Altium Onboarding Guide

Altium is Windows only!

In order to use Altium on a Mac you'll first need to set up UTM, a free windows emulator, or Parallels, a paid windows emulator.

If you don't want to install or set up any emulators you can also use Apporto, which is a virtual machine hosted by Northwestern. This route has easier setup but a worse experience

Instructions for the new member

  1. Create an account on altium.com
  2. During setup use your school email and select something that looks like "NA Formula Racing"
  3. A request to join will be sent to a license admin and must be approved, see: #Instructions for the License/Workspace Admin
  4. Download Altium from THIS SPECIFIC LINK

step1

step2
5. Congrats, you're all set up! Check out #Getting started using Altium for notes on how to use Altium. Consider adding the Samacsys Library plugin

Instructions for the License/Workspace Admin

  1. Log into Altium 365 and go to Company Dashboard (Found by clicking on your profile photo in the top right corner)
  2. Go to “Licenses” tab on the sidebar
    • View pending license requests and approve by adding requester to the “all members" group - any person who follows the steps outlined in #Instructions for the new member should appear here. If they aren’t there you may have to add them manually
  3. Check that it worked by finding their name under the “Users and Groups” tab on the sidebar
  1. Log into Altium 365 and go to “Workspace Members” on the left sidebar
  2. Click “Invite Members” and enter all email addresses
  3. Click “Request Invitation” and contact a Workspace Admin for approval - they will receive an email

List of Current License Admin

List of Current Workspace Admin

Getting started using Altium

On a fresh install of Altium you'll be greeted by the home page. On the left side panel is your file manager. The tab is called "Projects". You'll need to either open an existing project or create one of your own. It is important to note that there are two categories of projects: those that are local, and those that are in the shared "workspace". If you'd like others to be able to access and collaborate on your project, you should make it in the workspace (this is recommended for most formula projects).

The Basics

The basic design flow of Altium is as follows. First, create a schematic file for your project and design your circuit (For more complicated designs it may be worth creating a multi-sheet design). Then validate your design and create a PCB file. Once you've created that file, you'll need to sync it with your schematic and begin to roughly lay out components in functional groups. Finally you need to ensure your PCB document has the proper design rules (hosted here) and you can begin routing the connections. When your design is finished and has been reviewed, you'll need to export fabrication files which can be sent to a manufacturer for purchase. All done!

When you're first getting started using Altium it will take a while to get used to the UI. As a little jump start, the most important tools for your workflow will likely include the "Components", "Manufacturer Part Search", and "Properties" panels (accessed by clicking on the "Panels" button in the bottom right which is shown below)

500
The components panel is used to place parts from the workspace component library or your local component library. Manufacturer part search is useful to check for component schematics and footprints that are uploaded by the manufacturer (searching by component title or part number). Finally, the Properties panel is EXTREMELY useful for information about every part of your design, from the schematic, to component footprints and datasheets, to traces on your circuit board.

Useful plugin (Samacsys Library Loader):

Many components you'd like to use will not have their schematic and/or footprint in either the components or manufacturer part search panels. In this case it can be difficult to import them into your design. There is a plugin you can add to Altium which will automatically import a wide variety of parts into your project for you. While the list is not exhaustive, you will be happy to have this tool in your install. The tool is called Samacsys Library Loader and setup information can be found at the link provided.

Useful resources: