How To - Using File-Based Libraries in the New Components Panel

Created: March 5, 2019
Updated: March 16, 2020

Explore Altium Designer Get a FREE Trial Altium Designer Quickstart Guide Technical Documentation Altium Designer Licensing Options

Related Resources

What is a Schematic Netlist for Your PCB?

What is a Schematic Netlist for Your PCB? If you’ve created your next great schematic, there is a lot going on behind the scenes in your design software. The connectivity between components in your schematic can be reduced to a small number of logical and electrical identifiers. The schematic may provide a graphical picture showing connections between different components and pins, but to really understand everything about your design, you’ll need an important document. A schematic Read Article

Licensing 101 - Altium License Types and Functions

Licensing 101 - Altium License Types and Functions Current Licensing Structure Altium Designer now provides a streamlined licensing system that enables you to get licensed and up and running with your Altium Designer software in a timely and efficient manner. The licensing system supports a variety of license usage models to suit the asset management needs of the individual or corporate infrastructure so you can choose a license that's right for you now, and easily adjust as your business grows Read Article

What is Burn-in Testing for Electronics?

What is Burn-in Testing for Electronics? Once you’re planning for production of any new board, you’ll likely be planning a battery of tests for your new product. These tests often focus on functionality and, for high speed/high frequency boards, signal/power integrity. However, you may intend for your product to operate for an extreme period of time, and you’ll need some data to reliably place a lower limit on your product’s lifetime. In addition to in-circuit tests, functional tests Read Article

Driving Haptic Vibration and Feedback in Wearables

Driving Haptic Vibration and Feedback in Wearables Augmented reality, virtual surgery, limb replacements, medical devices, and other new technologies need to incorporate haptic vibration motors and feedback to give the wearer a full sense of how they are interacting with their environment. Unless these cutting-edge applications include haptic vibration and feedback, users are forced to rely on their other four senses to understand the real or virtual environment. Low cost components to support Read Article

PCB Land Pattern Design to the IPC-7351 Standard

The IPC-7351 Standard in PCB Footprints and Land Patterns Your components won’t attach to your PCB without land patterns, and it’s up to the designer to create compliant land patterns for components. One common question from new designers is: what should the pad dimensions be? Technically, the only constraints on a PCB land pattern are those imposed by fabricator DFM requirements. However, many designers opt for land patterns designed according to the IPC-7351 standard. This important standard provides Read Article

Altium Designer 25: Pioneering Collaboration, Product Development, and Advanced Simulation

Altium Designer 25: Pioneering Collaboration, Product Development, and Advanced Simulation In the fast-evolving world of electronics, collaboration is key to efficient product development and innovation. Altium Designer 25 (AD25) emerges as a powerful platform designed to bridge traditional gaps, enabling seamless collaboration across teams and improving the efficiency of high-complexity PCB projects. This article explores how AD25’s new and enhanced capabilities—spanning PCB CoDesign, Product Design with Harness and Multi-board Read Article

Bluetooth 5.1 SoC vs. Module: Which is Best for Your Design?

Bluetooth 5.1 SoC vs. Module: Which is Best for Your Design? The list of features available in Bluetooth just got a little longer since the release of Bluetooth 5.1. Component manufacturers have taken this mobile technology to the next level for IoT devices by integrating wireless comms with an MCU for embedded processing. This is just another step in the continuous push to pack more functionality into a smaller footprint. If you want to incorporate a Bluetooth 5.1 SoC into your new product, you have two Read Article

Decoupling Capacitor and Bypass Placement Guidelines

Decoupling Capacitor and Bypass Placement Guidelines Power integrity issues are often assessed from the power supply side, but examining IC output is equally crucial. Decoupling and bypass capacitors help stabilize power fluctuations on the PDN, ensuring consistent signal levels and maintaining a steady voltage at an IC’s power and ground pins. To assist with effective usage, we've outlined essential design guidelines for bypassing and decoupling capacitors in your next PCB. This blog explores the Read Article

How to Design Your PCB Test Coupon and What You Can Test

How to Design Your PCB Test Coupon and What You Can Test As the operating speed of components has increased, controlled impedance is becoming more common in digital, analog, and mixed-signal systems. If the controlled impedance value for an interconnect is incorrect, it can be very difficult to identify this problem during an in-circuit test. Minor mismatches may not cause a board to fail, but it can be difficult to pinpoint incorrect impedance as the cause of any test failure, especially if correct Read Article

How to Select an Inductor for a Buck Converter

How to Select an Inductor for a Buck Converter An SMPS is one of those quiet (yet electrically noisy) devices that makes your favorite electronics run smoothly. They sit in the background quietly doing their duty, yet your board wouldn’t operate without them. As part of DC-DC converter design for power-hungry applications, component selection is quite important for ensuring stable power delivery to a load with high efficiency. Among the numerous DC-DC converter topologies, a buck converter Read Article

Related Technical Documentation

Back to Home

Take advantage of the world's
most trusted PCB design system.

One interface. One data
model. Endless possibilities.

Effortlessly collaborate with
mechanical designers.

The world's most trusted
PCB design platform

Best in class interactive
routing

View License Options