PCB Routing

Routing in your PCB makes copper connections between components, and best routing practices will help ensure signal integrity, low crosstalk, and low EMI. Browse our library of resources to learn more about routing in your PCB and how the best PCB layout software helps you obey routing rules and signaling standards.

PCB Routing in Altium Designer Design Rules for PCB Routing Efficient PCB Routing Tools (Webinar)

Schematic Drawing Software and PCB Layout Tools in Altium Designer

Free Schematic Drawing Software and PCB Layout Tools in Altium Designer Every circuit board starts with circuit diagrams and schematic sheets. Your schematic capture software takes your component and footprint data and creates an initial layout, which you then route to create a complete circuit board. If you’re just getting started with PCB design, you need a schematic diagram maker that helps you quickly move component data into a new layout. You shouldn’t need to use multiple programs to move from schematic drawing Read Article

Altium Rigid-flex Guidebook: Your Complete Design Guide

Flex and Rigid-Flex PCB Design Guidelines and Assembly in Altium Designer Many electronic devices don’t live on a single printed circuit board. Flex and rigid-flex PCBs are used to link multiple rigid PCBs together into a single unit. This allows printed circuit designers to customize their board to odd enclosures, design motion into new devices and provides unique form factors that are not possible with rigid boards. Many other common devices are shrinking, and the PCBs that power them are following suit. If you’re Read Article

How to Build a Circuit Board With Altium’s PCB Design Software

How Circuit Boards are Made With Altium’s PCB Design Software Your printed circuit board (PCB) design might be designed to be electrically correct, but you also need to be assured it can be manufactured. Even though you need a PCB manufacturer to fabricate and assemble your board, you need to implement design for manufacturing (DFM) to ensure your board can be manufactured at scale. Making sure your design is manufacturable is all about encoding DFM specifications in your design rules. With the rules-driven Read Article

Look No Further than Altium Designer for the Best PCB Design Software

Look No Further than Altium Designer for the Best PCB Design Software When it’s time to buy new PCB design software, you only want to buy the best of the best, and you’ll probably look through a PCB design software list to find the tools you need. Open source software carries zero price tag, but it simply isn’t capable of tasks professionals need to perform every day. If you’re considering a new PCB design software package, consider this first. You need all the tools the industry demands, and there is no reason to Read Article

Creating an HDI PCB Stackup

Advanced High Density PCB Layout and Design in Altium Designer HDI design and high density interconnect routing require implementing a specific process in the PCB stackup and design rules. Learn more in this chapter of Happy Holden's guidebook. Read Article

Create Your PCB Design Workflow for Military Systems in Altium Designer

Military PCB Assembly and Workflow in Altium Designer No matter which industry or vertical you work in, you’ll need to follow important design, performance, and manufacturability standards. These requirements are more stringent when working with military-grade electronic systems. When you work with design software built on a rules-driven design engine, meeting these important standards becomes much easier. Altium Designer gives you the power to prepare a compliant PCB design and prepare manufacturer Read Article

The Best PCB Design Software Features a PCB Trace Impedance Calculator

The Best PCB Design Software Features a PCB Trace Width and Impedance Calculator PCB trace, pad, and via features are some of the most important in your circuit board and need to be carefully designed. The right cross-sectional PCB trace area and distance to the nearest reference plane will ensure your PCB trace impedance is consistent throughout your board. It can also help suppress temperature rise if your board will operate at a high current. Choosing the right trace dimensions in your printed circuit board represents a Read Article

PCB impedance calculator

PCB Impedance Calculator and Stackup Design in Altium Designer There are many demands placed on PCB stackup design. High-speed designs carry a requirement for controlled impedance, crosstalk control, and the need for interplane capacitance. Impedance in your traces becomes a critical parameter to consider during stackup design for high-speed PCBs, but the stackup will also influence crosstalk susceptibility and sheet capacitance between ground and power planes. While you can work out many of these details by Read Article

The Best High Speed Design Tools in Altium Designer

The Best High Speed Design Tools in Altium Designer Building your next high-speed PCB takes the best design and analysis tools. Your high-speed design tools should make it easy to route connections, place components, and design your stackup in a way that ensures signal integrity and prevents unintended crosstalk. Your analysis tools should help you identify problem areas in your PCB, and your design tools should help you quickly implement redesigns in your PCB. With the high-speed PCB design Read Article

Differential Microstrip Routing

Routing Differential Microstrip Traces with Controlled Impedance Differential microstrip routing in high speed PCB design requires careful impedance calculations. Altium Designer incorporates these features into its CAD tools. Read Article

High speed PCB signaling standards

LVDS to LVPECL, CML, and Single-Ended Conversions A lot is made of high speed interfaces for PCBs. Here’s how you interface between LVDS to LVPECL, CML, and other logic families. Read Article

WiFi 6 and WiF 6 PCB design

WiFi 6 PCB Design Guide and 802.11 Standards Your next PCB might need WiFi 6 capabilities. Here’s what you need to know about WiFi 6 PCB design and layout. Read Article

PCB routing rules for low speed and high speed signals

PCB Routing: Differential Pair and Single-Ended Signal Routing Guidelines Different signaling standards require different PCB routing rules. Here’s how to find and set the PCB routing rules you need in your PCB design software. Read Article

USB 4 PCB design

USB 4 Design: Ultra-fast Serial Data Transfer for Your PCB USB 4 will bring ultra-fast serial data transfer to your PCB. Here’s what you need to know about USB 4 design for your PCB. Read Article

Stripline vs microstrip impedance

Stripline vs. Microstrip Width for Desired Impedance: Are They the Same? Stripline vs. microstrip width values are quite different; they can’t simply be interchanged. Let’s break down why and what you can expect from your PCBs. Read Article

UTP cable differential pairs without ground

Differential Pairs Without Ground: Is it a Problem? Some designers tell you that differential pairs without ground are acceptable. So who’s correct? We’ll examine the pros and cons of a differential pair ground plane. Read Article

Through Thick And Thin — How Do You Get High Current Into a High Speed PCB?

Through Thick And Thin — How Do You Get High Current Into a High Speed PCB? The typical large currents in today’s high speed PCB designs require a different approach. This article will describe the stackup requirements associated with these very large current PCBs and how to design them so that they can be readily manufactured properly. Read Article