource data for easy updates.

Eliminate yet another product and disparate process from your design workflow to generate your fabrication and assembly drawings.

All drawings update to match source data with the push of a button, without any file exchanges.

Want to be at the forefront of rigid-flex PCB design innovation? Join our subscription list - it provides the latest Altium Designer functionality as soon as it’s available, so you are always equipped with the most powerful, modern and easy-to use tools.

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About Author

About Author

David Haboud joined Altium as a Product Marketing Engineer in 2015. He studied electrical engineering, emphasizing computer architecture and hardware/software design at the University of Southern California. As an embedded software engineer in the aerospace industry, his focus on firmware development and data acquisition for auxiliary power units highlighted the importance of cross-functional collaboration. Through his engineering experiences, he discovered his passion for enabling cross-discipline engineers to communicate effectively. In his spare time, he hosts and performs in improvisational and stand-up comedy nights in San Diego, California.

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Table of Contents

TOPICS IN THIS SOLUTION

Properties Panel

ActiveRoute®

ActiveBOM®

Draftsman®

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most trusted PCB design system.

One interface. One data
model. Endless possibilities.

Effortlessly collaborate with
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The world's most trusted
PCB design platform

Best in class interactive
routing

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