Altium Unveils Industry's First Cloud-based Application for eCAD Component Management

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Electronic components play a central role in the design and realization of printed circuit boards (PCBs), which are at the heart of smart and connected devices. Key to meeting growing market demand for such devices is the effective creation and reuse of component data in the PCB design process, including footprints, schematic symbols, and 3D models. Until now, most PCB designers have created and stored component data in private file systems rather than in a shared, managed, and maintained library. Others have tried to use shared spreadsheets or proprietary databases. These outdated approaches led to multiple re-design cycles due to redundant, inaccurate or outdated component data that is often discovered only late in the product development process, when board designs are sent to manufacturers. 

Altium Concord Pro helps ensure that all of an organization's designers, buyers, and manufacturing partners have access to the same set of component data by vastly simplifying the setup, configuration, use, and maintenance of managed component libraries. Concord Pro also ensures that component information is reliable and up-to-date through its built-in connectivity to Octopart supply chain information. 

"Electronic component data is at the center of collaboration across the worlds of design, supply chain, and manufacturing,'' said Leigh Gawne, Altium's Chief Software Architect. "Concord Pro is the industry's first and only application that leverages the power of the cloud to make it easy to share component data and have certainty that your PCB can be fabricated, assembled, and delivered when you need it."

Users of Altium Designer can now instantly try and use Concord Pro in the Cloud, powered by Altium 365, Altium's newly launched collaborative platform for electronics design and realization. Concord Pro is also available on-premise, accessible through Altium Designer 19 and the upcoming Altium Designer 20.

Altium Concord Pro's capabilities include:

• Instantly On: no installation or server setup necessary when deployed on the Altium 365 cloud infrastructure. 
• A single, shared library of managed component data: one place to find, use, and maintain component data, including requests for new/updated component models and role-based access and permissions.
• Templated component data authoring: a single, consistent way to define and create component data.
• Live supply chain/sourcing data: direct feed from Octopart supplier data including information on availability, lead-time, sources, price, alternatives and substitutes.
• Component traceability: maintains a history or "audit trail" for where a specific part has been utilized.
• Bi-directional design collaboration with Solidworks, Inventor, and PTC Creo: MCAD and ECAD design teams can now share changes to board shape, component placement, mounting holes, by intelligently linking 3D ECAD and MCAD models.

To learn more, or to test drive Altium Concord Pro visit www.altium.com/concord 

ABOUT ALTIUM

Altium LLC (ASX:ALU), a global software company based in San Diego, California,  is accelerating the pace of innovation through electronics. From individual inventors to multinational corporations, more PCB designers and engineers choose Altium software to design and realize electronics-based products.

The growing demand for smart and connected products is driving advancements in electronics technology. Design trends are demonstrating the need for minimizing power, reducing package size and energy consumption, and prioritizing high-speed design. For over 30 years, Altium has been delivering software that maximizes the productivity of PCB designers and electrical engineers, from idea to board.  Users are at the center of Altium's R&D and business operations. With its unique Business-to-User approach, Altium is focused on developing software that is easy to use and implement, with solutions that enable innovation and deliver industry-leading user productivity. 

Products include Altium Designer®, Altium Concord Pro™, Altium 365®, Altium NEXUS®, CircuitMaker®, CircuitStudio®, Octopart®, and TASKING®. To learn more about Altium, visit www.altium.com. 

Visit I-007eBooks to download your copy of Altium micro eBook today:
The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to...Design for Manufacturing (DFM)