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Routing the PCB in Altium Designer | Altium Designer 21 User

Altium Designer includes a number of intuitive interactive routing features to help you efficiently and accurately route your board, from a

Apr 4, 2020
https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/the-routing-ad
Working with the Routing Priority Design Rule on a PCB in Altium

The Autorouter uses the assigned priority value to gauge the routing importance of each net in the design and hence determine which nets should

Sep 26, 2019
https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/pcb-dlg-routingpriorityrule-framerouting-priority-ad
Working with the Routing Layers Design Rule on a PCB in Altium

Use the associated Allow Routing option to enable/disable routing on a layer, as required. How Duplicate Rule Contentions are Resolved. All

Sep 26, 2019
https://www.altium.com/solution/pcb-designing-tutorial
Interactively Routing with Controlled Impedances on a PCB in Altium

This article introduces how you can use the Signal Integrity analysis engine to match component impedances and the controlled impedance routing capabilities in

Sep 26, 2019
https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/controlled-impedance-routing-ad
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Exploring Altium DesignerLaying out Your PCBRouting the PCB

Routing the PCB

Created on Aug 15, 2018. Modified by Tiffany Cullen on Apr 4, 2020
Now reading version 20.2. For the latest, read: Routing the PCB for version 21.0
The feature documented here is no longer part of the software beyond version 21. Click to return to: Schematic Placement & Editing Techniques in Altium Designer 23

Parent page: More about PCB Design

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Note

The features available depend on your relationship with Altium. If you don't see a discussed feature in your software, contact Altium Sales to find out.

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Electronic design is the process of capturing a logical design in the schematic then representing that design as a set of objects in the PCB design space. Even for a small circuit, the schematic can include many components, each with numerous models and parameters. The PCB design space can also contain a large number of design objects that make up the board. During the course of the design process, the placement and properties of these objects need to change as you work to balance out the various design requirements.

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    • Example Second level: This method of editing uses the associated Properties panel mode and dialog to modify the properties of a placed object Example Second level: This method of editing uses the associated Properties panel mode and dialog to modify the properties of a placed object
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    1. Example Second level: This method of editing uses the associated Properties panel mode and dialog to modify the properties of a placed object Example Second level: This method of editing uses the associated Properties panel mode and dialog to modify the properties of a placed object
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  1. Select the object to be placed from one of the toolbars or the Place menu.
  2. Use the mouse to define the location of the placed object in the schematic editor design space and its size (where applicable). Use the mouse to define the location of the placed object in the schematic editor design space and its size (where applicable).
  3. Right-click (or press Esc) to terminate the command and exit placement mode.
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  1. Select the object to be placed from one of the toolbars or the Place menu.
  2. Use the mouse to define the location of the placed object in the schematic editor design space and its size (where applicable). Use the mouse to define the location of the placed object in the schematic editor design space and its size (where applicable).
  3. Right-click (or press Esc) to terminate the command and exit placement mode.
    1. Select the object to be placed from one of the toolbars or the Place menu.
    2. Use the mouse to define the location of the placed object in the schematic editor design space and its size (where applicable). Use the mouse to define the location of the placed object in the schematic editor design space and its size (where applicable).
    3. Right-click (or press Esc) to terminate the command and exit placement mode.
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Working in harmony with the component placement, the routing is the other key factor in the success of your PCB design. Altium Designer includes a number of intuitive interactive routing features to help you efficiently and accurately route your board, from a simple double sided board all the way through to a high density, high speed, multi-layer board. It also includes a differential pair router, and interactive length tuning of both single-sided and differential routes. If your design is dense and has a high net count then you might like to explore ActiveRoute - it's not an autorouter, it is automated interactive routing technology that delivers efficient multi-net routing algorithms, applie d to the specific nets or connections selected by you, the designer.

Before you commence routing, it is important that the board is ready. Use this article as a checklist to help you work out if your board is ready, then refer to the lower-level articles to learn more about the various approaches to routing.

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Is it Ready to Route?

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Colorful image of PCB routing

There is a saying that PCB design is 90% placement and 10% routing. While you could argue about the percentage of each, it is generally accepted that good component placement is the most important aspect to good board design. Keep in mind that you may need to tune the placement as you route too, perhaps running a test autoroute on a dense area first to see if it is route-able. If the autorouter can complete more than 80% of the nets, then you should be able to interactively route it with that number of layers.

If the design includes high speed nets, then the component placement becomes even more critical. Now you must consider the separation of noisy nets, such as clocks, from quiet nets, such as data lines. You must also consider the distribution of power over the board - referred to as the Power Distribution Network (PDN) - and plan where those critical return paths for the high-speed signals will flow. As part of this process, the placement of bypass and decoupling capacitors is critical. For the routing in and out of the components, the manufacturers often include layout guidelines in the device datasheet - follow these when they are available.

Prioritizing the Routing

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Where to begin, you ask? An autorouter typically routes connections one by one, whereas a human can consider the impact of many connections simultaneously. For the autorouter to have any hope it must do a good job of ordering the connections for routing. It will use factors such as connection length, density of connections, assignment of direction to routing layers, alignment of the connection direction to routing directions, and so on. And if it is any good, it will review the order constantly as it routes. A human will consider these factors as well, but will also use higher-order skills, such as will this set of 16 routes pass between those two components, should these noisy nets be routed on a separate pair of layers from these sensitive nets, and so on.

Finding a Net on the Board

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An unrouted board can appear intimidating - a mass of connection lines crisscrossing all over the board. A good approach to routing is to work from the schematic, where you can easily locate important components and critical nets. You can cross-select and cross-probe directly from the schematic components and nets, highlighting the equivalent item on the PCB. To learn more, refer to the Working Between the Schematic and the Board article.

You can also control the display of the connection lines by masking or hiding the nets you are not interested in. Setting the color of important connection lines will also help you manage the routing process. The following sections discuss how to control the display and color of nets.

Using the PCB Panel to Identify the Net

A valuable feature is the PCB Editor's ability to mask or dim objects in the workspace. This filtering feature will fade out everything, except the object(s) that pass through the filter. The image below shows a single net has been selected, with the filtering system set to Dim all objects that do not pass the filter.

To explore this, set the PCB panel to Nets mode, this will display a list of nets on the board. Use the dropdown to set the filter mode to Dim or Mask, then enable the Select and Zoom options, as shown in the image below.

As you click on a net name in the panel the workspace display will change, zooming to show the nodes in the net, and fading out everything except the pads and connection lines in the net - effectively pulling that net out from the rest of the board. Note that even when you click in the workspace the filter remains, the chosen net remains clearly visible, making it easy to examine or route.

Use the PCB panel to quickly locate a net in the workspace
Use the filter feature to make it easier to find a net or net class.

Click the Clear button at the top of the PCB panel to clear the filter and restore the entire workspace to normal brightness (or press the Shift+C shortcut).

Note that as well as an individual net, you can filter out a class of nets (if any classes are defined) in the Net Classes section of the panel, and also interactively select multiple nets (hold CTRL as you click in the PCB panel to select a net name).

Masking or Dimming makes it easy to locate objects chosen in the PCB panel, control this in the View Configuration panel

At the top of thePCBpanel there is a drop-down, which can be used to selectNormal,Dim orMask. Dim and Mask are display filter modes, where everything other than the object(s) of interest are faded, leaving only the chosen object(s) at normal display strength. The Dim mode applies the filter but still allows all workspace objects to be edited (dimmed objects retain their color), whereas the Mask mode filters out all other workspace objects, only allowing the unfiltered object(s) to be edited (masked objects are shown in gray scale).

The amount that the display is faded is controlled by theDim andMaskslider controls, which are in theMask and Dim Settings section of theView Options tab of theView Configuration panel. Press theL shortcut to display the panel.

To clear the filter, press theShift+C shortcut. The filtering feature is very effective in a busy workspace, and can also be used in thePCB Rules and Violations panel and thePCB Filter panel.

Masking or Dimming makes it easy to locate objects chosen in the PCB panel, control this in the View Configuration panel

At the top of thePCBpanel there is a drop-down, which can be used to selectNormal,Dim orMask. Dim and Mask are display filter modes, where everything other than the object(s) of interest are faded, leaving only the chosen object(s) at normal display strength. The Dim mode applies the filter but still allows all workspace objects to be edited (dimmed objects retain their color), whereas the Mask mode filters out all other workspace objects, only allowing the unfiltered object(s) to be edited (masked objects are shown in gray scale).

The amount that the display is faded is controlled by theDim andMaskslider controls, which are in theMask and Dim Settings section of theView Options tab of theView Configuration panel. Press theL shortcut to display the panel.

To clear the filter, press theShift+C shortcut. The filtering feature is very effective in a busy workspace, and can also be used in thePCB Rules and Violations panel and thePCB Filter panel.

Masking or Dimming makes it easy to locate objects chosen in the PCB panel, control this in the View Configuration panel

At the top of thePCBpanel there is a drop-down, which can be used to selectNormal,Dim orMask. Dim and Mask are display filter modes, where everything other than the object(s) of interest are faded, leaving only the chosen object(s) at normal display strength. The Dim mode applies the filter but still allows all workspace objects to be edited (dimmed objects retain their color), whereas the Mask mode filters out all other workspace objects, only allowing the unfiltered object(s) to be edited (masked objects are shown in gray scale).

The amount that the display is faded is controlled by theDim andMaskslider controls, which are in theMask and Dim Settings section of theView Options tab of theView Configuration panel. Press theL shortcut to display the panel.

To clear the filter, press theShift+C shortcut. The filtering feature is very effective in a busy workspace, and can also be used in thePCB Rules and Violations panel and thePCB Filter panel.

While the options are the same in the dialog and the panel, the order and placement of the options may differ slightly.

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Click the Clear button at the top of the PCB panel to clear the filter and restore the entire workspace to normal brightness (or press the Shift+C shortcut).

Note that as well as an individual net, you can filter out a class of nets (if any classes are defined) in the Net Classes section of the panel, and also interactively select multiple nets (hold CTRL as you click in the PCB panel to select a net name).

Masking or Dimming makes it easy to locate objects chosen in the PCB panel, control this in the View Configuration panel

At the top of thePCBpanel there is a drop-down, which can be used to selectNormal,Dim orMask. Dim and Mask are display filter modes, where everything other than the object(s) of interest are faded, leaving only the chosen object(s) at normal display strength. The Dim mode applies the filter but still allows all workspace objects to be edited (dimmed objects retain their color), whereas the Mask mode filters out all other workspace objects, only allowing the unfiltered object(s) to be edited (masked objects are shown in gray scale).

The amount that the display is faded is controlled by theDim andMaskslider controls, which are in theMask and Dim Settings section of theView Options tab of theView Configuration panel. Press theL shortcut to display the panel.

To clear the filter, press theShift+C shortcut. The filtering feature is very effective in a busy workspace, and can also be used in thePCB Rules and Violations panel and thePCB Filter panel.

Masking or Dimming makes it easy to locate objects chosen in the PCB panel, control this in the View Configuration panel

At the top of thePCBpanel there is a drop-down, which can be used to selectNormal,Dim orMask. Dim and Mask are display filter modes, where everything other than the object(s) of interest are faded, leaving only the chosen object(s) at normal display strength. The Dim mode applies the filter but still allows all workspace objects to be edited (dimmed objects retain their color), whereas the Mask mode filters out all other workspace objects, only allowing the unfiltered object(s) to be edited (masked objects are shown in gray scale).

The amount that the display is faded is controlled by theDim andMaskslider controls, which are in theMask and Dim Settings section of theView Options tab of theView Configuration panel. Press theL shortcut to display the panel.

To clear the filter, press theShift+C shortcut. The filtering feature is very effective in a busy workspace, and can also be used in thePCB Rules and Violations panel and thePCB Filter panel.

Masking or Dimming makes it easy to locate objects chosen in the PCB panel, control this in the View Configuration panel

At the top of thePCBpanel there is a drop-down, which can be used to selectNormal,Dim orMask. Dim and Mask are display filter modes, where everything other than the object(s) of interest are faded, leaving only the chosen object(s) at normal display strength. The Dim mode applies the filter but still allows all workspace objects to be edited (dimmed objects retain their color), whereas the Mask mode filters out all other workspace objects, only allowing the unfiltered object(s) to be edited (masked objects are shown in gray scale).

The amount that the display is faded is controlled by theDim andMaskslider controls, which are in theMask and Dim Settings section of theView Options tab of theView Configuration panel. Press theL shortcut to display the panel.

To clear the filter, press theShift+C shortcut. The filtering feature is very effective in a busy workspace, and can also be used in thePCB Rules and Violations panel and thePCB Filter panel.

While the options are the same in the dialog and the panel, the order and placement of the options may differ slightly.

A valuable feature is the PCB Editor's ability to mask or dim objects in the workspace. This filtering feature will fade out everything, except the object(s) that pass through the filter. The image below shows a single net has been selected, with the filtering system set to Dim all objects that do not pass the filter.

To explore this, set the PCB panel to Nets mode, this will display a list of nets on the board. Use the dropdown to set the filter mode to Dim or Mask, then enable the Select and Zoom options, as shown in the image below.

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Note

The features available depend on your relationship with Altium. If you don't see a discussed feature in your software, contact Altium Sales to find out.

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