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Schematic Capture and Schematic Entry

Flat vs. Hierarchical Schematics: Why You Need Dynamic Schematic Compilation

Flat vs. Hierarchical Schematics: Why You Need Dynamic Schematic Compilation What if your schematic editor could automatically define flat vs. hierarchical schematics? Dynamic compilation is here to help. Read now to learn more. Read Article

PDN Impedance Analysis and Modeling: From Schematic to Layout

PDN Impedance Analysis and Modeling: From Schematic to Layout Do you know the factors that determine the impedance of your PDN? Here’s what you need to know about PDN impedance analysis and modeling. Read Article

Continuous Deployment: An Implementation Using Altium Designer

Continuous Deployment: An Implementation Using Altium Designer In Continuous Integration and Deployment in ECAD we discussed the concept of Continuous Deployment within a build system. In this article, we will take a deeper look at how to set up continuous delivery and deployment systems so your team and vendors can enjoy a continuous stream of updated ECAD packages for review. Continuous Deployment/Delivery: Revisited In Continuous Integration: An Implementation Using Altium Designer we went through the Read Article

How Modular Design Helps Hardware Startups Launch and Grow

How Modular Design Helps Hardware Startups Launch and Grow Hardware is hard... those three words best describe how difficult it can be to break into the hardware market and launch a new electronic product. This may be difficult to accept, but between PCB and enclosure design, planning for production, prototyping and testing, redesigns, and challenges sourcing semiconductors, launching a new hardware product can be a major ordeal. Pebble, one of the most anticipated success stories in the hardware Read Article

5 Helpful Tips To Increase Schematic Productivity In Altium Designer

5 Helpful Tips To Increase Schematic Productivity In Altium Designer Altium Designer has many shortcuts and features to increase your productivity during the schematic creation process. By understanding and utilizing the features described here, you’ll expedite the schematic creation process and hopefully have fun doing it. Here are 5 key productivity enhancers you should know for schematic capture. Disconnect and Move Symbol: CTR + Click & Move. Move a part without connected wires. By default when you move a Read Article

Continuous Integration: An Implementation Using Altium Designer

Continuous Integration: An Implementation Using Altium Designer In a previous article, Continuous Integration and Deployment in ECAD, we discussed the concept of Continuous Integration while testing within a build system (leveraging Git). In this article, we will take a deeper look at how to set this up and run these “tests” against one’s PCB design project. Continuous Integration Tests: Revisited In Software Engineering, the purpose of implementing Continuous Integration into a workflow is to prevent one’s Read Article

Continuous Integration and Deployment in ECAD

Continuous Integration and Deployment in ECAD Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment have become widely adopted practices within the software world. The concept of Continuous Integration and Deployment don’t need to be limited to just software - they can be extended into the ECAD world as well. In this article we will address both concepts and how they can be leveraged in ECAD tools. Continuous Deployment Designers will frequently make changes to their code and check it into the Read Article

How to "Git" Collaborative with Altium Designer

How to "Git" Collaborative with Altium Designer Getting collaboration right with any ECAD tool can be rather challenging. For most of us we tend to stick with the “old school” methods: Work on your design Send a zip package via email to another Other works on the design and sends a zip package back to you for review You work on your design and send back to the other Repeat forever This method not only clutters up your inbox but it also forces you to work in a serial fashion. The solution to Read Article

Datasheet Reliability with Ben Jordan

Datasheet Reliability with Ben Jordan In this OnTrack episode Judy Warner and Ben Jordan discuss about Datasheet Reliability. Can you trust them? And what does “Gilded” mean? This & more about verifying app notes. Watch the full episode. Read Article

5 Ways to Customize Altium Designer for Better Efficiency

5 Ways to Customize Altium Designer for Better Efficiency The Altium Designer^® environment is designed to be very intuitive, but even slight customization of the interface can greatly enhance the efficiency of your PCB design workflow. Once you have been using Altium Designer or a while, you'll find the toolbar menu structure to be very intuitive. However, you may realize even more productivity gains with customization of the user interface. Customization is centric to each editor whether it's the Read Article

Flattening Your Workflow: A Guide to “Flat” Style Project Management

Flattening Your Workflow: A Guide to “Flat” Style Project Management As flat organizations become more popular so do the methods and processes that come along with them. This blog discusses not the flat organizational structure itself but how a flat organization functions within the project management arena. The principles of project management learned from a flat organization can be adopted in the flattest companies to the most hierarchically structured organizations. Being “flat” is hip but why should I do it Read Article

Eliminate Mistakes in Your Schematics with Electronic Rule Checking

Eliminate Mistakes in Your Schematics with Electronic Rule Checking In times of rising design complexity and shortened timelines, it’s more and more for mistakes to sneak through in the schematic that can translate to the printed circuit board. Read on to find out how to easily identify and eliminate issues in your schematic with the Electronic Rule Checking your PCB in Altium Designer^®. Many designers and companies put all their efforts in having a proper PCB layout and, nowadays, checking in real time the Read Article

47 How To - Using File-Based Libraries in the New Components Panel Watch Video

End-to-End Tracking of Your PCB Design

End-to-End Tracking of Your PCB Design Have you ever run a board re-spin only to discover you’re not even sure what the changes were? I’m not talking about comparing GERBERs from Rev A to Rev B, rather I am referring to understanding the requirements that drove the changes, the reason behind the changes, and all the dialog that was happening around the changes. For most of us we capture these details via email, commit history in our version control system (e.g. Subversion, Perforce Read Article

The Right Tools Will Help Your PCB Layout Time Estimation

The Right Tools Will Help Your PCB Layout Time Estimation To accurately know how to plan for your PCB design, you need the right tools to help with your PCB layout time estimation. ALTIUM DESIGNER Giving the most accurate results from a PCB design software out there. When exploring a new printed circuit board design, it is beneficial to estimate how long it will take to complete the layout. This will allow for production and test to be properly scheduled plus synchronize the release of the design with Read Article

Pipelining Your Design File Process; Component Selection

Pipelining Your Design File Process: Component Selection Using automated PCB component selection features, you can pipeline your design file process. Learn how the Manufacturer Part Search panel can help simplify PCB design. Read Article

Routing Differential Pairs in Altium Designer

Routing Differential Pairs in a PCB Layout with Altium Designer Altium Designer makes routing differential pairs in a PCB layout and managing differential impedance between components quick and easy. Read Article