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Schematic Capture
Unparalleled Schematic Capture

Easily design schematics of any complexity.

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How the Best Integrated PCB Libraries Lower Development Costs How the Best Integrated PCB Libraries Compare Electronic Components to 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
symbolic division Guidelines for Creating Useful PCB Schematic Symbols The PCB schematic symbols that you use to represent the components are at the heart of your schematic design. The quality of the PCB symbols and how it is arranged can be one of the most critical factors influencing your schematic’s readability. Poor quality PCB schematic symbols will lead to an unreadable schematic sheet that is difficult to understand. I created the largest open-source library for Altium Designer over five years ago, initially Read Article
High current buck converter design Create a High Current Buck Converter Circuit Controller for Voltage 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
How to Find the Transistor Parts You Need for Your Circuit Board How to Find the Transistor PCB Parts You Need for Your Circuit Board Design Transistors are fundamental devices for everything from power supplies to high-power integrated circuits for embedded computing. Many power electronics products, sensors, low-power analog systems, and other systems requiring high-power switching need transistors to operate properly. When you need to find and place transistors in your new design, you need a complete set of PCB supply chain tools for finding transistor parts for your design. When Read Article
PCB Relay Selection, Design, and Layout are Easy in Altium Designer PCB Relay Selection, Design, and Layout are Easy in Altium Designer Circuit protection is vital for user safety and for protecting a board from electrical damage. Whether you’re working with a small, moderate power PCB or a large, high voltage electromechanical system, power surges or faults can destroy components and create hazards for users. The best way to ensure your next device remains safe from high voltage ESD or large current surges is to use a simple PCB relay. Compared to large relays that need to be Read Article
Spot Copper Connection Errors in Design Rule Checks Copper Connection Software: Instantly Check Every Connection With Rules-Driven PCB Design Tools It’s easy to find errors in most simple PCBs. Simply scan through your critical nets and trace each copper connection from source to load. Today’s printed circuit boards are not so easy to inspect and validate by eye. Even relatively simple low-speed boards can have hundreds of components packed into a small space, and it’s easy to get lost in a complex PCB layout. Today’s modern designs demand modern design tools. Altium Designer users have Read Article
PDS Impedance: The Traditional Approach To PDS Design vs. Energy Flow PDS Impedance: The Traditional Approach To PDS Design vs. Energy Flow Take a look at traditional PDS impedance versus the “energy flow” view of PDS design. We’ll debunk misleading information that could cause your designs to fail. Read Article
Build Your Next LED PCB Design in Altium's Unified Environment Build Your Next LED PCB Design in Altium's Unified Environment LED driver boards can be challenging designs when running at high power and high voltage. Power systems for driving devices like LED panels need careful planning and layout for power supply sections, and the LED PCB board design itself needs to be laid out to ensure low-temperature operation. These objectives can be difficult to balance without the best PCB LED circuit design software features and DC analysis tools. When you need to create a high Read Article
PCB Developing: Preparing Your Circuit Board for a PCB Etching Service There are times where you don’t need to produce a finalized, silk-screened board at high volume, and you may only need to use a blank PCB with no components or silkscreen. Blank PCBs can be useful for prototyping, breadboarding, experimenting with components, and accessing external traces. These boards do not need to go through a special production process, they only need a limited documentation package to begin fabrication. ALTIUM DESIGNER® The Read Article
Transition from Hobby PCB Maker to Professional Designer with Altium Transition from Hobby PCB Manufacturer to Professional Designer with Altium Most new designers start off with freeware when they need to create their first PCB designs, but free PCB design software lacks many features required to create real circuit boards. Hobby PCB designers and makers need a range of tools to create high-quality circuit boards and eventually create real devices. Instead of using free PCB layout software and other programs to help get designs into production, hobby PCB makers need professional design Read Article
Model Train Circuits in the Best Electronics Design Software Model Train Circuits in the Best Electronic Model Railroad Design Software Model train circuits include multiple elements that hobbyists might find in other common electronics. LEDs, buzzers, alarms, motors, and much more can be found in model train circuits. Designing train circuit boards takes a great schematic editor and component library with real and generic components for use in a circuit board. Use the best circuit board design software to create your model train circuits and start your PCB layout in a single Read Article
Underwater ROV Design and Component Selection Underwater ROV Design and Component Selection Underwater ROVs need to obey the same reliability standards as other high-performance, high uptime products like aerospace and military systems. High reliability is all about component selection and designing boards that are fully manufacturable while keeping a system safe. The DFM features, supply chain tools, and design verification engine in Altium Designer give underwater ROV builders a complete package for electronics design and fabrication Read Article
How to Prepare Your Project for PCB Cart Manufacturing with Altium Designer How to Prepare Your Project for PCB Cart Manufacturing with Altium Designer The electronics industry is massive and there are plenty of PCB manufacturers to choose from for your next order. When you need to prepare your next board for fabrication and assembly, how can you quickly generate deliverables for manufacturers like PCB Cart? Instead of generating all manufacturing documentation manually, designers need an easy way to create deliverables for fabrication and assembly. If you plan to work with PCB Cart to produce Read Article
Working Through Circuit Simulation Free Often Won’t Work, Try Altium Designer Working Through Circuit Simulation for Free Often Won’t Work, Try Altium Designer Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software provides the tools that support the design and analysis of electronic devices, systems, and printed circuit boards. Within this broad definition of EDA software, some companies offer free PCB design programs while others focus on schematic capture, mixed-signal simulation, Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) circuit design, and customizable design rule checking. While many EDA software applications Read Article
Altium’s Parameter Table Editor Lets You Control Your Project Settings Altium’s Parameter Table Editor Lets You Control Your Project Settings There’s a lot of data that goes into any PCB design project. The design files and project files all have their own parameters, and these can be customized to provide plenty of useful information for data management. ECAD software users need a simple way to keep their parameter sets organized within their project files, component libraries, and much more. Parameters can appear in all types of objects in your ECAD software, as well as in any type Read Article
Altium Designer Beats Any OEMSTrade Electronics Part Search Altium Designer Beats Any OEMSTrade Electronics Part Search Finding and sourcing new components for your design should be an easy process. Parts specifications can get very detailed, and there are many component options and part browsers on the market (e.g. Ultra Librarian, SamacSys, DMS, etc.). How can designers narrow down to the components they need and source components from authorized distributors? Using an OEMSTrade electronics part search and other distributor websites only gives you a partial view Read Article