Altium Transistor Library

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Armanda Kicks

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Aug 3, 2024, 11:52:24 AM8/3/24

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I am new in PCB design, so excuse me if this is a bad question!I know the basic electronics and how to draw schematics in Altium. But about SMD parts, I am a little confused! How can I find SMD transistors, diodes, resistors, inductors and capacitors? Is there any specific library for them? If not, how should I find them?

Go to File > New > Library > PCB Library to build a footprint library. The two IPC Wizards you'll find in your [library].PcbLib under Tools > IPC Compliant Footptrint ... are, at least in my daily worklife on of the killer features of Altium.

In a previous chapter, we started to create a component that can be used with Altium 365 technology. We understand that you might want to use local libraries as you used to, but we strongly recommend that you use Altium 365 because it gives you a wide range of new features when working with components. This chapter shows an example of how to create a symbol and footprint in a local library. In the scope of this chapter, we will create a SchLib with a symbol for our component and in chapter 5.4 we will create a PcbLib with a footprint for it and complete the component creation.

Select File > New > Library > Schematic Library from the main menus to create a new local schematic library. The symbol editor will open in your design space. Open the Properties and SCH Library panels if they are not already open.

We need to define a name for the symbol and component. In the Design Item ID field (the name of the symbol) of the Properties panel, enter MBT3904DW1T1G. This name will be used when searching for the component in the Components panel.

Enter Q? in the Designator field. This field is used when annotating components and differs for each component type. The first letter represents a common component type, such as C for Capacitors, R for Resistors, etc. A question mark after the letter is used to define the variable numeric part of the component. After annotation, the question mark becomes the unique component identifier number, such as Q5, which is mandatory for the next steps of the design process.

Enter Dual General Purpose NPN Transistors, 40V, 0.2A, SOT-363 in the Description field. This field is shown by default while searching for components in the Components panel so it can be helpful to enter all the important values to make searching more precise.

When a component has different functional groups or repeating identical parts (e.g., resistor and transistor packs), it is more convenient to implement it with a multi-part component. In this case, the component MBT3904DW1T1G consists of two NPN transistors, which are more convenient to present in the form of such a symbol. Let's add the second functional part of the symbol.

In the SCH Library panel, select the MBT3904DW1T1G component then select Tools > New Part from the main menus. An icon appears at the left of the part name in the Design Item ID column. Click on it to expand the symbol and show all its parts. Select Part A to make that part active.

Warning: Always pay attention to the direction of a placed pin. The connection point of a pin is determined by a small gray crosshair attached to the mouse cursor and by four small white points on the placed pin. If you place the pin with the wrong connection point direction, it will be impossible to connect a track to it.

The graphic part of the symbol can be formed by the placement of any graphical primitives, such as lines, rectangles, arcs, and polygons. Using Place > Line from the main menus, draw three lines as shown in the figure below. To place the lines at an angle, use the Spacebar to change the drawing mode.

Now we will add the last detail - an arrow indicating the type of transistor. In this case, it is an NPN transistor, so the arrow must be placed in the direction of the emitter, which is represented by pin 1. Select Place > Polygon from the main menus. Press Tab to open the Region mode of the Properties panel then define the parameters as shown in the figure below.

The first part of the symbol is finished and now we need to finish Part B to make the symbol complete. Select all primitives in Part A and copy them. Select Part B in the SCH Library panel and place the copied primitives. To complete the symbol, do the following in Part B:

Symbols for our component have been completed, so we can save the schematic library. Select File > Save from the main menus and save your library to a convenient location. Our component is not complete yet since we have no footprint for it. A footprint with the corresponding PCB library for this component will be created in Chapter 5.4. Leave this tab open in order to have quick access to it in Chapter 5.4.

Welcome to the world of electronic product development in Altium's world-class electronic design software. This tutorial will help you get started by taking you through the entire process of designing a simple PCB - from idea to outputs files. If you are new to Altium software then it is worth reading the Exploring Altium Designer page to learn more about the interface, information on how to use panels, and an overview of managing design documents.

The design you will be capturing and then designing a printed circuit board (PCB) for is a simple astable multivibrator. The circuit is shown below, it uses two general purpose NPN transistors configured as a self-running astable multivibrator.

In Altium's software, a PCB project is the set of design documents (files) required to specify and manufacture a printed circuit board. The project file, for example Multivibrator.PrjPCB, is an ASCII file that lists which documents are in the project, as well as other project-level settings, such as the required electrical rule checks, project preferences, and project outputs, such as print and CAM settings.

Enabling the Add Project to Version Control option will result in the project's source files being stored in an available SVN repository (click Managed Repositories), and check out the working copies into the folder specified in the Location field. To learn more about version control support, refer to the Version Control and Design Repositories article.

If the Managed Project option is enabled, the source files are stored stored in an available SVN repository and the project outputs are stored in an available Altium Vault. To learn more about Managed Projects, refer to the article, The Managed Project and Releasing the Design.

When the blank schematic sheet opens you will notice that the workspace changes. The main toolbar includes a range of new buttons, new toolbars are visible, the menu bar includes new items, and the Sheet panel is displayed - you are now in the Schematic Editor.

This section of the tutorial will explain the two different approaches to working with components (from libraries, or from the Vault). In the following section, you will locate and place the components you need, from the Vault.

Libraries are installed in the Installed tab of the Available Libraries dialog. To open the dialog, click the Libraries button at the top of the Libraries panel. If the panel is not currently visible, click System Libraries to display it.

To help you find the component you need, Altium Designer includes powerful library searching capabilities. Although there are components that are suitable for the multivibrator design available in the pre-installed libraries, it is useful to know how to use the search feature to find components.

The Libraries Search dialog is accessed by clicking the Search button on the Libraries panel. The upper half of the dialog is used to define what you are searching for, the lower half is used to define where to search.

If you are working from libraries, the first step is to search for a suitable general-purpose NPN transistor, such as a 2N3904. The tutorial components are going to be placed from the Vault, which is discussed shortly.

Library searching is actually performed using queries. In the Libraries Search dialog, switch to the Advanced mode to examine the query. The query generated by your search configuration should be (Name LIKE '*3904*'), if it is not, type this string in and click Search again.

Libraries that are already installed are listed in the drop down at the top of the panel, click to select a library and display the components stored in it. Select the Miscellaneous Devices library from the list, then use the component Filter in the panel to locate the required 2N3904 component within the library (as shown in the image below). Since the Miscellaneous Devices library is already installed, this component is ready to place. Do not place it though, instead you will use a transistor from the Altium Content Vault.

The Altium Content Vault is completely separate from the installed Altium Designer software. To access the components in the Content Vault, you must first connect to it. This is done by clicking the Add Altium Content Vault button in the Data Management - Vaults page of the Preferences dialog.

Once you have connected to the Altium Content Vault, you can explore or search for a component. This is done in the Vaults panel, select DXP Vault Explorer to display the panel. The panel includes a powerful search feature, enter the search string into the search field at the top-right of the panel, as shown in the image below.

The Vaults panel includes a number of sections, which can be resized as required. Take some time to explore the features and behavior of the panel, right-click for context-specific commands.