Digitally Connecting ECAD-MCAD Collaboration

Created: August 28, 2023

Collaborative product development between the Electronic and Mechanical design domains brings unique challenges. Today, most companies are still using a file-based methodology (STEP, IDF, DXF, IDX) for creating and exchanging data between the two domains. This, for the most part, requires that the entire database is exchanged multiple times, resulting in README files, marked-up PDF’s and in-person meetings to review the updates and ensure they are understood and implemented correctly. Currently, this process takes time, is error-prone and the history of updates is lost after the project is complete.

Altium CoDesigner changes all that by electronically connecting the Altium and MCAD domains together via a server-managed process that is a literal ‘push-pull’ between both sides. Not only does it eliminate the need for creating and sending entire files for each collaboration, but all updates are managed electronically, with incremental updates communicated after the first baseline push. This makes it much easier and faster to send and receive files between the two applications. With the MCAD CoDesigner, Altium and MCAD users no longer need to manually communicate, as updates can be easily previewed, accepted or rejected between team members. In addition, the history of all changes and communications is retained and stays with the project for its lifetime.

In this webinar, you will learn how to:

Utilize the MCAD CoDesigner to initiate an automated baseline ‘push’ from Altium to MCAD
Utilize the MCAD CoDesigner plug-in to create the board assembly in MCAD
Update the MCAD assembly and ‘Push’ the updates back to Altium
Preview updates and accept them into the Altium PCB design
Bi-directionally exchange placement and copper information between ECAD and MCAD
Enable virtual, cross-domain communication
Implement an iterated push-pull system to reduce time and potential errors associated with manual, file-based methods