PCB Design

Altium is paving the way for enhanced engineering by designing the next generation of tools unifying the PCB design industry. Whether you are a beginner learning what is a PCB, or looking to discover an easy to use drag and drop in browser PCB design software, how to get component data in real-time while designing a board, collaborative tools for systems engineers, interviews with industry pioneers, or the best PCB Design software, Altium has you covered! Read the latest PCB Design information from the industry's leading experts.

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BGA land pattern and BGA footprint

What's In Your BGA Land Pattern and Footprint BGA land patterns aren’t always contained in a datasheet. If you need to create one of these, how large do you make the pads, solder mask, and fanout style? Learn more in this article. Read Article

Track Supply Chain Data and More with Spectra from Nexar

Track Supply Chain Data and More with Spectra from Nexar A new product from Nexar offers free supply chain insights and analysis. Altium offers everything needed to stay ahead of the supply chain. Read Article

Advanced Simulation and Waveform Analysis Every design has specific characteristics. You must consider the “care-abouts” and “what-ifs” of your circuit to achieve a high-performing, functional Watch Video

A-SAP Design Rules

PCB Design Rules Related to SAP Is change predictable? There are not many firm design rules specifically relating to SAP processes at this time, but that could change. Read this article to learn more about SAP processes and navigate the learning curve of these new technological advances: Read Article

Staying on Top of the Supply Chain with Altium

Staying on Top of the Supply Chain with Altium April 8, 2022 ONTRACK BI-WEEKLY Latest From Altium To help you navigate supply chain disruptions and identify at-risk parts, Octopart users can now access the new Inventory History feature. When viewing select components on Octopart, users can see how component stocks have changed over time across authorized distributors. Learn more about Inventory History on Octopart Conquer Supply Chain Challenges in Altium Designer 22 Altium Designer 22 takes Read Article

molded interconnect devices

MIDs Make a Comeback as Vertical SMD Modules for Your PCB If you’ve ever wanted to mount components vertically, but without the expense of a flex section, use an MID in your PCB. Read Article

Monte Carlo in SPICE

The Basics of Monte Carlo in SPICE: Theory and Demo Anytime you place a component in your PCB, it’s almost like you’re gambling. All components have tolerances, and some of these are very precise (resistors for instance), but others components can have very wide tolerances on their nominal values (e.g., wirewound inductors or ferrites). In the event the tolerances on these components become too large, how can you predict how these tolerances will affect your circuits? While you could calculate Read Article

Switching regulator layout

Switching Regulator Layout: One or Two Layers? Don’t be afraid to route your switching regulator layout on two layers, but be careful of these noise problems if you do! Read Article

DFA guidelines

DFA Guidelines for an Efficient PCB Design See what the pros look for with these DFA guidelines, provided by Altium and Sierra Circuits. Read Article

PCB DFM errors

Preventing Top DFM Errors in Your PCB Design Get a manufacturer's view on the most common DFM errors in your PCB design and what you can do about them. Read Article

PCB copper roughness

How Much Copper Roughness in Your PCB is Too Much? When we talk about copper roughness, we always bring it up as if it were a universally bad thing. The fact is, some circuits will always function just fine even if the copper is rough. As long as your traces are fabricated to spec in every other area, the roughness of the traces might not matter as long as your operating frequency or bandwidth are low enough. Just what constitutes “low enough” and when is the effect of roughness so small that we Read Article

Quantum Processor Unit

Get Ready for Custom Quantum Processor Units Anytime a company wants to develop at the leading edge of technology, it requires a ton of development from the ground up. In the realm of quantum computing, this is still true; companies that want to operate in this area of technology have to build just about everything from scratch. But today, the industry has taken an important step towards accelerating development of quantum devices. On 28 March 2022, Dutch company QuantWare announced Read Article

Altium 365 gets SOC 2 certification, new design tools, and more! March 25, 2022 ONTRACK BI-WEEKLY Latest From Altium After passing an independent audit from KPMG LLC, we are proud to announce that the Altium 365 platform is System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type 1 certified. Altium 365 meets or exceeds important industry standards surrounding security, regulatory compliance, and data privacy. Learn more about SOC 2 certification New Advanced Design Features in Altium Designer 22 Altium Designer 22 takes Read Article

PCB Copper Foil

Types of PCB Copper Foil for High-Frequency Design Does your design need smooth PCB copper foil? It all depends on the frequency range you’re working in. Learn more in this article. Read Article

PCB Design Workflow

Design Rule Checking in the PCB Design Workflow Design rule checking occurs at multiple points in the PCB design workflow. Make sure you know which design rules you need to define and when to run manual design rule checks in your PCB design software. Read Article

2+N+2 PCB stackup

2+N+2 PCB Stackup Design for HDI Boards A 2+N+2 PCB stackup is one of the standard options for building a high density circuit board. Learn more about these stackups for HDI PCBs. Read Article

Rigid flex altium

Support for Rigid-Flex in Altium Designer Altium Designer supports flex and rigid-flex circuit design with 3D rendering and the ability to create multiple layer stacks. Read Article