Getting Started for PCB Design Engineers

01  -  Collaborate in One Platform & Unify Your Design Environment:

Engineering teams often lose time and context when design work is spread across disconnected tools, file systems, and collaboration platforms. As PCB designs become more complex, disconnected workflows increase the likelihood of duplicated effort, communication gaps, and design inconsistencies. Schematic capture, PCB layout, system design, documentation, and collaboration are handled in different places - making it harder to maintain consistency, onboard new team members, and understand design intent as projects evolve. This guided overview shows how Altium Designer unifies the entire electronics design workflow into a single, connected environment, so teams can focus on designing instead of managing tools.

In this walkthrough, we will cover the core features that allow you to:

• Sign in and connect to an Altium 365 Workspace to enable shared data access, licensing, and real-time collaboration.
• Navigate the unified design environment, including the design space, panels, Active Bar, and project structure, for efficient day-to-day work.
• Configure global Preferences to align the environment with schematic, PCB, and system-level design needs.
• Create and manage PCB, multi-board, and harness projects within one consistent project framework.
• Work seamlessly across schematics, PCB layout, system schematics, and harness documents using common placement and editing workflows.
• Leverage shared Workspace content, templates, and example designs to maintain consistency and reduce setup time.
• Use threaded comments and @mentions from desktop, browser, or mobile to keep feedback in one place.
• See who’s working on what, track changes, and reduce duplicate edits across teams.

By following these steps, you will see how Altium supports modern high-speed PCB design and HDI development within a single constraint-driven workflow. Teams gain better visibility, fewer handoffs, and a smoother path from concept to release - helping projects move faster with less friction and greater confidence.

02  -  Design Outputs:

03  -  ECAD/MCAD:

ECAD–MCAD collaboration often breaks down when teams rely on file exports, screenshots, and manual alignment to communicate changes. Mechanical integration issues are among the most common causes of late-stage PCB redesign and prototype delays. Board shape updates get missed, component placement drifts, and mechanical constraints like keepouts or height limits do not make it back to the layout until too late - when fixes are expensive. This guided demo shows how to use CoDesigner to synchronize PCB designs between Altium Designer and supported MCAD tools through an Altium Workspace, so both teams stay aligned on the same evolving design intent.

In this walkthrough, we will cover the core features that allow you to:

• Connect ECAD and MCAD through an Altium 365 Workspace (or Enterprise Server Workspace) and use CoDesigner panels to manage collaboration.
• Push ECAD design snapshots to the Workspace and Pull them into MCAD as a board assembly - without relying on file-based handoffs.
• Make mechanical edits in MCAD (board shape, mounting features, placement-critical components) and send them back using Push so ECAD can review them as a structured change set.
• Review CoDesigner’s Change List in ECAD, selectively accept updates, and Apply changes so only approved modifications enter the PCB.
• Communicate mechanical intent using MCAD-defined Keep Out Areas and Text Note Rooms, ensuring restricted regions and placement constraints are visible to ECAD at the right time.
• Iterate safely with a pull-before-push workflow (and optional auto-push on Save to Server where available) to reduce overwrites and version drift.

By following these steps, you will see how Altium CoDesigner replaces fragile file exchanges with a controlled, bidirectional synchronization workflow - helping electrical and mechanical teams catch fit and placement issues earlier, reduce rework, and move faster with confidence that both domains reflect the same design reality.

04 – RF & HDI Design:

HDI and high-speed PCB designs often run into trouble when stack-up planning, impedance targets, and routing constraints are treated as separate tasks - or applied after the layout is already underway. Signal integrity, impedance control, and manufacturability become increasingly interconnected as board density and data rates increase. When that happens, designers are forced to rework routing, chase signal-integrity issues, or adjust fabrication details late in the process. This guided demo shows how to design HDI and high-speed boards in Altium Designer using a unified, constraint-driven workflow where stack-up decisions directly control routing behavior from the start.

In this walkthrough, we will cover the core features that allow you to:

• Define an HDI-ready stack-up in the Layer Stack Manager, including materials, layer structure, microvia strategies, and optional back drilling.
• Create controlled-impedance profiles and apply them through routing rules so widths and differential gaps stay correct across all enabled layers.
• Identify critical high-speed signal paths using xSignals and differential pairs, ensuring constraints target true end-to-end behavior.
• Route dense, timing-critical nets with interactive routing while maintaining impedance, clearance, and return-path integrity.
• Apply, monitor, and tune length and matched-length constraints using live feedback during routing.
• Validate signal quality with return-path checks, batch DRC, and pre- and post-layout signal integrity analysis.

By following these steps, you will see how Altium brings HDI structure, high-speed constraints, and routing into a single workflow - helping teams design with confidence, reduce rework, and deliver manufacturable high-performance boards faster.

05  -  Unified Multi-board & Harness Design:

When products span multiple PCBs and harnesses, integration risk often hides until late in development - misassigned pins, mismatched connectors, incorrect harness lengths, or mechanical fit issues that are not discovered until assembly or testing. This guided demo shows how to design, link, and validate multi-board systems and harnesses together in Altium Designer, so electrical and mechanical intent stay aligned from the start.

In this walkthrough, we will cover the core features that allow you to:

• Define harness wiring and layout early to establish pin-to-pin connectivity, bundle structure, and physical length intent.
• Build a system-level multi-board schematic that represents each PCB as a connected module.
• Synchronize connector, pin, and net data from child PCB projects into the system design.
• Link the harness definition directly into the multi-board schematic so wiring and system intent remain consistent.
• Validate logical connectivity across boards and harnesses using ERC and the Connection Manager.
• Assemble the full system in 3D, positioning boards and verifying mechanical fit with enclosures, mates, and collision checks.
• Generate system-level BOMs and Draftsman documentation covering boards, harnesses, and final assembly.

By following these steps, you will see how Altium connects harness design, system schematics, and physical multi-board assembly into a single workflow. Teams catch integration issues earlier, reduce late-stage rework, and move from concept to system-level release with greater confidence and predictability.

06  -  PCB Routing:

Manual routing often breaks down when design rules, spacing constraints, and topology decisions are not enforced until after traces are placed. Routing decisions made early in the layout process can significantly affect signal integrity, manufacturability, and overall board performance. That is when designers spend time cleaning up violations, re-routing dense areas, or fixing high-speed paths that no longer meet timing or impedance requirements. This guided demo shows how to use Altium Designer’s rule-driven interactive routing to let constraints guide every routing decision in real time - so layouts stay clean, compliant, and efficient as complexity increases.

In this walkthrough, we will cover the core features that allow you to:

• Define routing constraints for width, clearance, impedance, differential pairs, and HDI via structures so rules drive behavior from the start.
• Route interactively using push, hug, and walkaround modes to navigate dense layouts while maintaining manufacturable clearances.
• Switch layers and cycle through allowed via types automatically based on the layer stack and routing rules.
• Route buses and related signals together using multi-track routing while preserving spacing and alignment.
• Tune critical and high-speed signals with interactive length and differential pair tuning tools.
• Modify existing routes and component placements while letting Altium automatically push, smooth, and retrace copper.
• Validate the final layout with DRC to ensure routing remains compliant with all defined constraints.

By following these steps, you will see how Altium turns routing from a manual, error-prone task into a constraint-driven workflow - reducing cleanup, improving layout quality, and helping teams complete complex PCB designs faster with greater confidence.

07  -  PCB Supply Chain:

Supply chain risk and cost issues often surface too late - after a design is complete, parts are selected, and procurement discovers shortages, price spikes, or obsolescence. Component availability can change faster than product development cycles, making real-time supply chain visibility a critical design consideration. When component intelligence lives outside the design environment in disconnected tools and spreadsheets, teams are forced into reactive part swaps, rushed ECOs, and schedule delays. This guided demo shows how to embed live supply chain intelligence directly into the BOM with Altium, so sourcing realities inform design decisions from the start.

In this walkthrough, we will cover the core features that allow you to:

• Use ActiveBOM as a live, design-linked BOM that stays synchronized with schematic and PCB data.
• Automatically enrich BOM items with real-time pricing, availability, lifecycle, and compliance data from integrated sources such as Octopart and IHS Markit.
• Identify lifecycle risks, obsolescence warnings, and supply constraints early, with optional advanced insights from SiliconExpert and Z2Data.
• Compare supplier pricing, stock levels, lead times, and approved alternates directly within the BOM.
• Collaborate on component changes using structured BOM edits, ECOs, and contextual comments that keep engineering and procurement aligned.

By following these steps, you will see how Altium turns the BOM from a static export into a living source of truth. Teams gain earlier visibility into risk and cost, respond faster to market changes, and move to release with greater confidence - without breaking design flow or relying on disconnected tools.

08  -  Rigid-Flex & Flex PCB Design - WIP:

Rigid-flex PCB designs often break down when electrical stack-ups, mechanical regions, and folding intent are defined in isolation. Board regions may not match the intended bend behavior, substacks get misapplied, and mechanical fit issues remain hidden until late prototypes or physical mockups. This guided demo shows how to design rigid-flex PCBs directly in Altium Designer by defining stack-ups, regions, and bends in one connected environment - so electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing intent stay aligned from the start.

In this walkthrough, we will cover the core features that allow you to:

• Select the appropriate Standard or Advanced Rigid-Flex mode based on design complexity and overlap requirements.
• Define rigid and flex substacks with the correct materials, copper, and dielectric constructions for each region.
• Plan board regions in the X-Y plane and assign the appropriate substack to each rigid and flexible area.
• Define bending lines with realistic bend angles and radii to represent how the board will fold during assembly and use.
• Route signals across rigid and flex regions while respecting region-specific stack-ups and flex-aware design practices.
• Visualize the design in 3D, using fold-state controls to inspect both flat and folded configurations for fit and feasibility.
• Collaborate with mechanical teams using ECAD–MCAD CoDesign to keep board shape and component changes synchronized.
• Document the rigid-flex design with fabrication-ready outputs that reflect the live stack-up and region definitions.

By following these steps, you will see how Altium supports rigid-flex PCB design throughout the broader PCB development lifecycle  - where substacks, regions, bends, routing, and documentation stay connected. Teams catch fit and construction issues earlier, reduce physical mockups and respins, and move rigid-flex designs to manufacturing with greater confidence and predictability.