Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Announcement: Update 24 for Altium Designer (Platform 27009)

Announcement: Update 24 for Altium Designer (Platform 27009)

This release focuses on bringing new FPGA and Embedded device support, including some PCB improvements, with the key highlights being:

Support for Cortex-M3 Discrete Processors

NXP LPC1000 series, STMicroelectronics STM32 and Texas Instruments Stellaris Cortex-M3 devices are now supported.

Support for SEGGER J-Link

Debugger support for SEGGER J-Link debug probe for ARM processors is now available.

FPGA Device Support

Support for Altera Arria2GX FPGAs is now available.

Software Platform Enhancements

This update now includes HTTP client, HTTP server and JSON services in addition to enhancements in the Tasking toolchains.

Full details of this update can be found in the release notes.

Accessing the Update

To update your Altium Designer installation, first ensure you are using a license with valid Subscription. Proceed to the Plug-in page (DXP >> Plug-ins and Updates) and select “Update All”. If you don’t see the update, use the “Refresh” link in the top right hand corner of the Plugins page. If you have issues with patching make sure you check your antivirus program.

Installation of the updated modules will bring their revision up to 10.1377.27009. The Platform Build number will also update to 10.1377.27009 as the Altium Designer Base module is updated.

Note: If you are using a Private Server license or Standalone license and you have renewed your Subscription since activation, you will be required to reactivate your license to obtain this and future updates.

For those who installed directly from DVD, you can access the updates by changing a setting in preferences: System >> Installation Manager, change the Remote Repository Location to http://installation.altium.com

If you are wanting to install a new build containing this update, the Installer and Uninstaller can be downloaded from the Software page in AltiumLive - download the latest Installer/Uninstaller.

 

Friday, December 7, 2012

Design Secret 53 - Using 3D Mechanical Models for Precise Component Creation

I'm happy to let you all know a new Design Secret video just went out. In this video, we show how if you have an accurate 3D model (preferably a STEP file from the component manufacturer) you can use snap points on features of the 3D body to make the placement and alignment of pads, mounting holes, and other features of the footprint... a snap!

Please watch and enjoy this new Design Secret video here.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Announcement: New Micron & Linear Technology Board-Level Libraries

The Altium Content Team has released new updates to the Vault and Content Store for November.

We're happy to announce the addition of Micron and Linear Technology as supported manufacturers in the Altium content space with new 10 new libraries being released - over 5600 components.

For Micron we have released SCH/PCB components for Memory DRAM and NOR Flash devices - 1641 components in all. Check out the Micron content here: Micron Memory DRAM/NOR Flash

In Linear Technology, we have kicked off our support with 3990 Operational Amplifier components - covering the whole Op Amp product category from Linear. Linear Technology Op Amps