PCB Design for Beginners using Altium Designer

In this week,

• Basic electronic components such as capacitors, resistors, inductors, diodes, and transistors are covered.
• We will see how PCBs use the above-mentioned devices.

In this week, 

• Circuit analysis to determine the currents and voltages in an electronic circuit with connected electronic components is studied.
• We will learn how a simple circuit works, by analyzing it.

• Altium software is used in the electronic schematic design of PCBs.
• It provides a platform for engineers to develop and visualize PCBs in 3D.
• Engineers can design and edit the most complex PCBs using the Altium platform.

• In Altium Designer, users can create electronic component symbols with their parameters when designing a circuit.
• Each electronic component has its own symbol in a circuit, as well as an associated electrical parameter.
• It is important to know how to create a symbol when designing a PCB to ensure proper schematic representation.

• In the design of any PCB is a footprint that provides a standard layout design for components in the circuit.
• While Altium has standardized footprints, it can also be used to design your own footprint with the help of CAD tools.

• Schematic drawings are at the base of circuit diagrams and PCB designs.
• They provide information about the components and flow of current in the circuit.
• Altium Designer gives users schematic drafting tools needed to design schematic diagrams.

• Before designing a PCB, it is important to understand the basic concepts behind it.
• This overview also strengthens the understanding needed to carry out PCB design using Altium Designer.

• PCB designing involves a series of sequential steps with feedback loops.
• It is important to design the PCB in this order of steps to prevent errors in the overall design.

• Altium offers many tools and widgets to design and develop PCBs.
• It is important to understand how to use Altium Designer in the creation of a PCB.

• Electrical components have specific placements in PCBs to ensure that electrical interconnections are created between them.
• By properly placing components, the functional efficiency of the overall design can be improved.
• A good understanding of component placement is vital because of this.

• In order to design an efficient PCB, there are a certain set of guidelines to follow.
• These provide information on the layout, placement, and schematic rules to be followed in order to optimize efficiency.

• PCB designs have a series of layers, and vias are essential in forming the electrical connections between these layers.
• For instance, stackup design has many layers of copper and insulation which need to be connected with vias.
• It is important to know how to design stackups and vias into a PCB for proper conduction of electricity through the components.

• Before a board layout design can be formed, a PCB’s stackup design has to be developed.
• This refers to the way the layers of copper and insulation are arranged.
• Altium Designer can be used for designing the stackup of a PCB.

• Post-processing a PCB design involves design rule checking, design for manufacturability, and other procedures ensuring that all the details are in place.

• Design rule checking studies the physical and logical soundness of a PCB design.
• This makes sure that there are no errors in the design of the PCB.
• Altium Designer can perform this in real-time with reference to a set of design rules.
• By identifying errors in the initial design phase, scrapping products, later on, will be limited.

• Information regarding each layer of the PCB is in an open ASCII vector file called Gerber files.
• It provides a universal format that can be understood by engineers everywhere.
• These files are created, reviewed, and viewed using Altium Designer.

• As PCBs have electronic components, they emit electromagnetic waves.
• It is important to manage EMI when designing a PCB to ensure it is within the acceptable range of EMI/EMC standards.
• Circuit and PCB layout design, as well as component selection, contribute to the EMI/EMC factors of PCBs.

• There are different communication protocols that transimt information.
• It is important to know the types of communication used in automotive products like CAN, LIN, and LAN. 

• The PCB manufacturing process has certain techniques which ensure the proper performance of the product.
• Different PCBs require a different set of manufacturing techniques depending on their operation.
• The more complex the PCB, the more steps and techniques are involved.

• PCBs are designed with a series of components that are assembled to achieve an intended outcome.
• The process of assembly has a series of interrelated steps. Each step of the process has to be in tune with the next through feedback loops from output to input.

• In any electrical and electronic system is the possibility of voltage fluctuations that may damage or cause failure in a circuit.
• In such a case, it is important that circuit protection is in place to protect the circuit and those in direct contact with it.
• It is important to know how to integrate circuit protection into a PCB design.

• There are many sources of potential damage to circuits, due to which there are different methods of circuit methods for each one.
• It is important for PCB design engineers to be aware of the different methods and integrate them into their designs as needed.

• Saturn PCB Design provides engineers with PCB design, manufacturing, and assembly services for use in electronic engineering projects.

• Multilayer PCBs are more complex in design because they generally have more components.
• As a result of this, they have more routing required.
• Although there are multiple layers, they are compressed down into one.
• By using Altium Designer, multilayer stackups can be integrated into PCB designs.

• The CAN communication protocol is useful for short messages that do not target a specific node.
• Altium Designer is used in the development of a CAN condition. 

• Ground planes are important in PCB designs as they minimize the electrical noise and interaction between two layers with active signals.
• This can be done for the different layers using Altium Designer.

• When creating a PCB, component selection is one of the first steps as it sets the base for the following steps.
• Selecting the right components is important to reduce the chance of inconsistencies through the PCB design process.
• It is therefore important to understand the process of component selection.