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Schematic Capture and Schematic Entry

Browse our library of resources to learn more about PCB design, Schematic Capture, and Schematic Entry. We cover topics ranging from wiring symbols and electronic diagram to best practices for your next PCB design project.

How to Create a PCB Schematic Schematic Capture Editor (Video) Convert a Schematic to a PCB Layout

Perfect Boards Every Time (With Free Templates) Gone are the days of obsessing over the formatting of schematics. Draftsman®, embedded within Altium Designer®, could radically change your workflow for the better. Read Article

PCB Design Guide for Engineers: Part 1 The Team INTRODUCTION What people are involved in the PCB design process? Surely all of the tasks of creating a PCB layout don’t just fall on single pair of shoulders. There are many engineering and scientific disciplines that must be harnessed and managed to bring your vision to life. As the project engineer, your first task is identifying your team. TOPICS IN THIS SOLUTION The Team In-House Assembly Advanced Testing PCB Design Guide for Engineers Part 1 Download PDF

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

Circuit Diagram Maker: Your Guide to Building with Altium Designer Some PCB design software packages make you feel like you’ve been bamboozled. On one hand, you’re told that you’ll have access to tools that will let you move through the entire design process. Then all of a sudden, you can’t finish your design without purchasing critical features as add-ons. Only Altium Designer integrates all the best circuit design tools in a single program. You can get access to free versions that includes critical design Read Article

Designing and Simulating a Photodiode Circuit for Your PCB Your design tools should give you an easy way to create circuit diagrams, simulate electrical behavior, and start a new PCB layout. A photodiode circuit is important in many applications, ranging from simple ON/OFF light detection to receiving digital data in an optical fiber. These semiconductor devices are similar to a regular diode, but they can be difficult to simulate without the right component models and circuit design tools.With Altium Read Article

Quickly Replicate Circuits with a Connection Room in Your PCB Layout Modern PCB designs can get very complex, and designers need tools to help them stay organized. Schematic sheets are a great start, but simply organizing different circuit blocks into different schematics is not enough to ensure your designs are organized. Altium Designer unifies your schematic design and PCB layout tasks into a single program, and it includes a PCB connection rooms feature to keep your circuit blocks synchronized. Here’s how you Read Article

Using SPICE as a MOSFET Power Dissipation Calculator The circuit design and simulation features in Altium Designer can be your MOSFET power dissipation calculator. Read Article

The Best EDA Software for PCB Design You don’t have time for underperforming tools that are difficult to learn and use, you need the best EDA software for PCB design that you can get; Altium Designer. ALTIUM DESIGNERThe most powerful, modern and easy-to-use PCB design tool for professional use.You’ve got a job that needs to be done and that means the printed circuit board design is your responsibility. You don’t have time for PCB design tools that are underpowered and second rate Read Article

The Anatomy of Your Schematic Netlist, Ports, and Net Names Your schematic netlist will create the link between components as you build your schematic sheets. See how your schematic sheets enable usage of net names and ports to help you stay organized. Read Article

What is Schematic Capture? All designs start with creating schematic sheets for your circuits. Learn more about what is schematic capture in our guide for new engineers. Read Article

Designing for the FPGA Pin Mapper It is a well-known fact that FPGA IO names must meet specific syntax requirements in Verilog or VHDL. The naming convention used in Altium Designer schematics doesn’t always meet these criteria specified by the hardware description languages (HDL). As a result, there can often be a mismatch between PCB net names and the actual FPGA signal names. As more users experiment with the FPGA Pin Mapper tool in Altium Designer, they will discover that the Read Article

Use the Best RF Design Software for High Frequency PCBs Designing radio frequency systems to support high frequencies and digital interfaces is challenging and requires the best RF design software tools. RF engineering in a high GHz band takes the best RF design software to ensure accurate PCB trace routing, layer stack design, and circuit design. Use Altium Designer for your RF design process and to take your next GHz band system to manufacturing. ALTIUM DESIGNER A unified PCB design application with Read Article

Get the Most From Your Power Supply Design Software Power supplies can be difficult to design and layout as they require attention to safety and efficiency. Everything from isolation to thermal management needs to be considered in these systems, and designers need to have a complete set of design features to create reliable power supplies. In addition, power supplies tend to have mechanical constraints imposed by the enclosure, and these need to be considered when creating a PCB layout for a power Read Article

Complete Power Supply Filter Design and Simulation Guide A PCB for a power supply can be as difficult to design as high-speed networking equipment and complex embedded systems. These circuit board designs need to account for a range of behaviors and safety requirements, especially when dealing with high voltages and currents reaching the output of the power supply. In addition to safety standards involved in power supply PCBs, component selection is critical for ensuring the design can provide the Read Article

Follow Mixed Signal PCB Design Guidelines With the Best CAD Tools Mixed signal PCB design guidelines require satisfying basic digital and analog design rules and preventing signal interference. Mixed-signal boards can be difficult to lay out without the right PCB design tools, and component placement is just as important as routing and stackup design. With the best PCB design software in Altium Designer, you can take your mixed-signal electronics from concept to finished product in a single application. You’ll Read Article

How to Design and Fabricate a 4-Layer PCB Stackup with Altium Designer Every PCB design project starts with a stackup that has clearly defined signal and plane layers. Make sure you choose the right stackup for your design and make sure you design your stackup to comply with your fabricator’s requirements. A 4-layer PCB stackup may seem simple, but it needs to be designed with the right layer arrangement to ensure correct fabrication and impedance. Utilize the right PCB design software that helps you build the best Read Article

Customize Your PCB Drill Sizes With Altium Designer Every PCB will need some holes, vias, slots, and other features that are defined in a PCB layout. These features need to be reflected in fabrication documents, and designers need tools to help them automate this process of creating documentation directly from their designs. It’s easy to keep track of your holes, vias, electrical behavior, and much more in Altium Designer, the industry’s top PCB design application for professional design engineers Read Article