Use the Best Circuit Design Software With SPICE and Schematic Capture
Every new electronic product starts with circuit diagrams, schematic sheets, and eventually a PCB layout. Designers that want to create a new design that will eventually be manufactured need more than just simple circuit diagram drawing software, they need to translate their designs into professional file formats that can be used with schematic capture to create a real PCB. The best circuit design software can do all this and much more.
With a complete set of CAD tools to aid your design process, Altium Designer includes everything you need to create high-quality circuit diagrams from real electronic components you’ll find from major distributors. If you’ve never used Altium Designer, take a look at its complete set of product development tools, beginning with system-level design and ending with expedited PCB manufacturing.
ALTIUM DESIGNER®
The best circuit design software and PCB layout software with advanced CAD tools for design professionals.
Most design programs will take you down a difficult road of using separate tools to create circuit diagrams, find components for your libraries, and transition your board to a PCB layout. Unified PCB design software solves these problems by placing all your important design features in one program with a single workflow and design strategy. Your design tools should help you easily create your circuits and import them into a new PCB layout.
When you use the best circuit design software like Altium Designer, you’ll have the tools you need to design all of your circuits. Passive RLC circuits and complex networks of transistors or integrated circuits can be imported into Altium Designer and evaluated in simulations. If you’ve never worked in an integrated design platform with everything needed to build and evaluate circuit board designs, keep reading to see how Altium Designer can help.
Features in the Best Circuit Design Software
Whenever you get started on a new design, you’ll start in schematic sheets, where you create circuit diagrams and find real components to build your system. Circuit diagrams can contain just about any type of component you like and should be designed to create the basic functionality of your product. However, the schematics you create for your design need to contain models for real components that can be found in the PCB supply chain and ordered from distributors. Every component in your circuit designs and schematics needs other CAD data attached to it, and you’ll need a complete set of features to help you manage the design data in your project.
The best circuit design software gives you access to a complete set of features to do much more than just draw circuit diagrams. Your design software needs CAD libraries that contain data on real components to help you build a real circuit board from your design and prepare orders for components from distributors. In addition, circuit design software should include SPICE simulation features to help you evaluate your circuit designs. Most design software will separate design data into different programs, but now with Altium Designer, you have everything needed to quickly transition into a new PCB layout for your design.
From Circuit Diagrams to Schematics in Altium Designer
Schematics and circuit diagrams go together in Altium Designer. With integrated supply chain features, designers can quickly find and import components into schematics and gather the data they need to create a PCB layout.
- The best circuit design software works with schematic sheets directly and lets you access any component for use in your design.
Learn more about creating schematics from your circuit diagrams in Altium Designer. - Finding real components for your circuit designs and schematics is easy when you use the Manufacturer Part Search panel. You can easily search through the supply chain and import component data into your design.
Learn more about the Manufacturer Part Search Panel in Altium Designer. - Before you can transfer your finished circuit diagram and schematics into a new circuit board layout, you’ll need to use your CAD tools to create accurate PCB footprints from land pattern diagrams in your component datasheets.
Learn more about creating PCB footprints in Altium Designer.
Design Evaluation With SPICE Circuit Simulations
Circuit simulations are performed with SPICE packages to help you evaluate the functionality of your design and prepare the design for the transition to a PCB layout. The best circuit design software should include a SPICE package that is accessible inside your circuit drawing tools. However, simply having a SPICE package isn’t enough for examining real electrical behavior, you’ll need to make sure you can define SPICE models for your components and prepare the design for simulation.
Inside Altium Designer, you’ll have the ability to add custom simulation models to your components and new models to existing components in your circuits. Full control over your components gives you the ability to experiment with different components and circuits as you create your schematics. After circuits are evaluated with a standard circuit simulation package, they can be integrated into your larger design using your schematic editor.
Stay Organized With Hierarchical Schematics in Altium Designer
Hierarchical schematics provide a simple way to link designs together into a single project and stay organized. Altium Designer’s schematic editor allows designers to implement flat, hierarchical, or multichannel design structures in schematic sheets, making connections and reuse easy tasks in a single program.
- Using hierarchical schematics allows you to design, organize, and simulate multiple schematics for complex devices.
Learn more about the advantages of hierarchical schematic design. - Altium Designer’s powerful schematic editor lets you reuse circuit diagrams and components in new projects.
Learn more about circuit reuse in your schematics. - Even if you’ve built your circuit diagrams in other ECAD applications, you can translate them into Altium Designer’s file format and use the best circuit design software to complete your schematics.
Learn more about converting schematics from other systems into Altium Designer.
Altium Designer is a Complete Circuit Design and PCB Layout Package
Circuit board layout can’t begin until your schematics are completed and you’ve imported PCB footprints into your component libraries. Altium Designer keeps all your circuit design tools and PCB layout features in a single application to help you quickly transition into your PCB layout. The rules-driven design engine in Altium Designer allows all your design tools to work together so you can seamlessly build a physical layout for your new design. While other circuit board design platforms separate your design features into different applications, Altium Designer gives you access to everything you need in one application with a single workflow.
Easily Get to Manufacturing With Altium Designer
Once you’ve finished your design, you can quickly generate each file needed by your manufacturer inside Altium Designer. The OutJob file feature instantly takes your PCB component data and your layout information, and it generates standard deliverables needed by a manufacturer. Your Altium Designer output files and documentation will include sourcing information for the components in your schematics and circuits, helping ensure accurate assembly.
- Altium Designer is the best circuit design software that also enables a smooth transition to PCB layout. Everything you need to design high quality circuit boards is included in Altium Designer.
Learn more about Altium Designer‘s integrated PCB design tools. - Altium Designer’s complete design interface lets you quickly transition to a new PCB layout and complete your physical design.
Learn more about the PCB design interface in Altium Designer. - All Altium Designer users can store and share their designs through the Altium 365 platform. If you work on a design team, Altium 365 helps your team members stay productive and share design data in a secure cloud environment.
Learn more about sharing your PCB design data on Altium 365.
When you need to build the most accurate CAD database for PCB design, ou need the complete set of component creation and management tools in Altium Designer. Get access to the industry’s best ECAD utilities for creating your PCB layout and prepare your manufacturing outputs.
Altium Designer on Altium 365 delivers an unprecedented amount of integration to the electronics industry until now relegated to the world of software development, allowing designers to work from home and reach unprecedented levels of efficiency. Start your free trial of Altium Designer + Altium 365 today.
