Item: Altium Develop
Rating: 10
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Altium Designer

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

At the institution, Altium Designer's main application is prototyping projects that cover peripheral and actuator control aspects. It is also used to generate processing systems for environments such as ROS. These projects are used to solve local problems such as IOT systems and small robot automatons and, in some cases, to facilitate the control of articulated robots. The software helps to better understand the power through the electronic part that allows connectivity and includes aspects of electrical control logic.

Pros and Cons

Pros

The schematics have multiple possibilities and tools that allow the classification of various parts of a single project to obtain better documentation.
The PCB design section is extensive, allowing the making of simple PCBs and the development of more advanced ones, such as high-frequency ones.
CAD compatibility allows 3D elements to use the elements and preview everything in a complete project.

Cons

The tools organization section has too many tools that are easy to lose.
Save settings for multi-projects and reuse settings from other projects in new ones.
Better import final designs into multiple formats (details are often lost when imported into CAD formats).

Return on Investment

It helped me to improve the documentation and presentation of projects.
Improved design quality due to the multi-tools.
It taught me (Altium Academy) to take into account the best parameters or configurations in the circuits.

Usability

Despite its complexity in its many configurations, it is a complete tool that helps you understand its use, improve projects with its multiple tools, and make the environment and development more precise according to what you want to achieve.

Design Efficiency

Using the software not only improved the simple PCB design but also the documentation. Now, with the software, it is possible to obtain better organized and presentable projects that make it easier to explain to consumers or recipients of the project how each part of it works. Another helpful section is the 3D development, which helped determine the final project. In general, the software improved the user experience and the construction of projects.

Altium 365 Integration

Collaboration in software is one of the most valuable tools, as it also allows sharing of elements such as components. This has helped a lot in the development of projects since, in most cases, the work is done together. Thanks to the modification of the projects in real-time, the supervision of the same, and the ability to share stored elements, the progress of these have improved. In general, these possibilities have helped to reduce work time.

Alternatives Considered

Altium 365, SOLIDWORKS and Autodesk Fusion

Altium Designer is a CAD tool like the others. In comparison, Altium is chosen for its ability to make electrical circuits, its wide capacity, and its shared mode, which facilitates configuration and improves work time on projects.

Key Insights

Do you think Altium Develop delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Altium Develop's feature set?

Yes

Did Altium Develop live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Altium Develop go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Altium Develop again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Altium 365, SOLIDWORKS, CATIA

Likelihood to Recommend

Altium Designer is very suitable for intermediate and advanced development projects such as microcontrollers, high frequency, and multilayer projects, so you could say that it adapts quite well to different types of projects, and it can be adapted to multiple types of scenarios. On the other hand, the part in which I do not recommend the use of this software is for those who are not versed or experienced in the area, as the software tends to be very specific with its specifications, which makes it complex when using it and can be difficult without proper guidance, so I think it is necessary a minimum experience in this type of software or topics and adequate guidance.

Comments

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Altium Designer Prototypes.