Altium has announced the next major update to its flagship PCB design tool Altium Designer. According to the company, the addition of new automation and productivity tools to the package will allow engineers to get designs done more quickly and with fewer errors.
“The increasing complexity of today’s electronic designs requires the most productive design environment for engineers to remain competitive,” said Christopher Donato, VP Americas at Altium. “Our focus for this release is to provide PCB designers with the most productive and efficient PCB design platform available to meet the demands of every engineering challenge.”
Amongst the additions to the software are: an alternative part choice system, allowing designers to control their component selection process with backup part choices for manufacturing; visual clearance boundaries, allowing designers to understand the impact of their routing decisions in real-time; and a component placement system that allows organised and efficient board layouts to be created.
“These features reflect our commitment to the on-going value and growth of the Altium Designer platform,” said Sergey Kostinsky, VP of engineering. “This release furthers our goal of creating the best design tool for mainstream PCB designers who need to meet increasingly tight deadlines and budget."
Altium Designer 16 will be available as a free upgrade to all Altium subscription customers.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk