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Supply Chain

PCB Supply Chain

Don't let component shortages and supply chain volatility derail your production schedule. Browse our library of resources to learn more about the PCB supply chain and how to source components for your design.

Altium Designer - Part Insights Experience (Supply Chain Intelligence) Nexar - Supply Chain Intelligence Gaining Supply Chain Visibility with PCB Design
5 day chip supply What Would You Do With a 5 Day Chip Supply? US companies are reduced to a 5 day chip supply due to demand pressures and a long-lasting shortage in semiconductors. Read Article
PCB supply chain What is the PCB Supply Chain? The PCB supply chain encompasses all portions of PCB manufacturing processes, reaching from raw materials to components. Learn more about the PCB supply chain in our guide. Read Article
Improving Supply Chain Success with BOM Management Improving Supply Chain Success with BOM Management It’s no secret that component shortages have become more frequent this year. In fact, countries around the world are losing billions in revenue due to supply issues. According to EPSNews, “In 2021, there’s such a severe shortage of semiconductors that the automotive industry is set to lose more than $100 billion in sales because it can’t get chips.” Having the right components on hand is more crucial than ever as availability, obsolescence Read Article
DNP in BOM and PCB assembly Best Practices for Using DNI/DNP Entries in Your PCB BOM You can use the DNI/DNP designation on components in your PCB BOM to create design variants as long as you’ve created your layout correctly. Read Article
PCB manufacturing How to Compare PCB Manufacturing Services for Your Board Do you know what to look for in PCB manufacturing services? Here are some of the important points to consider before placing your next order. Read Article
Designing for Shock Management in Avionics PCBs Designing for Shock Management in Avionics PCBs Of all the electronics application areas, there is one that needs to carefully consider mechanical and thermal shocks during design: avionics. An avionics system that is put into production within a satellite, aircraft, or spacecraft can experience strong vibration and mechanical shock during flight, and these systems need to be designed with high reliability in mind. IPC standards, MIL-PRF standards, and other standards specify some design Read Article
Electronic Component Data How to Automate Electronic Component Data Tracking Today’s design tools can help automate collection and tracking of electronic component data. Here’s how Altium Designer keeps your components healthy. Read Article
Using Product Lifecycle Management Software for PCB Design Using Product Lifecycle Management Software for PCB Design Any product, including circuit boards and electronic components, will become obsolete and must be replaced with completely new versions. If a product is ever manufactured and taken to market, the product and its components will inevitably have a finite life cycle. Products are eventually upgraded to new versions and capabilities or components are added, or they become obsolete and are replaced with completely new circuit designs and technology Read Article
Sourcing Military PCB Components in a Unified Design Environment Sourcing Military PCB Components in a Unified Design Environment Whether you are a procurement officer for the military, a prime contractor, or a defense subcontractor, you’ll face a number of obstacles when sourcing components for electronic defense systems. Given the component shortages and potential for counterfeiting in the components market, military PCB components cannot be procured from just any company. Any component for a military electronic system must meet rigorous quality standards and be traceable Read Article
Power Electronics for Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries in Altium Designer Power Electronics for Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries in Altium Designer Power electronics encompasses a massive list of systems that make modern life possible. From automotive systems to power distribution systems, power electronics are responsible for controlling and managing the flow of power throughout an electrical system. With alternative energy systems bound to become more popular in the future, engineers and designers need the right PCB design software for power electronics systems. Design software for power Read Article
PCB Library and Supply Chain Integration in Altium Concord Pro PCB Library and Supply Chain Integration in Altium Concord Pro Anyone planning to manufacture a new circuit board has plenty of challenges to overcome. From component shortages to outdated design data, project managers and designers face obstacles to timely production that arise from stale component data and supply chain information. Sourcing shouldn’t be guesswork, and it shouldn’t require 3rd party tools that only provide visibility to a portion of the supply chain. Supply chain changes can catch any Read Article
PCB Design Reuse and Product Lifecycle Management in Altium Concord Pro PCB Design Reuse and Product Lifecycle Management in Altium Concord Pro Reusing design data is a great way to hasten redesigns of existing hardware. Managing this design data, including version control and component data management, can be a real challenge. Production lead times are decreasing, component lifecycles are shorter, replacement parts are pushed to market sooner, and design data steadily grows as new designs become more complex. Reusing design data for a portion of an existing board or functional blocks Read Article
Sourcing Microelectronics for Military Systems Microelectronics for the Defense Industry Defense contractors, military procurement officers, and contract manufacturers face a number of obstacles when designing and manufacturing PCBs for use in defense systems. Defense microelectronics and manufactured PCBs cannot be procured from just any company, and these components must meet rigorous standards that ensure quality and reliability. These components must also be traceable back to a compliant component manufacturer. Only Altium Read Article
How to Keep Your 3D PCB Models Current with Data Management Tools How to Keep Your 3D PCB Models Current with Data Management Tools Any component includes a significant amount of design data. This includes electrical models, 3D component models, and PCB supplier information. Your PCB design software should be allowed to take this data and integrate it with your MCAD tools. This allows you to create 3D body models from your PCB footprints and integrate them into a data library. Ensuring that this data stays up to date takes a data management platform that operates directly Read Article
Designing Your PCB for Transient Voltage Suppression Designing Your PCB for Transient Voltage Suppression PCBs in aircraft, near high voltage equipment, and with a weak grounding strategy are at serious risk of damage due to electrostatic discharge (ESD). When ESD occurs, a huge spike of current propagates through your board, causing damage to components and thermally sensitive components. There are a number of ways to protect your board from ESD. In addition to implementing the right grounding strategy, choosing the right components for suppressing Read Article
Create, Share, Collaborate, and View CAD Drawings with Altium Designer Create, Share, Collaborate, and View CAD Drawings with Altium Designer PCB design collaboration is easy with a complete set of design tools and a cloud platform to view CAD drawings. Your PCB design features should make it easy to create a circuit board and take it through manufacturing. Instead of settling for freeware CAD programs or mechanical programs like AutoCAD, your team can connect through powerful tools that allow secure access to all design files in a PCB project. Whether you need to view your board or Read Article
How the Best Integrated PCB Libraries Lower Development Costs How the Best Integrated PCB Libraries Lower Development Costs With development schedules becoming tighter and technology advancing at an ever faster pace, designers and engineers need tools that help them cut development costs and stay competitive in every way. This means designers need supply chain tools that help them compare electronic component prices and manage their fabrication data in a single program. Each integrated library helps lower development costs and time by providing the supply chain Read Article