Focusing on core PCB design technology, Altium Designer 14 now supports flex and rigid-flex design, including schematic capture, 3-D PCB layout, analysis, and programmable design—all in a single unified platform. The enhanced software allows for smaller packaging of electronic designs, which leads to lower cost of materials and production, as well as increased durability.
This release of Altium’s PCB design software adds the ability to handle rigid-flex designs, including advanced layer-stack management. Rigid-flex lets you take circuit components mounted on a rigid board and connect them using flexible circuits that can bend or fold to fit any space. It also supports embedded PCB components, enabling greater design miniaturization by placing standard components on an inner layer of the circuit board during fabrication.
Other enhancements to Altium Designer 14 simplify high-speed design rules, such as automated and guided adjustment of differential-pair width-gap settings to ensure pair impedance is maintained. Additionally, improvements to the PCB Editor’s via stitching include the ability to constrain the via-stitching pattern to a user-defined area.
Prices for Altium Designer 14 start at $7245, including a one-year subscription.
