An introductory guide to Altium Designer! This will cover the high level steps of working in Altium along with in context links for more depth where needed. Topics include basic navigation & controls, the project workflow, the component workflow, and more.

CONTENTS

RETURN TO HOME PAGE: Altium Designer

Project Workflow

Altium Designer delivers great results for PCB development but has many steps to achieve this, not only in software, but also within NER to coordinate between our members.

Read more below:

Project Workflow Stages

Project Scoping

Before starting any project at NER we must determine the scope, constraints, timeline and otherwise the overall definition of the project. This is typically completed by leadership such as the chief engineer, system head, and potential project leads. A project at a high level (general function, budget, timeline) will be defined in FinishLine, and the details regarding actual electrical I/O level decisions may be elaborated on in further meetings and documented in Confluence.

Project Creation

Actually creating the project in Altium Designer to be shared via 365! This is typically done by the project lead and only requires coming up with a project name and filling in some basic parameters.

Details on this can be found here: https://nerdocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NER/pages/136314883/Schematic+Capture#Project-Creation

Schematic Design

Design of the actual electronics circuits. This encompasses picking components, digging into their datasheets to learn how to implement them, completing the wiring required, and even simulating when necessary to validate behavior. Critical setup and organization of the schematics should be done by the project lead, and then sub-circuits can be more easily divided between any available team members. Schematics should follow the Vault Guidelines

Details on this can be found here: Schematic Capture

We’ve recently changed that component build-out will not be required until the layout stage rather than during schematic design. For schematics “Draft” components are okay!

Asynchronous Schematic Review

Review of the electrical design of the system. This review will be completed by everyone on the team who can contribute their time! Contents should be the electrical design itself, component choices (function as well as cost and solderability), and general schematic cleanliness & organization.

Details on this can be found here: {link to schematic review checklist}

Reviews are a great way to learn about our circuits and get familiar with Altium!

Component Build-out

During schematic design you may have selected some part numbers and assigned a symbol to it for schematic purposes, but not associated further data to the part. Component build-out is when all components are fully filled in to be used for layout. Typically this includes adding a footprint, filling in parameters, and updated supplier part numbers (SPNs). All members should participated in this, and given their modularity, this is a common task for new members to get familiar with Altium.

Details on this can be found here: Component Creation

PCB Layout Design

Designing the way components and copper are placed on the board. Similar to the schematic design, the project lead will be responsible for critical actions, such as importing the schematics, and organization of efforts across the project team. All members should be able to participate in layout, but it can vary depending on board size and timeline demands. Layouts should follow the Vault Guidelines

Details on this can be found here: PCB Layout (Matt Edition)

Layout is the most daunting part of Altium, but the only way to learn is to try it out! Some ways would be to make your own practice project or to spend some time working side-by-side with a more experienced team member (hit up the Chief EE for help if needed).

Component Review

As components are built out, they all must undergo a review. This can happen in parallel with layout and other processes, as long as all components are reviewed before release. These are completed by senior members/leaders of the team to ensure that all components in the library are robust. In summary, this just consists of checking every component thoroughly against the Component Review Checklist before a board is fabricated with the parts.

Asynchronous Layout Review

Design review of the completed board. Similar to the schematic, all members of the EE team are encouraged to participate! At this stage the board should be ready for fabrication, so the entire board is open to feedback, but the focus is primarily on the layout of the board.

Details on this can be found here: {link to layout review checklist}

Reviews are a great way to learn about our PCBs and get familiar with Altium!

Project Release

Once fully reviewed, the board needs to be made! Our Altium vault has been setup with OutJob templates that enable easy board exports for fabrication, alongside marking in the version control that the board is being released as a formal revision. This is typically done by the project lead or relevant head/chief.

Details on this can be found here: https://nerdocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NER/pages/156205064/PCB+Layout+Matt+Edition#Export-for-Fabrication-(Out-Jobs)

Navigating Altium

On Startup

{screenshot of bootup}

By default, on startup Altium will open the “Home” page. It has some links to trainings, articles, and surveys, none of which are particularly useful. Feel free to close it out by right clicking on the tab and clicking “Close”

To actually view documents and edit projects you’ll need a license and access to the vault/Altium 365! This comes in two parts:

{screenshot of where to click to log into 365}

Once logged into 365, you should have access to the vault. Sometimes your license will also activate, but you can double check by opening the licensing page:

{screenshot of where to click for licenses}

Managing your License

{screenshot pointing out all the buttons}

Pay attention to the #pcb channel in Slack when working on boards. Sometimes the licenses get taken up accidentally when people are not actively working and we run out of licenses.

Accessing Projects

Opening projects is primarily completed through the projects panel. Location of the projects tab can be moved wherever is prefered (just click and drag) but it defaults to the left side panel column:

{screenshot of where projects usually is}

All projects for NER are stored in the online vault, which can be accessed by right clicking the top of the panel and selecting “XXX“:

{screenshot of above}

The panel that opens can then be used to select a project and open it:

{screenshot of cloud projects}

The projects panel has two view modes. This can be toggled with the button in the XXX of the above screenshot.

{Talk about how to open a project and opening files within a project}

Schematic View

{Highlight key features when a schematic page is open}

Layout View

{Highlight key features when a board is open}

Component Workflow

To ensure consistency in our components, a lot of effort goes into keeping them organized. A large part of this is using Altium’s built in state flows to indicate status of components. Below is an example of where you see these states:

These states can be seen throughout Altium in BOMs as well as in component properties, the component panel, and more.

The following diagram shows our state flow and what each state implies

Read more below:

Component States & Transitions

Planned

Component is a local draft. This should be fairly uncommon as it is only shown when first creating a component.

Once uploaded to the server, the component will automatically become a Draft

Draft

The component is a work in progress. This is a common state as it encompass all stages of “working on a component”, and as mentioned above, all components will move into this state by default.

From this state anyone can move components to Pending Review or to Obsolete. Explanations for these are below.

Pending Review

The component is complete and ready for review. Once team members/project leads determine a component is fully complete (symbol, footprint, parameters, etc all added), the component is marked with this status to indicate to the EE heads that it is ready for review. A review wiIl then be completed according with the Component Review Checklist.

From this state only EE heads can move the component to Reviewed, but anyone can move it back to Draft.

Reviewed

The component has been approved by an EE head. At this stage the component is fully complete, confirmed as so (according to Component Review Checklist), and is ready for production! Users can use these components knowing that no further work is needed on the component before releasing a board with it.

From this state anyone can move the component to Production, Draft, or Obsolete.

Production

The component has been used in a production PCB and required no reworks to function. After a board is fully functional, all components used in the board (that didn’t require fixes) will be marked with this state. It serves as a 100% guarantee that future boards can use the component without issues or further reviews.

From this state anyone can move the component back to Reviewed or Obsolete.

Obsolete

The component is effectively “deleted”. The reason for obsoletion rather than deletion is backwards compatibility. Marking something as obsolete tells engineers to no longer use the component (or at least that revision of it), while still allowing older projects to include the component. This way if we look back at boards that are a few seasons old they don’t have a bunch of missing parts.

From this state anyone can move the component back to Draft.