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Beyond the Rulebook
What happens when the rule book is no longer useful, or worse, was never written in the first place? In today’s fast-moving electronics landscape, we’re increasingly asked to design and build what has no precedent, no proven path, and no tidy checklist to follow. This is where “Design for Invention” begins.
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From the growing role of AI in design tools to the challenge of managing cumulative tolerances, these articles in this issue examine the technical details, design choices, and manufacturing considerations that determine whether a board works as intended.
Looking Forward to APEX EXPO 2026
I-Connect007 Magazine previews APEX EXPO 2026, covering everything from the show floor to the technical conference. For PCB designers, we move past the dreaded auto-router and spotlight AI design tools that actually matter.
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Nexar Announces Massive CAD Model Marketplace
June 16, 2022 | Nexar, a business unit of Altium LLCEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Nexar, a business unit of Altium LLC, announced today the launching of the Octopart CAD Model Marketplace, a free database made up of a massive repository of computer aided design (CAD) models for electronic components. Octopart, part of the Nexar ecosystem, is an electronic component search engine powered by part data and intelligence from the Nexar API. Octopart’s new CAD Model Marketplace simplifies PCB design and part selection workflows to create a single unified user experience that aggregates CAD models.
“As the industry’s leading search engine for electronic parts, Octopart continues to simplify the part search and discovery journey by introducing our CAD Model Marketplace feature,” says Daniel Schoenfelder, Head of Nexar Sales and Octopart. “Octopart users can eliminate the drudgery of locating and accessing CAD models. By using Octopart’s powerful search capabilities, users can access 10 million electronic component CAD models that are compatible with all major PCB design tools.”
Octopart.com simplifies and streamlines workflows by providing a central hub to search for parts and their available data and models. Users no longer have to search in various locations for CAD models. They can now preview symbols, footprints, and schematics from partners like Ultra Librarian and SnapEDA on a single platform, making their Octopart experience a one-stop-shop for free CAD models. In the future, users will also have access to 3D models from TraceParts, Nexar’s newest partner.
To start searching the CAD Model Marketplace or to find out more about Octopart, visit Octopart.com.
About Altium
Nexar is a Business Unit of Altium, LLC (ASX:ALU). Altium, LLC, is a global software company headquartered in San Diego, California, who are accelerating the pace of innovation through electronics. For over 30 years, Altium has been delivering software that maximizes the productivity of PCB designers and electrical engineers. From individual inventors to multinational corporations, more PCB designers and engineers choose Altium software to design and realize electronics-based products.
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