Easy, Powerful, Modern

The world’s most trusted PCB design system.

Learn More

PCB Design

Op amp layout guidelines for noise reduction

Op-Amp Layout Guidelines for Noise Reduction in Your PCB I remember my younger self daisy chaining a stereo system and powered speakers to try and get that perfect sound. You quickly realize the power of amplifiers and the havoc that multistage amplifiers can wreak on your favorite music. I was specifically reminded of a fundamental component: operational amplifiers. Op-amps are particularly useful devices in a PCB design and they form the basis of many devices that make modern life possible. As op Read Article

Forget Parking Frustrations with Capacitive Touch Sensing Keypad Design

Forget Parking Frustrations with Capacitive Touch Sensing Keypad Design Sometimes it feels like the parking ticket machines are neglected intentionally to incur more parking tickets from people incapable or unwilling to wait for the machine to function enough to give them their ticket stub. I’ve had my fair share of frustration when coming across one with malfunctioning buttons on its keypad, forcing me to hunt the surrounding area for a machine which actually is working. Finding parking is hard enough in many cities Read Article

Keep Your PCB Assembly and Production Processes Like Your Best Pants: Seamless

Keep Your PCB Assembly and Production Processes Like Your Best Pants: Seamless I lost a button on an old pair of jeans the other day and I was totally unable to repair it. The seams were all sorts of wonky, and while normally you can find extra buttons along the waist there were none to be found. My mom taught me to always check the seams, but sometimes it’s easy to get lazy and forget to do some of the most basic procedures when you want to get an otherwise grueling experience done with. Some brands are more trustworthy Read Article

buck converter regulator STM32

Buck Converter Regulator vs LDO for DC, AC, and RF: Which is Best? For small, low-current loads, LDO is usually the best option. What about a buck converter? Learn more about choosing between a buck converter vs. LDO in this guide. Read Article

what is signal integrity

What is Signal Integrity? Learn about the basics of signal integrity and how you can ensure your PCB layout complies with best practices for signal integrity. Read Article

Choosing the Right Microphone for Embedded Applications

Choosing the Right Microphone for Embedded Applications If you need to capture sound waves for your electrical device to process, you'll need a microphone. However, microphones these days have become very advanced, and there are so many options to choose from. While there are relatively small dynamic microphones, they come with a broad range of options and technologies. They range from relatively simple and popular condenser-type microphones to state-of-the-art sound conversion solutions incorporating Read Article

Don’t Settle for Better Late Than Never: Packing and Shipping Your PCBs

Packing and Shipping Your PCBs: Best PCB Packaging Standards I mailed my last Christmas present yesterday, a few weeks after the holidays are over. I’m only a little embarrassed; I like to do a very precise job with wrapping even if I’m not terribly concerned with punctuality. The package was for a friend overseas who had a craving for her favorite American candies. Let me tell you: a beautiful wrapping job on a bag of fun-size Butterfingers is no small feat. Circuit board packing and shipping are more Read Article

Avoid Re-Placing the Same Parts Over and Over Again with a Pre-Placement Checklist

Avoid Re-Placing the Same Parts Over and Over Again with a Pre-Placement Checklist Sometime during the evolution of the automobile, car makers decided that reading and understanding engine gauges were too difficult tasks for the average driver. To remedy this they substituted the check engine light instead; unlike the malfunction indicators of today which are computer controlled warnings, those early check engine lights would only tell you of a problem once it was occurring. Reporting a problem after it occurs is not the Read Article

Efficient Heat Dissipation with SMD Heat Sinks Keeps You From Dropping PCBs

Efficient Heat Dissipation with SMD Heat Sinks Keeps You From Dropping PCBs In electronics, there is the possibility that your PCB can get pretty hot due to power dissipation in certain components. Whenever a component reaches an extreme temperature that goes beyond a component's safe operating range, its lifetime will be greatly reduced or the component may fail immediately. The heat-producing component being defective means the entire PCBA will need to be scrapped. There are many things to consider when dealing with Read Article

Should You Omit a Current Limiting Resistor for LED If You're Using a Matching Voltage Power Supply?

Current Limiting Resistor LED Systems with Matching Voltage Power Supply Most of my friends in engineering live a balanced lifestyle. However, there are some engineers that are workaholics. These engineers do not limit their working hours and are constantly dealing with stress. Their lifestyle is not so different from an LED’s that is directly connected to a power supply without a current limiting resistor or with the wrong resistor value. They start out strong, but eventually flicker and burn out. In the architecture Read Article

PCB simulation

PCB Simulation: How to Simulate a PCB Design Looking for the best PCB simulator? Get started with an electrical circuit design simulation software and learn how to simulate a PCB design. Make sure you use the best PCB simulation software in Altium Designer's unified environment. Read Article

Multi-board design

What is Multi-board Design? Want to know about multi-PCB design? Learn more about what is multi-board design and how to use native 3D design with ECAD MCAD collaboration aids complex PCB layout. Read Article

Gibbs ringing

What Causes Gibbs Signal Ringing in High-speed Channel Simulations? Gibbs ringing is both a measurement artifact and a calculation artifact that arises in band-limited channels. Make sure you understand how this arises due to transform and convolution operations. Read Article

PCB component creation

What is PCB Component Creation? Learn more about PCB component creation and how you can easily create components with the best CAD features in Altium Designer. Read Article

State of PCB Design Education

State of PCB Design Education with Zachariah Peterson Zach Peterson shares his insights about the availability and accessibility of education related to PCB design for high school and university students. Watch or listen on the go now. Read Article

PCB connector pinout

How to Design a Connector Pinout For Your PCB PCB connector pinouts can be customized to fit your power, signal, and ground requirements. Learn how in this article. Read Article

Which Types of Opto-Isolators Are Right For Your Signal?

Which Type of Opto-Isolator Is Right For Your Circuit? An optoisolator is an electronic device that can be used to pass information between a diode without passing an electrical current. Because there is no need to directly pass voltage or current between the inputs and outputs in an optoisolator circuit, these components can be used to provide electrical isolation in two regions in a PCB. Opto-isolators act as a protection mechanism, ensuring that harmful electrical currents cannot flow across the Read Article