Altium Designer Projects

Browse our library of resources to learn more about PCB Design Projects built using Altium Designer, Altium 365, and Nexus. Our projects cover a wide range of applications where we discuss layouts, component creation, manufacturing, and team collaboration.

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Analog Solar Tracker Project

Analog Solar Tracker Project Learn about light sensors while building an analog solar panel tracking system with Mark Harris. This open-source project covers multi-channel design, window comparators, driving motors, and photosensors. Read Article

EnviroSense WiFi Weather Station Multiboard Design

Wireless Module Designs: EnviroSense WiFi Weather Station Multiboard Get started with surface mounted sub-assemblies in this hands-on wireless module designs project. Mark Harris demonstrates the advantages of multi-board assemblies when creating your own surface mount module. 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

Ebook: EnviroSense Multi-board Project Create your own WI-Fi weather station. Follow along offline by downloading this latest project by Mark Harris. Download PDF

Using a Thermal Camera for PCB Diagnostics

Using a Thermal Camera for PCB Inspection and Diagnostics There has likely been a time when you’ve powered on a freshly built prototype for the first time, only to find you’ve hit the current limit on the lab power supply. Even as you increase the current limit to way beyond what you would expect your board to draw, the lab power supply is still limited. If it’s safe, you poke around the board with your finger, but you can’t feel any parts that are hot to the touch. Also, probing around with a Read Article

High current buck converter design

Create a High Current Buck Voltage Controller Mark Harris continues a deep dive into high current buck converter design with off-the-shelf components. We include component choice and PCB layout plus all the calculations and guidelines. Read Article

Smart Micro Fan Controller

Smart Micro Fan Controller If you’ve ever had to wear eye protection for an extended period of time, especially if you have prescription inserts in that eye protection, you’ve probably noticed fogging can be a major issue. Last year I designed and 3D printed a small fan unit that mounts a 25mm x 25mm x 10mm fan on each side of a military eye protection. It directs a small flow of air over the inside of the lenses and keeps them clear even during physical exertion on cool Read Article

Create a Buck-Boost Power Supply

Create a Buck-Boost Power Supply In this series of articles, we’re looking at the design and implementation of the main types of power regulators and converters you might use in an electronics project. I gave a graduate engineer who I mentor a series of requirements to demonstrate each of these types and have recorded the results here so you can work through the same exercises and hopefully come up with the same results. The next switching regulator is the last in our switching Read Article

How to Design a Boost Voltage Regulator

How to Design a Boost Voltage Regulator In this series of articles, we’re looking at the design and implementation of the main types of power regulators and converters you might use in an electronics project. I gave a graduate engineer who I mentor a series of requirements to demonstrate each of these types and have recorded the results here so you can work through the same exercises and hopefully come up with the same results. For the next switching power supply project from my Read Article

Build an Advanced Brushless Motor Controller

How to Make Advanced BLDC Motor Controllers In this project article, we’re going to be taking a different approach to my typical project. Driving a brushless motor is relatively simple from a schematic perspective; however, there is a large amount of theory about brushless direct current motors that you need to understand to be successful. If you only have experience with brushed motors or no experience with driving motors at all, we will be covering everything you need to know. You can Read Article

From RC to Atomic Clocks: All Clock Sources

From RC to Atomic Clocks: All Clock Sources In almost modern circuits, especially whenever digital circuitry is involved, you will find some kind of clock source. All clock sources present a series of tradeoffs regarding stability, reliability, size, power consumption and cost. Luckily for us, such tradeoffs are relatively simple and can be explained almost fully within this single article. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of each clock source, from the RC in a 555-powered oscillator, to a Read Article

Temperature Sensor Project: Analog Temperature Sensor ICs

Temperature Sensor Project: Analog Temperature Sensor ICs Learn more about the fourth class of temperature sensors in a series of articles that are all about measuring temperature. Discover their advantages and disadvantages as well as common topologies for their implementation. Read Article

Huge Vu-meter with RGB LEDs Project

Huge Vu-meter with RGB LEDs Project A laboratory journal to guide you through the steps to develop a successful product that value-conscious customers are sure to love. Read Article

Electrical design rules

Customizing Performance-Based Electrical Design Rules in Altium Designer Electrical design rules go beyond manufacturing and assembly. PCBs also require electrical design rules that are based on a signals’ electrical behavior. Read Article

How to Use Thermocouples in Your Next Project

How to Use Thermocouples in Your Next Project Thermocouples are the final sensor type in a series where we look at all the main types of temperature sensors you might use in an electronics project. In this series, we have looked at the various ways to implement different temperature sensors in your project. At the end of the series, we’ll be putting the sensors and implementations in a head to head competition using real-world conditions. Through this real-world testing, will gain a better Read Article

USB-microSD card reader

Design Your Own USB-MicroSD Card Reader Schematic for PCBs Altium Designer makes it easy to design your own USB-MicroSD card reader. Here’s a simple project to help you get started. Read Article

Digital On-Demand Manufacturing and a 32-Bit MCU PCB for Everyone

Digital On-Demand Manufacturing and a 32-Bit MCU PCB for Everyone Eli Hughes shows us how on-demand manufacturing through a PCB manufacturer's cloud platform helped him quickly produce a set of high-quality prototypes for a MCU board. Read Article