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Altium Designer is irrefutably one of the commonest sophisticated Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design tools in the engineering market currently. It is built and supplied by Altium Limited, Above all, it and it comes with several features, like a schematic and auto-router.

Altium Designer software comes with high-powered tools for performing various circuit design activities, such as Schematic, circuit circulation, PCB design, and others. Besides, you can customize the Altium Designer workspace to carry out various user requirements.

Welcome to this tutorial of PCB design and realization in Altium's high-end software package. The tutorial will help you break into the entire process of making a PCB- from setting up a design project to output documentation.

Contents

What is Altium?

To begin with, Altium is a unified PCB design software package that hosts numerous design tools under one roof. Altium Designer 20- the latest version of Altium- symbolizes many years of innovation and improvement devoted to building a truly integrated design tool. For this reason, it allows users to efficiently utilize all the features of the circuit board design process features.

Remarking the excellent balance between control and ease of application, Altium has emerged as one of the most popular PCB design tools. Altium developers have developed an intuitive interface, putting the power of the software at users' fingertips. Generally, Altium Designer supports PCB engineers to actualize their creativity.

The Altium Designer workspace comprises of two key components:

The first one is the primary document editing environment of Altium Designer is located on the right side of the application.
The second environment is the Workspace Panels. Altium docks some panels on the left side of the tool; Besides, some panels pop-out on the right-hand side, some float, and others are concealed.

Altium Designer Tutorial

In this subheading, you will learn how to download the Altium Designer software, set up the design project, and place components on the Schematic. At the same time, you will also learn how to add PCB, compile the project to check for errors, create a new PCB, and output documentation.

Step 1: Altium Designer Download

Learn how to download a free version of Altium Designer, install and license it on your computer by following these steps.

Sign Up for a Free User Account on the Altium Website

Before you begin the download process, you need to sign up for a free user account on the Altium website. Join the Altium community of engineers and designers through this link.

Login on Altium Website

After signing up with the Altium community, login to your account through this link. Have a closer look at the features and advantages of Altium Designer before you proceed to the next step.

After approving the components and benefits of Altium Designer, you can download the Altium software from the Download Page.

Run Altium Designer Installer

When you have finished downloading the Altium Designer software, you should run it on your computer by pressing the Yes button on the pop-up window. Consequently, you will see a page welcoming you to the Installer. Hit the Next button to continue.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/installing-altium-designer

Next, navigate to the Design Functionality to choose your preferred functionality and press the tab labeled Next.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/installing-altium-designer

Choose the computer folders where you will install your download and hit the Next tab.

After some time, depending on your internet speed, a Complete Installation panel will pop-up.

Congratulations! You have successfully finished the download and installation process. Tick the Run Altium Designer box and press the Finish button to close the Altium Installer.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/installing-altium-designer

License Altium Designer

If it is your first time to run Altium Designers on your device, a License Management Panel will show up, implying that you are using an invalid license. Sign in to your Altium account that you created earlier to access a list of valid permissions.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/installing-altium-designer

Step 2: Setting Up Your Design Project

Creating a New PCB Project

According to Altium Designer developers, a PCB project is a set of design templates needed to specify and make a PCB. For instance, the project template, Multivibrator.prjPCB, is an ASCII template that stipulates all the project documents and project-based settings, like rule checks.

Now, you can create a new project through the File section, Select New Project, and click the PCB Project tab.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Adding a Schematic to the Project

For the purpose of the next steps, you need to add a schematic sheet to your project, as shown below.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Setting the Document Options

In the first place, you should set up the right document options, such as the sheet size and Snap, before you begin drawing your PCB.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Components and Libraries in Altium Designer

The elements that you will add to the PCB appear as schematic symbols in the design capture process. You can either:

Make components within and place from local libraries, or
Access them through the Content Vault, all-round component storage containing numerous elements.

Accessing Components

You can access components via the:

Libraries window in case of library components, or
Explorer window in case of Content Vault components
You can easily reach both windows through the Panels tab.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

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Making Libraries Available

Unlike other PCB design tools, you can place library components from existing libraries In Altium, such as:

Those in the current project- use the components of a library belonging to a particular project in any running project.

In this case, you should install the libraries in the Installed section within the Available Libraries panel. To access the dialog, hit the Libraries tab on the Libraries window. If you are unable to view the forum, navigate to the Panels, and click Libraries.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Step 3: Placing Components on the Schematic

You can access components in the Libraries/, or Explorer window and place them on any running schematic.

From the Libraries Window

Using the Place tab- position and press to insert the component floating on your cursor. After placing it, right-click to leave the placement mode.

Double-clicking- by double-clicking the Components tab in the window's component section, you will see them floating on your cursor. You need to position it appropriately and press to insert it. Then right-click to leave the placement mode.

Clicking and dragging- you can also place components on the Schematic from the Libraries panel by clicking and dragging the Schematic element. However, you should hold your cursor down and release it to put your component.

From the Explorer Window

Right-click the component and choose Place to float it on your cursor. Then position it appropriately and press to insert. When the Explorer window floats on your workspace, it will quickly fade to enable you to view the schematic drop components. Right-click to leave the placement status.

Click and drag- You can also click and remove parts from the Explorer window and place them on the Schematic. You should hold your cursor down and release it to set the component. Based on your internet speed, you might experience a short delay before placing the parts.

Multi-vibrator Components

Navigate to the Content Vault to check these designators: Q1, Q2, R1, R2, R3, R4, C1, C2, and P1. Place them to create a schematic similar to the diagram below.

Remember, the collapsible parts comprise tips on designing the placement process, which is more effective than developing after placement.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Congratulations! You have successfully positioned the components. However, you should widely space the components as illustrated above to create enough space for wiring all the component pins. You require adequate spacing since you cannot position wires underneath pins to access them beyond the wires. Otherwise, you will link all the pins to the wire. When moving components, press-and-hold them and relocate them by dragging the mouse.

Step 4: Add PCB

Wiring the Schematic

The first thing to do in adding a PCB is to wiring your board to create connectivity between the different parts. Luckily, the wiring process is easy. As an illustration, refer to the diagram below.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Wiring Guide

First, left-click or use the Enter bar to tie up your wire at the cursor point.

Secondly, use the Backspace to delete the previous anchor location.

Thirdly, use the Spacebar to clip the bearing of the junction.

Fourthly, hold the Shift and Spacebar to rotate through the wiring junction modes.

Next, Right-click to leave the wire posting mode. Alternatively, you can use the ESC tab.

Then Finally, press and hold to relocate positioned components. You can also press ctrl, click, and hold at the same time to move the parts together with the wires.

If any wire crosses a link of any part, you will end up creating a junction.

Nets and Net Labels

Every set of arts that you have linked is known as a net. For instance, a net can consist of base Q1, pin R1, and C1. Altium naturally assigns every net a label based on the type of component pins.

You can introduce Net Labels to assign labels and simplify the identification of basic nets.

Name 12v and GND nets in the multi-vibrator circuit.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Step 5: Compiling the Project to Check for Errors

To assemble your project, examine inaccuracies, navigate the Project section, and select Compile PCB Project Multi-vibrator.prjPCB.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Wow, your Schematic is now fully complete!

Step 6: Creating a New Circuit Board

Before you relocate your schematic design to the circuit board editor, you should make a blank PCB, label, and save it.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

There are several settings of the blank PCB that you need to modify before moving your schematic design. They include defining the origin, changing the imperial units to metric, choosing an appropriate snap grid, resizing the PCB shape to the recommended size, and arranging the design layers.

Click Ctrl and PgDn anytime you want to zoom and view the whole circuit.

The best way to delimit the shape of a non-rectangular PCB is by placing tracks on the keep-out layer.

Transferring the Schematic to the PCB Editor

It would be best to move your Schematic directly from the schematic editor to the circuit board editor. You do not have to create another netlist document to facilitate the transfer.

First, proceed to the Design section of your schematic editor, and click on Update PCB Document Multi-vibrator.PcbDoc. Alternatively, you can go to the circuit board editor and click on Design, then choose Import Changes Multi-vibrator.PrjPcb.

If you use one of the above commands, you will compile your design and generate some orders, like:

List every schematic component and its corresponding footprints. When you implement the ECOs, the application will try to find each impression in the libraries or Content Vault and position them in the workspace's circuit board.

The software generates a list of schematic nets. It would help if you implemented the ECOs to relocate the nets to the circuit board and introduce every net's pins.

You can then transfer extra schematic data, like component classes.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Setting up the PCB Workspace

Once you have completed all the ECOs, parts and nets will pop-up on the right side of your circuit board workspace, as illustrated below.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Before placing the parts on the PCB, you should modify the board working area and some settings, like layers and grids.

Altium Designer Linux

Configuring the Display Layers

Apart from the PCB fabrication layers, the circuit editor also facilitates other non-electrical layers. These layers are mostly classified, as shown below:

Electrical layers, like the 32 signal layers.

Mechanical layers, like the 32 general use mechanical layers, which are useful in design activities and special purpose activities. They can also be used in the print and Gerber generation or paired.

Another standard layer is the unique layers, such as the upper and lower silkscreen layers and the multi-layers.

The View Configuration window configures the display characteristics of each layer. To access it:

Go to the Panels section at the lower side of your workspace and click View Configuration, or

Navigate to the View bar, choose the Panels option and click the View Configuration tab, or

Use the L alternative, or

Press the existing color layer tab at the lower left side of the application.

Step 7: Output Documentation

Since you have finished designing and laying your board, you should proceed to create the output documentation, which is useful in reviewing, fabricating, and assembling the PCB.

There are several circuit board manufacturing methods, and luckily, Altium Designer can create various outputs for a wide range of purposes.

The first category is assembly output, comprising assembly drawings and pick & place documents. The second category is documentation outputs, consisting of PCB prints, PCB 3D prints, PCB 3D video, PDF3D, and schematic prints.

The third category of outputs is known as fabrication outputs, and it comprises Gerber files, IPC-2581 template, ODB++, drill drawings, and others.

How to Prepare Several Outputs in an OutputJob

There are two methods of configuring and creating outputs in Altium software:

Individually. Here, you keep the configurations of each output in the Project template. Go to the Fabrication Outputs, select the Assembly Outputs, click the Export tab, and press the Reports button to create an individual output.

Through an Output Job Template- after keeping the configuration of all outputs in the Output Job document, you can create the outputs manually.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

How to Configure Gerber Files

Gerber is commonly used to move data from PCB design to fabrication. Every Gerber document matches a particular layer in the physical PCB.

It would help if you referred to your PCB supplier to check their terms and conditions before making the fabrication process' output templates.

Remember, if your PCB contains holes, you should create the NC Drill template with the same measurements, resolution, location, and onboard configurations.

You can configure Gerber templates within the Gerber Setup panel, accessed through the board editor. Go to the Fabrication Outputs and click the Gerber Files.

Source: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/from-idea-to-manufacture-driving-a-pcb-design-through-altium-designer?version=18.1

Configuring the Bill of Material (BOM)

Altium Designers contains a management editor ActiveBOM that you can:

Use to configure the component data and make it ready for the Bill of Material.
You can also include extra non-PCB features, like the mounting hardware.

Use them to introduce more columns to meet the demands of the assembly workspace.

For this reason, map every design part of its corresponding supplier component.

Then, authenticate the supply and price of any component for a certain number of produced units.

Lastly, estimate the cost to create a given number of produced parts.

Generating the BOM

To develop a BOM output, go to the Reports panel in your circuit editor and click on the Materials Bill. Alternatively, you can introduce the BOM to your Report Outputs panel

Mapping Design Data into the BOM

Remember, you need to transfer the design information from the application into an Excel BOM You can achieve this by inserting special commands in the Excel document used to build the Bill of Materials.

When you are making the BOM file in Excel, you can utilize both Fields and Columns to stipulate the right layout. Altium software contains various files within the /Templates section.

Conclusion

In reality, PCB design is not a walk in the park and very few design software come with the right tools to make your project a success. Luckily, Altium Designers has a simple and intuitive user interface.

We created this Altium Designer Tutorial to help you break into the entire process of making a PCB- from setting up a design project to output documentation. In your PCB designing ventures, consider using a PCB software that integrates and builds consistencies between steps quickly, like Altium Designer.

Most powerful and cutting-edge board design tools are expensive.

However, Altium developers have come up with CicuitMaker- a board design application with free access to the features, that enable PCB designers to actualize their creativity without limitations.

You can try this free version before purchasing one.

Altium Designer provides a streamlined licensing system that enables you to get licensed and up and running with your Altium Designer software in a timely and efficient manner. The licensing system supports a variety of license usage models to suit the asset management needs of the individual or corporate infrastructure.

SKIP TO:

This document outlines the details of the licenses types and their use case. At the conclusion of this document there is a table showing the various features supported by each license type and will aid the reader in determining which license type supports the environment in which the asset will be utilized.

LICENSING STRUCTURE

Licensing Altium Designer is integrated into an intricate and robust system of license file management, sharing, and usage. Altium Designer license files are shared with users in three Altium license types, each with its advantages and intended uses. A Standalone license file is intended for single users or single computers. Private Server licenses are intended for multiple users on a network, where each user can access the Altium Infrastructure Server, using the license on an “as needed” basis. On-Demand licenses, by far the most popular, support a large number of environments, from a single user to multiple users, across all platforms and environments.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits of each license type. Note: For a quick cheat sheet, you may browse to the end of the document for a summary of the license types and the configurations they support.

On-Demand License

On-Demand (previously known as “global floating”) licenses are by far the most popular license type due to the features and options made available to the user and license manager. They are also popular as they support multiple users in multiple environment types. On-Demand licensing is available anywhere an Internet connection is available. However, if the user is going to be disconnected temporarily, for traveling purposes or security reasons, the license can be roamed. When the license is roamed, the user sets the length of time that the license will be roamed, and the license seat will be unavailable to other users until the period has ended or the license has been manually returned from “roam” status. If the license contains multiple seats, all other seats will remain available to other users.

On-Demand license types require an AltiumLive user account. AltiumLive user accounts are added to the company account by the company group administrator. On-Demand licenses are activated through the Altium License Management view shown in Figure 1. Once you have an active AltiumLive account, your login is linked to the company licenses and you can access them on any machine that has access to the Internet. If access is removed, be sure to roam the license before disconnecting from the Internet.

Figure 1: An example of On-Demand licenses listed in Altium Designer. Unlicensed indicates the license has not yet been put into use.

On-Demand licenses support groups and group assignments. The group administrator can set up groups within AltiumLive and assign licenses to each group. The administrator can allocate seats to diﬀerent groups, further managing how licenses may be shared between users. As an example, a license with ten seats may have five allocated to users that work on the schematic portion of the design and another five seats allocated to users for the PCB design.

Private Server License

For organizations that require their Altium software installations to remain offline – isolated from the internet – the convenience and flexibility of On-Demand software licensing can be provided by a localized Altium Infrastructure Server (AIS), rather than from the internet-based Altium Licensing Service. The freely downloadable AIS provides a Private License Service (PLS) that becomes accessible over the local or company-wide network system.

The private license server files are set up and managed by an administrator, usually an IT administrator, on a local server. The Altium Infrastructure Server is downloaded from the Altium Product Download page and run on the server located behind the corporate firewall: https://www.altium.com/products/downloads. License files are added to the Altium Infrastructure Server and are accessed through the Altium License Management view just as an On-Demand license would be accessed.The Altium Infrastructure Server is accessed through a web browser interface to the corporate server where the Altium Infrastructure Server resides.

Figure 2: The web based interface to the Altium Infrastructure Server.

Real-Time Usage Statistics

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On-Demand and Private License Server licensing have another advantage over the other license type by providing real-time usage statistics.

The usage statistics for an On-Demand license are viewed through the Altium Dashboard which is available to the Altium License Group Administrators.

Figure 3: Real-Time Usage Statistics and Reporting for On-Demand licenses on the Altium Dashboard.

The usage statistics for a Private License Server license are viewed through the Altium Infrastructure Server web interface.

Figure 4: Real-Time Usage Statistics and Reporting for Private Server licenses on the Altium Infrastructure Server.

Altium Designer 11

As a group administrator, the real-time usage statistics put a number of tools and options available at your fingertips. Understanding and knowing the license usage and trends are just the beginning. Utilizing this function, you can put in place alerts to make you aware of peak Altium Designer usage times, user and group usage, and knowing when available licenses are becoming dangerously low. Real-time usage statistics make license management much easier and more eﬃcient.

Standalone License

Standalone licenses are available for situations where a single PC or user will utilize Altium Designer for product design. Standalone licenses are installed locally onto the computer by activating the license through the user’s AltiumLive account, or downloading the *.alf license file from the AltiumLive Dashboard and adding it in the License Management view in Altium Designer. Standalone licenses are limited to the single site license type and can only be used by one user or PC. Altium does allow a temporary install of the standalone license file on a laptop or home computer for temporary usage. There are no license usage statics available for the Standalone license type.

GEOGRAPHICAL ASSIGNMENTS

Each license has a geographic site assignment. This determines the location(s) that the license and software can operate without violating the End-User License Agreement (EULA). There are three types available; Single Site, Continental, and Global.

Single Site

The most common assignment, this license type is used within one geographical location and allows for usage of that license at the site of the company shipping address. Altium does allow for using this license type in more than one location. Provided the same user uses it for temporary purposes, the software may be used for product design in a home oﬃce or, while traveling with a laptop computer.

Continental

As the name implies, this license type allows the same license to be used on a given continent. This is useful for companies that have multiple sites and locations across a continent. As an example, an On-Demand license that has Continental permissions may be used by one person to do the schematic design at the office in Massachusetts and then pass the work over to another board designer or engineer in the Printed Circuit Board PCB division located in California. Seat counts still apply, so if they are sharing a license, the license must be used and released accordingly.

Global

Global licenses can be used anywhere in the world. Used with On-Demand license types, this geographical assignment allows a company that has locations around the world to share a license or seats of a license. Taking the same scenario as above, the engineers and designers would be able to accomplish the same scenario, with the exception that they would be in diﬀerent oﬃces in diﬀerent continental locations. Another benefit to this license type is if the user needs to travel to a facility or oﬃce in another country, they only need to be able to access the license, whether through a VPN for Private Server, or online for On-Demand.

ROLE OF ALTIUMLIVE ACCOUNTS AND GROUP ADMINISTRATORS

Altium license management is administered through the AltiumLive platform. This platform allows for account, user, and license management. Each company will have an AltiumLive account with at least one group administrator assigned upon initial purchase of the license. The group administrator is usually identified during the purchase process as the person responsible for license and account management.

Group administrators can add users, manage groups (On-Demand and Private Server licenses), and track license usage and needs. For a standard user to be able to view, access, and use a license, they should be added as a user of AltiumLive. A Private Server license does not require that a user is added to the account, but it is still recommended they be added for technical support purposes. The platform, a group administrator accesses to manage these items is the dashboard shown in Figure 5, only available to group administrators.

Figure 5: AltiumLive Dashboard – Available to Group Administrators for managing users and licenses.

License Types and Supported Environments

Use the chart below to identify the best license type quickly for your current needs.

User Class	On-Demand	Private Server	Standalone
Single User/PC	X	X	X
Multiple Users	X	X
Single Site	X	X
Multi-Site (Continental/Global)	X	X
Internet Always Available	X	X
No Internet Connection (Tools operate offline)	X	X	X
Real Time License Usage Statistics	X	X
Global Access	X

On-Demand can be roamed before disconnecting from the internet to be used temporarily oﬄine.

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Summary

Altium Designer Price

Altium’s licensing system is robust and filled with options for every user and environment type. In today’s EDA world, electrical engineers and board designers could potentially work in a plethora of situations, and sometimes the user will encounter diﬀerent scenarios within the scope of their job as engineers. You can rest assured that Altium Designer will be fully supported in any environment that you need. Using the guidelines and information provided in this document, be sure to select the license type and the number of seats that will make your company the most productive. If you have users that are waiting for a license to become available, this is lost productivity time, and we here at Altium want to be sure you have every opportunity to get your products to market on time and eﬃciently. This begins with a correct and eﬃcient licensing configuration for your company.