When it comes to PCB design software there are many different, innovative options on the market and one of the most popular was Protel. This specific software was probably one of the most popular and high quality PCB design options on the market so why has it changed? Clearly with technological advances and how the customers want smaller but more intelligent components has forced the design software companies to be far more creative about how they can ensure the designer has every tool they can in order to come up with the best, intelligent part that beats the competition. With Altium being the new Protell PCB – here are some of the benefits.
Integration
It is important that the design software integrates as much as possible with others to ensure that you do not have to purchase lots of different solutions. Not only does Altium offer improved integration but they are proud to boast that their current package does everything where you do not need to use numerous packages. This has always been a problem for designers, specifically when they are trying to bring different parts together as sub-assemblies into an assembly only to find things are completed on different package types. The Altium Protel PCB software is also updated in version type often in order to wipe out any bugs or issues to ensure that it meets the needs of the customer.
Simulation
A massive plus in terms of bringing it all together is the fact that you can run pretty complex simulations with Altium. Doing this effectively is really important in order to ensure that you do not run into problems downstream. They offer a simulation program that is designed for you to bring all your sub units together and then try to see how it operates as a fully assembled unit. This clearly helps you understand any potential flaws in the design and before you hand it over to the customer to make a large quantity of defective parts you have tried it our yourself. Although it is not 100{e7d47c856744df2248f2195fd30fbdddbceff01679799ef4d661e6a47ab6faaa} error proof and may not pick up things like potential life span or material related aspects it is a really good and strong indicator on the robustness of the design.
3D views
Gone are the standard 2D views that you would see in 1980s CAD design software packages and in come the 21st century take on this. With 3D view options on Altium you can easily then start to see how it all pulls together in terms of angles. You can move around the object in many different views. This is specifically helpful when you are in assembly mode when you are bringing all the objects together to an assembly point where you could potentially see any design flaws or potential assembly issues. This is another aspect that has brought what the Protel PCB did and re-jig it to fit technology today and give designers the best tools at their disposal.
