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    The most powerful, modern and easy-to-use PCB design tool for professional use

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    PCB Design

    PCB Design

    Read the latest information PCB Design from the industry's leading experts.
    Internet of Things Security Best Practices: Passwords, Patches, and Portals If you’ve ever created devices for military applications you’re probably used to designing with security in mind. If you’re more like me, and just build the odd Internet of Things (IoT) doodad, that’s probably the last thing on your mind. However, recent cyber attacks are highlighting why engineers like us should be a little more concerned with security. These design best practices will show you how you can safeguard your systems. Why Secure the Read Article
    How the Right Tools in Your PCB Toolkit Can Help Your Next Design When my sons were young, it was a joy for me to introduce and show them how to use tools for repair or construction. They would ask questions about the different tools in my toolkit, and my pair of old Channellock pliers really seemed to catch their interest. To tell the truth, those Channellocks are my favorite too. I inherited them from my dad, and still use them. They’re the first tool in my kit that I look for when I need to solve a problem Read Article
    High-Speed Design Techniques: Trace Tuning for Routing Length Matching The first time I heard someone talking about “tuning” their high-speed PCB design, the memory of my middle school band came to mind. Back in those days, “tuning” meant taking kids who lacked experience and who used tired old instruments and trying to turn it all into something that blended together. As you would expect, our first attempts at being in tune were not very successful. After some work, though, we were able to stay in tune together Read Article
    Introduction to High Speed PCB Designing: Signal Paths Have you ever planned an airline trip where there isn’t a direct flight to get you to your destination? I have, and as you probably already know, it isn’t a problem. I use the travel planner on my airline’s website and let it figure out every detail of the trip for me. All I have to do is plug in my origin and destination, and the planner determines my itinerary—with enough time to make my connections. It’s a piece of cake. Can you imagine how Read Article
    How Schematic Design Reuse Can Help Your Next PCB Schematic Layout In the town where I live there is this lady who is a magician with a sewing machine. She is in charge of the wardrobes for the high school musicals and is a whiz at taking costumes from old shows, and reusing them for new productions. Sometimes she alters the older costumes, and sometimes she simply uses them the way they already are. In the show this year, the evil queen is wearing a flamboyant dress that is actually an altered version of a Read Article
    Intelligent Routing Features In PCB Design Software Let You Work Smarter, Not Harder Everybody has those lazy moments, trying to figure out how little one can do while still completing a task. In my first job, I created a software where I can automatically launch my favorite applications through voice command. Later, I found a new level by coding a special program to email reports, close applications, and shut down my computer with one click of a button. My first PCB designs took place on the early versions of PCB design software Read Article
    The Advantages and Disadvantages of Active and Passive RFID Technologies When I’m designing a new PCB or product one of the hardest parts for me is choosing exactly which components I should use. It seems like every technology out there now has a different configuration to achieve the best performance. Even when you’re dealing with a fairly straightforward technology like radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit board there are a lot of flavors to choose from. While every type of RFID design label uses an active Read Article
    OnTrack Newsletter November 2017 On Track Newsletter November 2017 VOL. 1 No 8 Welcome to the November edition of Altium’s On Track Newsletter. This month in Rock Stars and Superheroes we feature a who presented a talk at AltiumLive 2017: ANNUAL PCB DESIGN SUMMIT in San Diego. Not only is he a very talented , he is a leader and advocate for regional Altium® User Groups and shares how to start and build your own. In Space you’ll meet an impressive young man who decided to learn Read Article
    12:00 Thermal Management Part 3: PCB Heat Transfer In this episode, Chris Carlson shows how to calculate PCB Heat Transfer. An expert in PCB design, Chris is a wealth of information for the novice and experts in PCB design. Get the most effective information on PCB design and Electronic Design Automation. If you find this video interesting, please like and share with your fellow PCB designers or let us know if you have any questions in the comments. Links to the Datasheets: Voltage Regulator Watch Video
    Frank Duggan: Micro Architecture and Aspiring to MIT Frank Duggan and his dad at NYC Maker Faire Judy Warner: What first got you interested in developing your own microarchitecture using discrete logic? Frank Duggan: Without really knowing the specifics, it was something I'd wanted to do since I was little. I was obsessed with my Snap Circuits electronics kit, and liked to challenge myself to build circuits that do various things. At some point, I decided that building a computer was the ultimate Read Article
    Randy Clemmons, PCB Designer at Ingenu, Leads San Diego Altium User Group Judy Warner: Could you tell us briefly about your career path and where you work now? Randy Clemmons: I'm currently working at Ingenu where we are developing Internet of Things (IoT) networks and end point applications. Altium Designer® is our tool of choice. I started my electronics career at age 19 after volunteering for the U.S. Navy's advanced electronic program. After 10 years of service in the Navy I went to work for 1 year at Litton Read Article
    The Best Tools for Multi-Board PCB Systems Design They say that time flies when you’re having fun. Maybe that’s why I feel like time slows to a crawl when I’m constructing a multi-board PCB device. Designing even one board can be an agonizing task, what with trying to avoid EMI, ground everything properly, mitigate static discharge, and optimize your routing. Creating a system of PCBs that all fit together physically and electrically sometimes tests the limits of tedium. Lucky for us there are Read Article
    PCB Design Process: The EDA Design Approach The electronic design automation (EDA) approach, which is also referred to as the electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) approach, is composed of a series of software tools that are used to execute and complete the electronic system design process. These systems can include printed boards (PCBs) as well as integrated circuits (ICs). When considering product development for printed circuit boards, a toolchain with a wide array of dissimilar tools Read Article
    Advantages of Hierarchical Schematic Design for PCB Schematic Layouts Do you work for a company that has its structure defined on an organizational chart? If so, then you know how useful a hierarchical structure is. By knowing who reports to whom, and which departments have dotted line cross-functional reports, you know who to go to for specific questions or tasks. On the other hand, if your company doesn’t have that kind of hierarchical structure, it can lead to a lot of confusion. The organization of a schematic Read Article
    How to Use a Random Number Generator to Create Uncertainty in PCB Design My high school peers knew me as a predictable person—always the first one to show up anywhere—on time, every time. Since they didn’t seem as concerned with keeping their schedules and promises, sometimes I waited hours for my friends. That uncertainty would mess up my schedule, but engineering was a place where I found uncertainty was rarely a problem. Unsurprisingly, I developed a deep interest in physics and engineering, where the results are Read Article
    How to Become a PCB Designer in Today’s World What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was a kid, I wanted to be Scotty on Star Trek. No joking, I really did. The idea that someone could fiddle around with electronic and blinking lights to create some gizmo that would save the day was really appealing. A few years later I tried to imitate Scotty by taking all the for a kit radio and soldering them together on a thin sheet of wood. Without realizing it, I had designed my first board Read Article
    PCB Design and Fabrication Tips to Prevent Open Circuits During PCB Manufacturing For a couple years, I lived in a town with a chocolate and candy factory. It was an amazing and terrible time, because you could go to the factory and buy “seconds,” or messed up candies, for about 75% off the normal price. Usually, the mistake was cosmetic, like the chocolate cracking over the caramel, and everything tasted totally fine. When a PCB manufacturer makes a mistake, sometimes it’s cosmetic, and the board will still function Read Article