Altium updates flagship high-speed PCB design tool

While Altium Designer 15 focused on improvements to the high-speed design process, version 15.1 enhances the core philosophy of the software, with a continued focus on improved design productivity and efficiency.

To enhance the productivity of the high-speed design process even further, a wizard for xSignals that helps save time on configuring length-matching rules has been added.

The addition of bikini coverlay support for rigid-flex designs allows users to easily add support layers to flexible designs that can be viewed in 3D and configured with user-specific materials.

The introduction of 3D PDF output documentation in Altium Designer 15.1 makes it easy for anyone on the team, designer or not, to view a PCB design in 3D from any compatible PDF viewer.

Additional design re-use tools are being added for increased productivity when managing pads and vias as reusable libraries in PCB designs. Padstacks will allow a user to define templates for different sized pads and vias in specific groups being used on a board, saving designers time by no longer having to define pad and via sizes individually.

Jason Hingston, CTO, Altium, comments: “We’re pushing productivity and high-speed design features further than we ever have before. With Altium Designer 15.1, we remain committed as ever to expanding our core expertise in making the most productive and efficient design software for the complexity demanded from today’s electronic designs and the needs of engineers.”