Manufacturing Documentation with Duane Benson

A large variety of outputs can be generated for and from a PCB design and each output type has its own settings. The best way to manage this multitude of outputs is to use an Output Job file, or 'OutJob' as it is more commonly known. An OutJob is a pre-configured set of outputs. Each output is configured with its own settings and its own output format, for example, output to a file or to a…

The final phase of the board design cycle is to generate the output files needed to fabricate, assemble and test the printed circuit board. To do this, you need to generate a variety of output files, in a variety of formats. The ultimate objective is to fabricate and assemble the board. As the designer you have the choice of individually configuring and generating the outputs via the schematic…

The following shortcut keys are specific to the Ouput Job Editor. For general information regarding shortcut keys - including access and editing, general Altium environment shortcuts, and accelerator keys - see Altium Designer Shortcut Keys. When looking at the shortcut key listings, keep in mind the following: When referring to shortcuts, use of the plus (+) symbol denotes holding multiple keys…

The PostProcess output type allows non-native Altium Designer file types to be included as part of the output. It copies the targeted files from within the project directory structure, to the folder specified in the configured Folder Structure output container. PostProcess outputs can be added to the active Output Job file from the menu of the [Add New PostProcess Output] control in the…

When a product needs to be designed and produced as a number of variations of that product, say where each has different options or capabilities, the ability to implement Design Variants avoids the need to create a unique version of the design for each variation. In practice, a Design Variant uses the same base design, but the PCB assembly is loaded with the set of components specified by the…

Print-based output for your PCB project in Altium Designer is available through creating a output job configuration file (*.OutJob). When you create a job output there is a range of manufacturing documentation available for output including common two-dimensional PCB printouts, such as a composite drawings and schematic drawings. 2D print output is configured in the PCB Printout Properties dialog…

Parent page: More about Outputs In Altium Designer, the ability to take a snapshot of your PCB as a 3D printout provides a quick and easy way to share the look of the finished product with others, prior to physical production of the board. However, there's always something lacking when it comes to a single 3D print. You inevitably want to tilt the board, rotate it, or flip it between component…

Altium Designer users have long enjoyed the ability to interactively view PCB designs in fully rendered 3D, which provides a unique insight into the real structure of the board design, its components and associated mechanical parts. There are significant advantages in being able to bring this 3D capability to those outside the immediate design team, such as fabrication and assembly houses, and…

Parent page: Design Variants The Variant Manager is a document-based user interface that allows you to view, create, and manage design variants of your PCB design project. To access the Variant Manager, right-click the project entry in the Projects panel and select Variants or choose Project » Variants from the main menus of the schematic or PCB editor. To access the Variant Manager, the UI…

Parent page: Tutorial - A Complete Design Walkthrough with Altium Designer Main page: Preparing Your Design for Manufacture Now that you've completed the design and layout of the PCB, you're ready to produce the output documentation needed to get the board reviewed, fabricated, and assembled. Output types include PDF 3D, with full zoom, pan and rotate, and the ability to control the display of…