Altium Designer Notes and PCB Design Guidelines

How to design a standard PCB layout using Altium Designer
This document is currently in a work in progress.

General Information
Shortcut Keys
Components
Schematics
Setup Before Layout
Placement
Layout
High Speed Tips
Useful Links

Shortcut Keys

All Altium Designer Shortcut Keys [Download]
+400 Shortcuts for Altium Designer [View]

Schematic Designer

General
- Ctrl + M: Measure.
- C Then C: Compile the active project.
- D Then U: Update the PCB with any schematic changes.
- D Then O: Open the “Document Options” window.
- Q: Toggle the measurement unit system between metric and imperial.
- T Then C: Cross-probe a net, pin or component between the schematic and the PCB.
Schematic Routing
- P Then W: Start placing wires.
Component Placement
- J Then C: Jump to component.
- J Then N: Jump to net.
- T Then A Then A: Open the “Annotate” window.
- T Then A Then U Open the “Quick Annotate” window.

PCB Designer

General
- D Then I: Import changes from schematic to PCB.
- T Then D Then R: Run DRC (Design Rule Checks).
- Q: Toggle the measurement unit system between metric and imperial.
- T Then C: Cross-probe a net, pin or component between the schematic and the PCB.
Routing
- P Then T: Begin routing a track.
- Tab (while routing): Brings up routing options/properties windows.
- Shift + Space: Change the track routing style (e.g. from straight to 45 to curved and back again).
- Shift + W: Set the track width to something from the predefined track width list.
- T Then G Then A: Repour all polygons.
Component Placement
- L: Flip a component.
- Spacebar: Rotate object by 90°.
- J Then C: Jump to component.
- Ctrl + Shift + C: Align horizontal centers.
- Ctrl + Shift + T: Align horizontal tops.
- Ctrl + Shift + B: Align horizontal bottoms.
- Ctrl + Shift + V: Align vertical centers.
- Ctrl + Shift + L: Align vertical lefts.
- Ctrl + Shift + R: Align vertical rights.
- E Then M Then M: Move component (useful for when you can’t select it because it’s ontop of other components).
Visualisation
- Shift + S: Hide all but selected layer.
- V Then B: Flip board.
- MouseScroll: Move up/down.
- Shift + MouseScroll: Move left/right.
- Ctrl + MouseScroll: Zoom in/out.
- Ctrl + M: Measure.
- + / -: Increment/Decrement through the enabled layers.
- *: Increment/Decrement through routing layers only.
- S Then S / Ctrl + H: Enables you to select a section of connected copper. Stops the selection at a via, pad or intersection.
- D Then T Then <letter>: Select a view configuration. These views and their key shortcuts are user configurable.
  - D Then T Then U: Selects the “up” configuration (all top layers).
  - D Then T Then D: Selects the “down” configuration (all bottom layers).
- D Then O: Open Board Options window.
- Ctrl + G: Open the Grid Editor window.
- L: Show the Layers dialog box to adjust the visible layers and/or enable/disable layers.
- G: Cycle through the predefined grids.

Schematics

Draw circuits from left to right and top to bottom.
Draw circuits in functional block and use Net Labels for connecting blocks to each other.
Use standard designators:
- IC: IC or U
- Resistor: R
- Capacitor: C
- Inductor: L
- Transistor: Q or T
- Diode/LED: D
- Crystal: Y/XTAL
- Pin headers: J
- Jumper: JP
- Fuse: F
- Ferrite Bead: FB
- Fiducial: FD
- Test point: TP
Add the Cover Page to the schematic:
- Project name
- Date
- Re/version number
- All the names of schematics
- Notes legend
- Company information
- Schematic status with date (Draft, Preliminary, Checked, Released)
  - Draft: Blocks, just the structure of the schematic.
  - Preliminary: Connections done, Quiet close to final.
  - Checked: No mistakes in schematic.
  - Released: PCB sent for fab.
Don't connect 4 wires at one junction.
Place all labels, designators, pins, text etc. horizontally.
Don't fill up the whole sheet.
Name schematics with clear and short name.
- For example: Use CPU_HDMI and CPU_LVDS instead of CPU1 and CPU2.
Use "+...V..." for power nets
- Never use "VCC" as net name!
- For example: +12V, +5V, +3V3, +2V5, and etc.
Fill information in Title block.
Use distinctly and clear names for schematics.
Add useful Design Notes on the schematic.
If you suspect that there are parts in the circuit, place them. If you do not need them, you can remove them later!
Double check RX & TX pins.
- Never use "TX" & "RX" as net name alone!
- For example: Use MCU_TX or GPS_RX instead of TX or RX alone!
Put enough and useful Test Points (TPs) for circuit debugging.
Place components in the schematic close to the pins where they should be located on PCB.
- For example: bypass capacitors.
Generate PDF of the completed schematic.

Setup Before Layout

Rules

Clearance
- D Then R > Design Rules > Electrical > Clearance
- Clearance = 0.2 mm
Routing
- D Then R > Design Rules > Routing > Width
- Min Width = 0.254 mm
- Preferred Width = 0.3 mm
- Max Width = 0.5 mm
- D Then R > Design Rules > Routing > Width_PWR
- Min Width (PWR) = 0.254 mm
- Preferred Width (PWR) = 1 mm
- Max Width (PWR) = 4 mm
- D Then R > Design Rules > Routing > Routing Via Style
- Via Diameter = 0.6 mm
- Via Hole Size = 0.3 mm
Mask
- D Then R > Design Rules > Mask > Solder Mask Expansion
- Solder Mask Expansion = 0.1 mm
Manufacturing
- D Then R > Design Rules > Manufacturing > Hole To Hole Clearance
- Hole to Hole Clearance = 0.3 mm
- D Then R > Design Rules > Manufacturing > Minimum Solder Mask Silver
- Minimum Solder Mask Silver = 0.3 mm
- D Then R > Design Rules > Manufacturing > Silk to Solder Mask Clearance
- Silk to Solder Mask Clearance = 0.1 mm
- D Then R > Design Rules > Manufacturing > Silk to Silk Clearance
- Silk to Silk Clearance = 0.1 mm
Placement
- D Then R > Design Rules > Placement > Component Clearance
- Component Clearance (Vertical) = 0.2 mm
- Component Clearance (Horizontal) = 0.2 mm
Via
- DXP > Prefs > PCB Editor > Defaults > Via
- Via Diameter = 0.6 mm
- Via Hole Size = 0.3 mm

Stackup

Design > Layer Stack Manager
Change Layer Names to L1 and L2, and etc.
Thickness of Dielectric (PCB Thickness) = 1.6 mm

Set Net Colors

View > Panels > PCB
PCB Panel > <Net Name> > Right-Click > Change Net Color
PCB Panel > <Net Name> > Right-Click > Display Override > Selected ON
Net Color for GND = Blue (236)
Net Color for PWR = Orange (4) or Pink (1)
F5 = Toggle Net Colors

Placement

Plan layout first, then placement.
Start with BMC (Big, Main and Critical) components. e.g. MCU and clock devices.
Place predefined location of components and connectors.
Isolate analog and digital power supply sections.
Place clock driver close to clock oscillator.
Arrange components in rows and columns.
Arrange components with uniform orientation, e.g. diodes and polarized capacitors.
Indicate polarity on silk screen.
Place all components on top side of the PCB. On complex and compact designs place short height and/or low thermal dissipation components go on bottom, never place tall components on the bottom side else it will increase the total height of the PCB.
Keep 1mm (40mil) space between components and 2.5 and/or 3 (100mill and/or 120mil) from component to edge
Place bypass capacitors as close to IC as possible, use combination of 10uF and 100nF, place smaller cap closer to IC.
Place connectors on one edge of the board.
Place at least four mounting holes.
Make sure enough space around mounting holes for screw heads to sit on and try placing big components around PCB.
Keep more space around headers/connectors.
Place hot components on the top side of the PCB.
Must place test points on all power nets and optional critical signals and programming pins if needed.

Cheap and reliable Node.js hosting starts at $3/month, and $1/month static HTML hosting

amiryeg / Altium-Designer-Notes-and-PCB-Design-Guidelines

Labels

Projects that are alternatives of or similar to Altium-Designer-Notes-and-PCB-Design-Guidelines

Altium Designer Notes and PCB Design Guidelines

Table of Contents

Shortcut Keys

Schematic Designer

PCB Designer

Schematics

Setup Before Layout

Rules

Stackup

Set Net Colors

Placement

Useful Links