Altium has again challenged conventional design paradigms by turning design inside out and bringing the focus back to what really matters – the essence of design.
We’ve done this by introducing a new and exciting design solution – the Altium Innovation Station – which combines the latest Altium technology to create a design environment that places programmed device intelligence at the center of the design process. This and our latest Altium Designer 6.9 release deliver new design possibilities that transcend the boundaries of traditional design processes.
Altium Innovation Station
The Altium Innovation Station brings together Altium Designer and the Altium NanoBoard range of reconfigurable hardware platforms to provide a complete design and deployment environment. The result is a single, unified electronic product development system that provides all the tools and hardware needed to bring more unique and intelligent products to market.
Altium Designer and the NanoBoard work seamlessly together to provide:
• One unified software-hardware design solution
• One design data model
• One development platform
• Complete hardware and software device vendor independence
• Multiple hardware deployment possibilities
This unique combination creates a design system that dissolves the rigid boundaries between software and hardware development. It leaves you free to focus on high-level design – the source of true and sustainable product differentiation – while the environment manages the low level detail for you.
By allowing you to focus on the high-level ‘soft’ elements of a design that deliver it’s unique – and therefore market-competitive – functional elements, the Innovation Station effectively separates the design intent from the physical platform it resides on. The underlying hardware platform and programmable devices can be defined and fixed later in the process when the performance needs have been established, then deployed to a custom board design or off-the-shelf hardware such as Altium’s commercial and industrial deployment NanoBoards.
Altium Designer directly interfaces to the NanoBoard range to a unique level of connectivity where functional elements and algorithms move freely between software and hardware, design library blocks configure to match device hardware and changes to the physical hardware platform are automatically detected. The low-level functions allow designs to become independent of the platform they reside on, opening the door to true design portability and wide-ranging deployment options.
To find out more about how the new Altium Innovation Station turns traditional design inside-out, check out the new video and brochure.
Altium Designer 6.9
Altium Designer 6.9 delivers new features and enhancements that help electronics designers easily create more intelligent and innovative products that deliver sustainable market differentiation.
When combined with our range of development and deployment NanoBoards, Altium Designer 6.9 forms the core of a unique product development environment that gives you the freedom to conceive and create more innovative products – the Altium Innovation Station.
Building on the advanced functions introduced in Altium Designer 6.8, Altium Designer 6.9 provides highlights such as:
• 3D STEP file import for component bodies – Transforms the appearance of a design’s component bodies by allowing 3D STEP file models to be imported directly into the PCB 3D workspace.
• 3D STEP export of board assemblies – Entire board designs can be exported to 3D CAD applications using the new configurable support for STEP file export.
• 3D Shadowing and display Object Color by Layer – The 3D visibility and clarity of dense board designs can be enhanced using new advanced view configurations.
• Improved Transparent Layer Mode options – Board layers are easier to visualize and work with using new transparent layer mode options that allow the flexible control over layer transparency, brightness and contrast.
• Power Monitoring for the Desktop NanoBoard – The power consumption of FPGA designs on the NanoBoard can now be easily judged, compared and even graphed in real time with the new Power Monitor instrument.
• Design Refactoring – Designs can be easily ‘refactored' by converting Schematic Sheets to Device Sheets and back again, while maintaining full synchronization with the rest of the design.
Altium Designer, the industry’s first and only unified electronic product design system, allows complete concept-to-production design and engineering to be done within a single software and hardware design system.
Altium Designer 6.9 and Altium’s NanoBoards put innovation in your hands.
Read more about Altium Designer 6.9.To download the 6.9 update, visit the Altium SUPPORTcenter.
