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PCB Design

Crosstalk in Mixed-Signal PCB Traces and Ground Planes

Crosstalk in Mixed-Signal PCB Traces and Ground Planes Learn how to suppress mixed signal crosstalk and EMI in PCBs with the right ground and power plane arrangement. Read Article

Component Symbol Information Management and Display Usability

Component Symbol Information Management and Display Usability Building a library of PCB components requires compiling information on footprint, electrical specifications, simulation models, pin arrangements, and other specifications. The amount of information in any component library is massive and needs to be aggregated into a single module in your PCB design software. A PCB component library should be flexible enough to allow designers and engineers to define proprietary components and implement the Read Article

Creating a Ground Plane for Your PCB Design

How to Make a Ground Plane for Your PCB Design Wondering how to make a ground plane? Some helpful tips for creating ground planes in your PCB design using Altium Designer. Read Article

9:29 Managing Your Components and BOM - OnTrack Watch Video

5:27 AltiumLive2018 PreRollVideo Watch Video

Multiboard Design for Assembly: Form, Fit and Build - OnTrack When doing PCB Design for a Multiboard Assembly, it is important to ask yourself, how is this multi board assembly actually going to be pieced together in the final assembly? In this Episode of the OnTrack Whiteboard Series, Ben Jordan shares valuable tips and tricks about form, fit and build for Multi-board Assembly. Watch and comment on this video below. Watch Video

6:06 Hyperloop Competition III 2018 [Altium OnTrack] Watch Video

27:07 Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) & Jay Colognori [OnTrack Podcast] Watch Video

PCB layout tips unroutable circuit board

Practical PCB Tips and Tricks for an Unroutable Board I grew up in the era before PlayStation ever existed. Back then, generic consoles reigned alongside premium counterparts like Super Nintendo and Sega. I first discovered my stubborn streak while playing Super Mario, a game where a funny looking character starts shooting fireballs after getting power-ups from mushrooms. I lost count of how many times I repeated the entire game even though I was always ultimately defeated at the last level. As Read Article

Controlling High Current LEDs with a TIP3055 Power Transistor

Controlling High Current LEDs with a TIP3055 Power Transistor and Voltage Regulator One of the occupational hazards of being a hardware is a growing belly size that is proportional to age. That’s why I try to keep myself fit with a regular workout at the gym. Power bars are indispensable in helping me get through my workout routine by keeping my energy levels high during the entire session. In electronics, the power transistor is equivalent to the power bar. It handles high current components, such as hundreds of LEDs drawing Read Article

Schematic Capture Design Integration Thrives With Unified Partners

Schematic Capture Design Integration Thrives With Unified Partners The digital world is an evolving place. Just yesterday file formats were abundant for text and graphics. Or was that today? Sending a file to a friend can turn into disaster if their device doesn’t recognize the extension. Clicks occur rapidly while trying differing file formats to see if they will save and send. It gets a little trying and soon the search turns to a more elegant app. Designing circuits, iterating parallel ideas, and releasing Read Article

More than a Right-Click Menu Multi-Channel PCB Design

More than a Right-Click Menu Multi-Channel PCB Design When it comes to creating a schematic I want the tools to work for me and not the other way around. I want easy access to, I want to place and connect those, and I want to be able to do all of this without having to jump through a lot of hoops to get there. Sadly many PCB design CAD systems don’t seem to share my opinion. I’m looking for an easy right-click menu solution while most CAD systems appear to want me to memorize a of ancient texts and Read Article

Switching Units From MM to Mils and Other PCB Design Measurement Preferences

Switching Units From MM to Mils and Other PCB Design Measurement Preferences Your PCB layout needs to be an accurate reflection of your final design and should follow a specified unit scale. Inside Altium Designer, there are simple ways to set units as you work on the PCB layout, as well as in the schematic where circuits are being created. The short guide below shows how to switch from mm to mil in the Schematic Editor and in the PCB Editor. Users can do this live (while working on the PCB layout) or from the Preferences Read Article

47:30 Senior PCB Designer at Legrand North America, John Watson [OnTrack Podcast] Watch Video

From Veteran PCB Designers to Next Gen Innovators - July 2018

From Veteran PCB Designers to Next Gen Innovators - July 2018 OnTrack Newsletter July 2018 VOL. 2 No 4 Welcome to the July edition of the Altium OnTrack Newsletter! In Rock Stars and Superheroes, we talk with veteran PCB Designer Bill Brooks, who has been designing boards since 1969. In Next Gen Designers, we introduce you to the WARR Hyperloop team from the Technical University of Munich, who won the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition II in 2017, and broke the world record as well! In the OnTrack video Read Article

BOM Management Tools for PCB Manufacturing

BOM Management Tools for PCB Manufacturing Between the mid-1980s and late 1990s, Spy magazine published a monthly “Separated at Birth” column/pictorial that would pair two selected photos of unrelated celebrities, cartoon characters, or movie characters. The authors would then point out similar physical characteristics from each photo. Mentally picture a space alien from a popular movie paired with a sultry singer to gain some appreciation for their humor. Separated at Birth? Well… Kinda Read Article

PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance

PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance From the early 15th century until the 17th century, artists used the Flemish masters’ method to create life-like paintings. This process begins with a pencil, charcoal, or ink pen drawing and continues with the imprimatura—or the first transparent, olive-tinged stain of color. Then, the method moves to the first umber underpainting, sanding, second umber underpainting, sanding, and a monochromatic underpainting. Each underpainting layer focuses Read Article