Altium Designer

Altium Designer is an electronic product development tool that provides electronic designers and engineers with a streamlined, optimized, powerful, and highly intuitive application for designing new PCBs.



Built on top of many modern technologies and fully optimized for multi-threaded workloads, 64-bit calculation, and optimized performance, the app represents one of the best productivity-enhancing design tools for the creation of new PCBs, electronic circuits, and various electronic product development tasks that you can find today.

Developed by the Australian software company Altium Limited, the first version of Altium Designer was released in 2005, and since then, it has gone through more than 50 large updates, many of them fueled by the recommendations of its large community.

• Unified Design Environment and Data Model
• Integrated Analysis
• 3D-MID Design
• Altium 365 Electronics Development Platform
• Digital Domain Connections
• PCB CoDesign
• Workflow Processes
• Constraint Management
• PLM Integration
• And More!

As a fully-featured PCB and electronic design automation software package for printed circuit boards, Altium Designer promotes easy access to tools for creating schematic capture, 3D PCB design, Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) development, and comprehensive release/data management.

The app also has built-in integration with several component distributors for in-app access to component data, support for cloud exporting and sharing, interactive editing of 3D circuit boards, comprehensive project exporting tools, simulation/debugging of FPGA, and much more.



Built with stability and speed in mind, the app represents an all-in-one solution for electronic designers and engineers. While the full package is regarded as more expensive than some of its competitors, the tool can also be evaluated during a free trial period.

In addition to the full editor suite, users can also find and use Altium Designer Viewer, which comes with a 6-month free trial license.

Installation and Use

Since the software aims to truly unify all the stages of the PCB design process, it comes in a large editor package that weighs over 2 GB in size. So, plan accordingly, free up more than 10 GB of free space on your PC storage, and get ready for a lengthy download and installation procedure.

Thankfully, the installation procedure is streamlined, requiring you to follow only on-screen instructions. Be aware that to start using the tool, even in its free trial mode, you will need to provide Altium Limited with some of your credentials (such as name and email address).
 
Once inside the app, you will immediately notice its traditional interface design and the presence of many tools and services intended to seamlessly connect to every aspect of PCB design.

The app features a dark visual style, with a large central canvas dedicated to your PC design, and two large docked panel areas on both sides of it.

It allows for deep customization of panel locations and features a large array of additional tools that are hidden in the top drop-down menus (File, Edit, View, Project, Place, Design, Tools, Route, Reports, Window, and Help).

Features and Highlights

• All-in-one solution for modern PCB designers.
• Easy migration of projects from the competitor’s toolchain inside the Altium Designer workspace.
• Optimize thermal connection styles for pads and vias on the fly and in real-time.
• Discover new ways to route connections by following board counters.
• Drag&drop components of your board without the need to re-route them.
• Quickly get to your PCB fabrication and assembly drawings.
• No layer restrictions.
• Support for automatic assigning of materials in your layer stack.
• Manage multiple impedance profiles for all your components.
• Fully optimized for 64-bit processors.
• Works with 4GB of RAM, optimized for 16 GB+.
• Optimized for Windows 11 and Windows 10.
• Available for FREE via a Trial license.

What`s New

• Schematic Capture Improvement
• Footprint Mirroring Prevention (Open Beta)
• ODB++ Improvements (Open Beta)
• Constraint Manager Improvements
• Support for xNets on PCB Side
• Create xSignals Automatically for 2-pin Nets
• Harness Design Improvements
• Added Support for Templates in a Workspace
• Single Wire Color Parameter Visibility
• Data Management Improvements
• Preventing Saving Files in Conflict States to the Workspace
• Support for Pulling Part Data from Z2Data

FAQs

What is Altium Designer used for?
Altium Designer is a professional PCB design platform that integrates schematic capture, PCB layout, simulation, and manufacturing outputs in a single environment, making it suitable for both simple and complex electronics projects.

Is Altium Designer suitable for beginners?
It can be used by beginners, but it has a learning curve because of its advanced toolset. However, the unified interface and large library of tutorials help new users get comfortable more quickly.

What formats can Altium Designer import and export?
Altium supports a wide range of industry formats, including Gerber, ODB++, STEP, DXF/DWG, IDF, and many schematic/library formats, making it flexible for collaboration and manufacturing workflows.

Does Altium Designer support 3D PCB design?
Yes, it includes advanced 3D visualization and 3D PCB layout tools, allowing users to inspect clearances, component placement, and mechanical fit before manufacturing.

Can Altium Designer integrate with version control systems?
Altium integrates with major version control systems such as SVN, Git, and Altium 365’s cloud-based collaboration tools, helping teams manage revisions and work on projects simultaneously.

Pricing

• Workspace - $995 /year

An annual subscription activates the shared Altium Develop workspace and enables Authors and Collaborators. Required to get started.

• Altium Designer Authors - $995 per Author /year

Up to 5 concurrent Authors: equals the number of paid seats. Each seat covers one Author at a time; shared across the team.

• Collaborators - Free

Collaborators can’t edit in Altium Designer, but they can fully engage in requirements, reviews, BOMs, comments, and task management.

PROS

• Comprehensive Toolset: Offers a wide range of design tools in one package, covering schematic capture, PCB layout, simulation, and more.
• High Integration: Seamless integration with other design tools and platforms, enhancing workflow efficiency.
• Powerful Simulation: Advanced simulation capabilities for signal integrity, power analysis, and 3D modeling.
• User Community and Support: Strong user community and extensive online resources, including tutorials and forums.
• Collaboration Features: Supports team collaboration with version control and project sharing capabilities.

CONS

• Cost: High upfront cost and ongoing subscription fees can be prohibitive for small businesses and hobbyists.
• Learning Curve: Steep learning curve for beginners due to its extensive features and complex interface.
• Resource Intensive: Requires a powerful computer with significant resources for optimal performance.
• Occasional Bugs: Some users report occasional software bugs and crashes, impacting productivity.
• Complex Licensing: Licensing model can be complex and sometimes restrictive for users needing flexible usage options.

Note: 15-day trial version.