Altium Releases New Extension for SolidWorks

Altium Ltd. has released a new extension for Altium Designer, its flagship PCB (printed circuit board) design tool. MCAD Co-Designer: SolidWorks, according to the company, helps coordinate collaboration between mechanical and electronic design teams through integrated design data, a managed change environment for design revisions and lifecycle management.

The extension is now available for current and potential users of the Designer platform. Its main features include:

• Managed design revision that allow users to change component placement and board shape within their own respective environments.
• Integrated design data that can be exported to MCAD software with included copper information necessary for thermal, vibration and mechanical simulations.
• Distinct workflows and lifecycles that enable designers to work on models independently in both design environments and then unify multiple workflows into a component model.

“ECAD/MCAD collaboration has always been a major pain point for designers that everyone has been trying alleviate,” said Peter Ricci, head of PCB at Altium. “With the MCAD Co-Designer extension, we’ve done it, and we’ve done it better than anyone before us. This is a huge step forward in making Altium Designer the best tool for a collaborative design process, and not just another electrical design tool that can be swapped out for another.”

For more information, visit Altium.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.