Altium Tutorial - Design for Manufacturing

 

Altium Tutorial - Design for Manufacturing 

Project file Creation in Altium 

• File -> new -> project -> type -> PCB defualt -> Create

• Add schematic Right click project in navigation panel -> Add new to the project -> Schematic

• Add PCB Right click project in navigation panel -> Add new to the project -> PCB

• Add Schematic  Library Right-click project in navigation panel -> Add new to the project -> Schematic Library

 

• Add PCB Library Right-click project in navigation panel -> Add new to the project -> PCB Library
• Add Job file Right-click project in navigation panel -> Add new to the project -> Output Job

The job file contains everything required for board manufacturing

• NC drill file
• BOM
• Gerber generation
• 3D PDF generation
• Assembly drawing generation

• Save everything above with project name

• File -> Save All

Schematic Design 

• Now you are ready to start with schematic design 
• Creating schematic library symbol
• Click panel -> manufacture part number search 

• Click settings -> select currency USD only and preferred suppliers
• Digikey is good to go for almost all the designs, so that unselect all the other suppliers 
• If the component is recently manufactured one then it won't to be available with any distributer so that we have to purchase such components from the manufacture itself 

NM180100 

• Since the distributor does not have this part number it shud be custom designed 

• RESET pin

• set schematic grid 

• The schematic symbol for NM180100 

• Goto PCB lib -> tools -> footprint wizard 
• select BGA
• set dimensions from the data sheet 

• select all pads 
• change shape to a rectangle

Mechanical 29 layer

• assembly drawing

• .designator 

pin 1 dot 

Mechanical 1 layer

• place -> place 3 d body ->3D step 

Top Overlay layer

• pin 1 dot 

• goto schlub
• select component
• add footprint 

• save all 
• goto schematic
• add component
• tools -> annotation

• validate 

• Update PCB

• Now PCB footprint is on PCB layout document 

• Top overlay (slick screen) minimum width 0.15mm / 6mil
• Pad to silkscreen 0.15 mm minimum / 6mil
• Minimum text height 32mil / 0.8mm
• Minimum Line Width 6mil/ 0.15mm

Capacitor 0402

• Pin length in schematic 130mil 
• Pin end should be snapped to the grid otherwise cannot connect to the Nets during schematic design 
• set snap grid to 50mil and 100mil during symbol design 

Alternative ways to create complex footprints

Download SnapEDA footprint open it in Altium copy paste footprint to our PCB lib

check follwoing layers on the copied footprint

• top overlay
• mechanical 29 --> designator 

• mechanical 1 --> 3d stp

Easyway to check if the footprint is correct

Download a 3D step from the manufacturer site or 3rd part (downlaod highest rated 3D step files only) and place it on the footprint 

• Check if pads and holes of 2D footprint are alined with the 3d file
• By experience SnapEDA footprint are reliable
• 3D files --> 3dcontentcentral (highest rated files)  3D step files are reliable 
• Or you can find in Digikey as well CAD/EDA files, most components have 3d fils in listing

 

• By experience, Ultralibrarian foot prints are not reliable 

PCB Board Design 

• Trace to Outline 0.2mm / 7.8mil

Design rules (JLCPB Spec)

• Electrical clearance 

• Routing width

• Routing vias

• Solder mask expansion

• Solder paste expansion

• Hole size

• Hole to hole clearance

• Minimum solder mask silver

• Silk to solder mask clearance 

• Silk to silk clearance

Set defaults (JLPCB spec)

• Via size

• Track width

• String size 

PCB stack-up

• make it to 4 layer

Via in pads 

• useful when BGA or Pads are very closely placed chips, but the manufacturing cost is higher, therefore don't use via in pad for unnecessary components 

• but there are issues with this method as well solder will stick into via hole and ic will be floating in an angle on PCB, it will be hard correct once the solder is hardened 
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Polygon Pour

• We use polygon pour till the copper board with copper for GND plane/ power planes/ etc.
• select layer ->goto place-> Polygon Pour-> draw on the PCB -> set name for Polygon eg. GND 3.3 -> save all -> right-click on PCB Polygon actions -> Repour all -> now run DRC 

Net Antenna

it shows when a path is ended in a VIA, so the designer will not miss completing the routing 

Layers

        Top  layer                            layer 2                              layer 3                         Buttom layer

• DRC -> check electrical unrouted net -> run DRC, this will show if any nets are left unrouted 
• Add silk screen notes 

Draw PCB outline

• Draw PCB outline on mechanical 30 layer

Create Output Job file for manufacturing file generation 

Gerber generation

NC Drill file generation

Pick and Place file generation

Mechanical Drawing

this contains dimension 

Generate Assembly Drawing 

Select,

• Mechanical 29 layer 
• Outline layer

Generate 3D PDf of PCB   

• Open PCB file -> File->Export-> 3D PDF

Generate BOM 

Select required columns for PCB house 

Designator 
Qty 
Manufacturer 
Manufacturer Part Number 
Description 
Case / Package 
Type - SMD ,BGA,LCC,OR TH 
Your Instructions / Notes/ Comments
Top/Bottom 
Points (number of contacts the IC has in each board) 
Total points (number of contacts per BOM line has)