Stanford SSI Wiki - User contributions [en]

File:SSI-53.png

2019-06-10T05:07:06Z

Smaldonado:

List of Missions

2019-06-10T04:50:51Z

Smaldonado: Added patches

This page contains a list of notable tests or launches which have been given mission status (denoted by a mission patch). The mission patch system was introduced in 2015.

<gallery widths=200px heights=200px>
|align=center
File:Rsz 11ssi 19.png|<center> [[SSI-19]], Balloons Team, May 16, 2015 </center>
File:Rsz ssi-22.png |<center> [[SSI-22]], Balloons Team, May 31, 2015 </center>
File:SSI-1E4.png|<center> [[SSI-1E4]], Satellites Team, June 4, 2015 </center>
File:Ssi 23.png |<center> [[SSI-23]], Balloons Team, October 24, 2015 </center>
File:Ssi 24.png |<center> [[SSI-24]], Balloons Team, October 24, 2015 </center>
File:Ssi 25.png |<center> [[SSI-25]], Balloons Team, October 24, 2015 </center>
File:SSI-R1.png|<center> SSI-R1, Rockets Team, February 6, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-31.png|<center> [[SSI-31]], Balloons Team, February 13, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-38.png|<center> [[SSI-38]], Balloons Team, May 8, 2016 </center>
File:STAR-CROSSD.png|<center> [[STAR-CROSSD]], Satellites Team, May 2016 </center>
File:SSI-39.jpg|<center> [[SSI-39]], Balloons Team, May 30, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-40.png|<center> [[SSI-40]], Balloons Team, June 2016 </center>
File:SSI-41.png|<center> [[SSI-41]], Balloons Team, June 15, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-42.png|<center> [[SSI-42]], Balloons Team, July 12, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-R6.png|<center> SSI-R6, Rockets Team, July 6, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-1E4-2.png|<center> SSI-1E4-2, Satellites Team, August 20, 2016 </center>
File:ZeusBadge.png|<center> [[SSI-44]], Balloons Team, October 22, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-47.png|<center> [[SSI-47]], Balloons Team, November 5, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-R8.jpg|<center> SSI-R8, Rockets Team, November 19, 2016 </center>
File:SSI-48.png|<center> [[SSI-48]], Balloons Team, 2017 </center>
File:SSI-52.png|<center> [[SSI-52]], Balloons Team, 2017 </center>
File:SSI-53.png|<center> [[SSI-53]], Balloons Team, 2017 </center>
File:SSI-54.png|<center> [[SSI-54]], Balloons Team, 2017 </center>
File:POINTR-patch.png|<center> [[POINTR]], Satellites Team, 2017 </center>
File:SSI-59.png|<center> [[SSI-59]], Balloons Team, 2017 </center>
File:IREC_2018patch.png|<center> [[Spaceport America Cup]], Rockets Team, 2018 </center>

</gallery>

[[Category:Stanford Space Initiative]]

How to Join SSI

2019-01-21T03:14:43Z

Smaldonado: updated presidents

Hello! There are a few things you need to do if you'd like to have full access to SSI's resources as a member.

=Becoming an official member=

# Pay dues ($10 in exchange for a t-shirt) to our financial officers - any leadership team member can accept these in cash, or you can Venmo our Financial Officer, Chloe Glikbarg, directly. Message her on Slack for details ({{slack-user|chloe}}). If dues present a financial hardship, message {{slack-user|Danna Xue}}, {{slack-user|thomaswhite}}, or {{slack-user|chloe}}, and we'll waive them.
# Fill out this 30-second form: [https://stanfordssi.org/q https://stanfordssi.org/q]
# Join the SSI Slack [https://ssi-teams.slack.com/signup here].
# Join the SSI mailing list [https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/ssi_general here].
# In order to allow you access to our workspace, [[End Station III]], you need to do the following things:
##Log into [https://axess.sahr.stanford.edu/ AXESS] and click "STARS" at the top
##Using either the "All Learning" list, or the Search Catalog, complete the following three safety trainings: '''EHS-4200: General Safety, Injury Prevention (IIPP), and Emergency Preparedness, EHS-1900: Chemical Safety for Laboratories, and EHS-2200: Compressed Gas Safety.''' If you've completed any of these previously for a laboratory class or other university purpose, you don't need to repeat them.
##Some time after completion, you will receive an email for each of these (can take up to 24 hours) certifying your completion. Save each e-mail as a PDF, or, less preferably, screenshot it. This PDF or screenshot '''must''' have your name on it. Ask in {{slack-channel|welcome-to-ssi}} if you have questions about EH&S training - mentioning {{slack-user|mc-safety}} in your question will notify people who can help.
##Sign into the [http://internal.stanfordssi.org internal site] using your Stanford email and under EH&S Safety Training, upload PDFs or screenshots proving your completion of the safety trainings.
##Attend a safety tour of ES3. Ask in {{slack-channel|welcome-to-ssi}} to coordinate a time.
##While in ES3, make sure to sign a copy of the Space Usage Agreement and leave it in the binder by the door. This is your record of completing the workspace safety tour.
##Send a message in Slack to our workspace manager {{slack-user|smaldonado}} that you've completed everything!

=Resources=

== [https://ssi-teams.slack.com/ Slack] ==

Slack is the lifeblood of SSI. It is a messaging client that allows everyone within SSI to communicate. There are general channels (like {{slack-channel|rockets}}), which allow us to push out general updates to everyone interested in the rockets team and direct messages which allows one to one or smaller group communication. Notifications are pushed directly to your phone/computer/anything that has internet so that way we can infringe on all of your free time!

To see what a list of what channels there are to join, check out the [[Slack Directory]].

[https://ssi-teams.slack.com/signup '''Join the SSI Slack here.''']

==[https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=5or10qu0uhtfqcdqb3knrpn3r8@group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles SSI Calendar]==
Home to all of our events across all our teams.

== [https://stanfordssi.org/leadership SSI Leadership] ==
Find out who's in charge of things you're interested in and contact them! You can find all of us on Slack as well.

==The Wiki==

This wiki is a great place to find guides, overviews, and generally useful documentation on SSI projects. Many of the most current plans and docs are in the drive though.

==[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5ethK6WQZfAWXgtR25KOEloN2M SSI Drive]==

The drive contains a lot of important documentation for each team. We are trying to put more emphasis on using the wiki as a place for longer-term knowledge storage.

== [https://stanfordssi.org/mailing-list The Mailing List] ==
We use SSI General for organization-wide announcements, and it's a good way to hear about events that get lost in the depths of slack (Slack is still by and large the primary mode of communication for most of us though).

== [[End Station III]] ==

End Station III (also known as ES3) can be considered the temple to SSI’s religion, the hub, nerve center, or kernel of all project activity. End Station III houses work sessions, team meetings, and project storage. Keycard access is required to access the building.

[[File:whereisesiii.png|thumb|left]]

== [[Find a Project]] ==

If you're ever feeling overwhelmed or lost about all the things going on in SSI, use this page to see what's what! Reach out to someone working on a project you're interested in and they'll help you get started. If you have questions or just want to chat, poke any leadership member.

[[Category:Getting started]]

Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB

2018-11-21T08:28:22Z

Smaldonado: sheet entries yikes

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Getting Started==

[[File:TemplateProject.png|thumb|200px|right|The template project open in Altium, if you don't read and skip the step about renaming. So far, no one has come up with a board name that acronyms to "RENAME-ME" to justify not renaming the project. Please don't.]]

SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of making a PCB. A PCB project is a type of file in Altium that organizes all of the files that go into making a real circuit board. These include all of the schematic files that define the circuits and the layout file that defines the actual geometry of the real circuit board when it's printed. The templates live in the {{svn-repo|altium-core}} SVN repo, in libraries/templates. There are currently two versions, one for two-layer boards and one for four-layer boards. The layer count describes how many distinct copper layers are on the board - more layers adds increased flexibility but also increased cost and complexity for manufacturing. Most SSI projects use 2-layer boards; if you don't know, ask for advice in {{slack-channel|altium}}.

The templates are the complete folders "SSI Standard PCB Template" and "SSI Standard PCB Template - 4 Layer" - select and copy the correct folder for your board type, and paste it where you intend to work on it. On your pasted copy, rename the folder to the name of your project. Open the folder, and rename the file labeled "RENAME-ME" to the name of your project (typically with a version number - " v1" on the end). Then, open that file in Altium. You should get something that looks like the image at right in the Projects panel (if the Projects panel is not already open, go to View → Panels → Projects to open it and pin it somewhere convenient). Double click on "TopSheet.SchLib" to open it. This will produce a large, blank schematic with some default information in the lower right corner. We'll fix this information [[#Entering Project Parameters|later]].

==Working with Schematic Sheets==

Your circuit board will be electrically defined on your schematic sheet(s) - they describe what parts connect to what other parts, but not where the parts physically are on your circuit board. This abstract definition of your circuit will allow you to see where you need to draw in connections in metal when you actually begin to lay out your circuit board.

If your project is relatively simple, you should draw your entire schematic on the single TopSheet schematic document. However, if you want to reuse modular blocks (i.e. a microcontroller) from other boards, you have a meaningful amount of circuitry repeated on your board (i.e. multiple copies of the same circuit), or your board is sufficiently complicated as to not fit nicely on a single sheet, you'll want to add "subsheets." You can add sheets at any point in the design process as they become necessary, so unless you know you fall into one of the aforementioned categories, proceed by drawing your circuit on a single sheet.

===Using Multiple Sheets===

Altium supports [https://www.altium.com/documentation/18.0/display/ADES/((Multi-Sheet+and+Multi-Channel+Design))_AD hierarchical design], which has a lot of powerful features for complex designs that SSI projects don't generally need. A basic summary of hierarchical multi-sheet design is:

* All sheets have a position in the ''hierarchy'', with one sheet at the top (hence "TopSheet.SchLib") and all other sheets one or more levels below.
* Sheets get a place in the hierarchy by being referenced with ''sheet symbols'' (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] below). Any sheet that has a sheet symbol for another sheet gets a copy hierarchically beneath it. This means that your top sheet will have a sheet symbol for each second level sheet, which may each in turn have one or more lower level sheets (though this is uncommon).
* There is one unique, editable sheet file for each unique sheet in your design, but by duplicating its sheet symbol you can produce a duplicate copy of the circuit it contains in your design. This is useful for PCBs with repeated circuits - for example, ValBal avionics have two identical copies of the same motor driver circuit, one for each of the two motors in the system.
* Unless explicitly connected (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] for how), wires on different sheets are not connected to each other by shared names. This means two wires labeled "SIGNAL1" on two separate sheets - even two copies of the same sheet - are not automatically connected. '''Importantly, this means that you need to add explicit connections for power and ground between sheets to make sure all sheets are powered.'''

===Adding Sheets===
[[File:AddNewSheet.png|thumb|200px|right|How to create a new schematic sheet. Also shows the option for adding an existing sheet to your project.]]

To add a new sheet to your project, in the Projects pane, right click on your project file, go to "Add New to Project," and select "Schematic." (see right) This will create a new, blank schematic sheet in the Projects pane. The sheet will also automatically open for editing, and you'll need to save it with a descriptive file name. You'll also need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

To reuse an existing sheet, from your file system outside of Altium, find the sheet in another project and copy it to the project folder where you want to use it. Then, in Altium, in the Projects pane, right click on your project and select "Add Existing to Project," (see right) which will bring up a new window. Find the '''copy''' you just made and select it. The sheet should then appear in the Projects pane. As with a new sheet, you'll need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

===Connecting Sheets===

[[File:Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|The four flavors of port. The use of unspecified ports is discouraged]]

After adding a sheet (whether new or reused), you will need to connect it into your design (see [[#Using Multiple Sheets|Using Multiple Sheets]]). To pass wires (i.e. power, ground, and signals of interest) between your sheet and another, your new sheet will need to have ''ports''. Ports are placed using Place → Port. (shortcut {{altium-shortcut| p → r}}). Each port will need a unique name and a "direction" that specifies if the signal is generally entering (input) the sheet, leaving (output), or doing both (bidirectional). The direction is cosmetic (so don't stress over it too much) but helps make your sheet more readable. You can add and delete ports as needed throughout the design process. A reused sheet will likely already have ports on it, but make sure they're the ports you want and change them as needed.

When you're satisfied with the ports on a sheet and need to start connecting it to another, open the sheet you want it to appear under. There, go to Design &rarr Create Sheet Symbol from Sheet (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|d → y}}) and select the sheet you want to connect in the menu that pops up. You'll then get to place a ''sheet symbol'' - which will have ''sheet entries'' corresponding to the ports on the sheet - which you can start drawing connections to.

If you update the ports on a sheet, you can push the changes to your sheet symbols by going to Design → Synchronize Sheet Entries and Ports (shortcut {{altium-shortcut| d → p}}). In the dialog that comes up, hit "Delete Sheet Entries" and "Add Sheet Entries," as appropriate, to update your sheet symbols so that they have entries for all of the ports on their matching sheets.

===Applying the SSI Schematic Template===
''This step is cosmetic and should be skipped and asked about on Slack if you can't get it to work in one attempt''

To get the SSI schematic template on your sheet, you'll need to apply the template. In Altium 18 and later, there's a template drop-down in the Properties pane, in the "Page Options" section. In earlier versions of Altium, this dropdown is in the "Document Options" menu, under "Design" (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|d → o}}). Most sheets will fit on the "SSI_Sch_Template_Small" sheet, but you can pick the standard or large sizes if needed.

==Entering Project Parameters==

To replace the default text on your PCB and in the schematic template, go to Project → Project Options (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|c → o}}) and switch to the Parameters tab. In the "Values" column that comes up, set all of the parameters to the values you'd like. Enter more than one name on each of the PrjEngineer lines if needed - using just a first initial and last name for each contributor is encouraged to save space. Remember to give credit where credit is due, and to include people who've contributed, even if they haven't taken point - remember that it costs you '''nothing''' to put a name on a circuit board but it's a great acknowledgement of the work your fellow SSI members have done.

{{altium-stub}}

Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB

2018-11-21T08:06:00Z

Smaldonado: stubby

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Getting Started==

[[File:TemplateProject.png|thumb|200px|right|The template project open in Altium, if you don't read and skip the step about renaming. So far, no one has come up with a board name that acronyms to "RENAME-ME" to justify not renaming the project. Please don't.]]

SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of making a PCB. A PCB project is a type of file in Altium that organizes all of the files that go into making a real circuit board. These include all of the schematic files that define the circuits and the layout file that defines the actual geometry of the real circuit board when it's printed. The templates live in the {{svn-repo|altium-core}} SVN repo, in libraries/templates. There are currently two versions, one for two-layer boards and one for four-layer boards. The layer count describes how many distinct copper layers are on the board - more layers adds increased flexibility but also increased cost and complexity for manufacturing. Most SSI projects use 2-layer boards; if you don't know, ask for advice in {{slack-channel|altium}}.

The templates are the complete folders "SSI Standard PCB Template" and "SSI Standard PCB Template - 4 Layer" - select and copy the correct folder for your board type, and paste it where you intend to work on it. On your pasted copy, rename the folder to the name of your project. Open the folder, and rename the file labeled "RENAME-ME" to the name of your project (typically with a version number - " v1" on the end). Then, open that file in Altium. You should get something that looks like the image at right in the Projects panel (if the Projects panel is not already open, go to View → Panels → Projects to open it and pin it somewhere convenient). Double click on "TopSheet.SchLib" to open it. This will produce a large, blank schematic with some default information in the lower right corner. We'll fix this information [[#Entering Project Parameters|later]].

==Working with Schematic Sheets==

Your circuit board will be electrically defined on your schematic sheet(s) - they describe what parts connect to what other parts, but not where the parts physically are on your circuit board. This abstract definition of your circuit will allow you to see where you need to draw in connections in metal when you actually begin to lay out your circuit board.

If your project is relatively simple, you should draw your entire schematic on the single TopSheet schematic document. However, if you want to reuse modular blocks (i.e. a microcontroller) from other boards, you have a meaningful amount of circuitry repeated on your board (i.e. multiple copies of the same circuit), or your board is sufficiently complicated as to not fit nicely on a single sheet, you'll want to add "subsheets." You can add sheets at any point in the design process as they become necessary, so unless you know you fall into one of the aforementioned categories, proceed by drawing your circuit on a single sheet.

===Using Multiple Sheets===

Altium supports [https://www.altium.com/documentation/18.0/display/ADES/((Multi-Sheet+and+Multi-Channel+Design))_AD hierarchical design], which has a lot of powerful features for complex designs that SSI projects don't generally need. A basic summary of hierarchical multi-sheet design is:

* All sheets have a position in the ''hierarchy'', with one sheet at the top (hence "TopSheet.SchLib") and all other sheets one or more levels below.
* Sheets get a place in the hierarchy by being referenced with ''sheet symbols'' (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] below). Any sheet that has a sheet symbol for another sheet gets a copy hierarchically beneath it. This means that your top sheet will have a sheet symbol for each second level sheet, which may each in turn have one or more lower level sheets (though this is uncommon).
* There is one unique, editable sheet file for each unique sheet in your design, but by duplicating its sheet symbol you can produce a duplicate copy of the circuit it contains in your design. This is useful for PCBs with repeated circuits - for example, ValBal avionics have two identical copies of the same motor driver circuit, one for each of the two motors in the system.
* Unless explicitly connected (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] for how), wires on different sheets are not connected to each other by shared names. This means two wires labeled "SIGNAL1" on two separate sheets - even two copies of the same sheet - are not automatically connected. '''Importantly, this means that you need to add explicit connections for power and ground between sheets to make sure all sheets are powered.'''

===Adding Sheets===
[[File:AddNewSheet.png|thumb|200px|right|How to create a new schematic sheet. Also shows the option for adding an existing sheet to your project.]]

To add a new sheet to your project, in the Projects pane, right click on your project file, go to "Add New to Project," and select "Schematic." (see right) This will create a new, blank schematic sheet in the Projects pane. The sheet will also automatically open for editing, and you'll need to save it with a descriptive file name. You'll also need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

To reuse an existing sheet, from your file system outside of Altium, find the sheet in another project and copy it to the project folder where you want to use it. Then, in Altium, in the Projects pane, right click on your project and select "Add Existing to Project," (see right) which will bring up a new window. Find the '''copy''' you just made and select it. The sheet should then appear in the Projects pane. As with a new sheet, you'll need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

===Connecting Sheets===

[[File:Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|The four flavors of port. The use of unspecified ports is discouraged]]

After adding a sheet (whether new or reused), you will need to connect it into your design (see [[#Using Multiple Sheets| above]]). To pass wires (i.e. power, ground, and signals of interest) between your sheet and another, your new sheet will need to have ''ports''. Ports are placed using Place → Port. (shortcut {{altium-shortcut| p → r}}). A reused sheet will likely already have ports on it, but make sure they're the ports you want and change them as needed.

===Applying the SSI Schematic Template===
''This step is cosmetic and should be skipped and asked about on Slack if you can't get it to work in one attempt''

To get the SSI schematic template on your sheet, you'll need to apply the template. In Altium 18 and later, there's a template drop-down in the Properties pane, in the "Page Options" section. In earlier versions of Altium, this dropdown is in the "Document Options" menu, under "Design" (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|d → o}}). Most sheets will fit on the "SSI_Sch_Template_Small" sheet, but you can pick the standard or large sizes if needed.

==Entering Project Parameters==

To replace the default text on your PCB and in the schematic template, go to Project → Project Options (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|c → o}}) and switch to the Parameters tab. In the "Values" column that comes up, set all of the parameters to the values you'd like. Enter more than one name on each of the PrjEngineer lines if needed - using just a first initial and last name for each contributor is encouraged to save space. Remember to give credit where credit is due, and to include people who've contributed, even if they haven't taken point - remember that it costs you '''nothing''' to put a name on a circuit board but it's a great acknowledgement of the work your fellow SSI members have done.

{{altium-stub}}

Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB

2018-11-21T08:05:13Z

Smaldonado: Smaldonado moved page Using A PCB Template to Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB without leaving a redirect

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Getting Started==

[[File:TemplateProject.png|thumb|200px|right|The template project open in Altium, if you don't read and skip the step about renaming. So far, no one has come up with a board name that acronyms to "RENAME-ME" to justify not renaming the project. Please don't.]]

SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of making a PCB. A PCB project is a type of file in Altium that organizes all of the files that go into making a real circuit board. These include all of the schematic files that define the circuits and the layout file that defines the actual geometry of the real circuit board when it's printed. The templates live in the {{svn-repo|altium-core}} SVN repo, in libraries/templates. There are currently two versions, one for two-layer boards and one for four-layer boards. The layer count describes how many distinct copper layers are on the board - more layers adds increased flexibility but also increased cost and complexity for manufacturing. Most SSI projects use 2-layer boards; if you don't know, ask for advice in {{slack-channel|altium}}.

The templates are the complete folders "SSI Standard PCB Template" and "SSI Standard PCB Template - 4 Layer" - select and copy the correct folder for your board type, and paste it where you intend to work on it. On your pasted copy, rename the folder to the name of your project. Open the folder, and rename the file labeled "RENAME-ME" to the name of your project (typically with a version number - " v1" on the end). Then, open that file in Altium. You should get something that looks like the image at right in the Projects panel (if the Projects panel is not already open, go to View → Panels → Projects to open it and pin it somewhere convenient). Double click on "TopSheet.SchLib" to open it. This will produce a large, blank schematic with some default information in the lower right corner. We'll fix this information [[#Entering Project Parameters|later]].

==Working with Schematic Sheets==

Your circuit board will be electrically defined on your schematic sheet(s) - they describe what parts connect to what other parts, but not where the parts physically are on your circuit board. This abstract definition of your circuit will allow you to see where you need to draw in connections in metal when you actually begin to lay out your circuit board.

If your project is relatively simple, you should draw your entire schematic on the single TopSheet schematic document. However, if you want to reuse modular blocks (i.e. a microcontroller) from other boards, you have a meaningful amount of circuitry repeated on your board (i.e. multiple copies of the same circuit), or your board is sufficiently complicated as to not fit nicely on a single sheet, you'll want to add "subsheets." You can add sheets at any point in the design process as they become necessary, so unless you know you fall into one of the aforementioned categories, proceed by drawing your circuit on a single sheet.

===Using Multiple Sheets===

Altium supports [https://www.altium.com/documentation/18.0/display/ADES/((Multi-Sheet+and+Multi-Channel+Design))_AD hierarchical design], which has a lot of powerful features for complex designs that SSI projects don't generally need. A basic summary of hierarchical multi-sheet design is:

* All sheets have a position in the ''hierarchy'', with one sheet at the top (hence "TopSheet.SchLib") and all other sheets one or more levels below.
* Sheets get a place in the hierarchy by being referenced with ''sheet symbols'' (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] below). Any sheet that has a sheet symbol for another sheet gets a copy hierarchically beneath it. This means that your top sheet will have a sheet symbol for each second level sheet, which may each in turn have one or more lower level sheets (though this is uncommon).
* There is one unique, editable sheet file for each unique sheet in your design, but by duplicating its sheet symbol you can produce a duplicate copy of the circuit it contains in your design. This is useful for PCBs with repeated circuits - for example, ValBal avionics have two identical copies of the same motor driver circuit, one for each of the two motors in the system.
* Unless explicitly connected (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] for how), wires on different sheets are not connected to each other by shared names. This means two wires labeled "SIGNAL1" on two separate sheets - even two copies of the same sheet - are not automatically connected. '''Importantly, this means that you need to add explicit connections for power and ground between sheets to make sure all sheets are powered.'''

===Adding Sheets===
[[File:AddNewSheet.png|thumb|200px|right|How to create a new schematic sheet. Also shows the option for adding an existing sheet to your project.]]

To add a new sheet to your project, in the Projects pane, right click on your project file, go to "Add New to Project," and select "Schematic." (see right) This will create a new, blank schematic sheet in the Projects pane. The sheet will also automatically open for editing, and you'll need to save it with a descriptive file name. You'll also need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

To reuse an existing sheet, from your file system outside of Altium, find the sheet in another project and copy it to the project folder where you want to use it. Then, in Altium, in the Projects pane, right click on your project and select "Add Existing to Project," (see right) which will bring up a new window. Find the '''copy''' you just made and select it. The sheet should then appear in the Projects pane. As with a new sheet, you'll need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

===Connecting Sheets===

[[File:Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|The four flavors of port. The use of unspecified ports is discouraged]]

After adding a sheet (whether new or reused), you will need to connect it into your design (see [[#Using Multiple Sheets| above]]). To pass wires (i.e. power, ground, and signals of interest) between your sheet and another, your new sheet will need to have ''ports''. Ports are placed using Place → Port. (shortcut {{altium-shortcut| p → r}}). A reused sheet will likely already have ports on it, but make sure they're the ports you want and change them as needed.

===Applying the SSI Schematic Template===
''This step is cosmetic and should be skipped and asked about on Slack if you can't get it to work in one attempt''

To get the SSI schematic template on your sheet, you'll need to apply the template. In Altium 18 and later, there's a template drop-down in the Properties pane, in the "Page Options" section. In earlier versions of Altium, this dropdown is in the "Document Options" menu, under "Design" (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|d → o}}). Most sheets will fit on the "SSI_Sch_Template_Small" sheet, but you can pick the standard or large sizes if needed.

==Entering Project Parameters==

To replace the default text on your PCB and in the schematic template, go to Project → Project Options (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|c → o}}) and switch to the Parameters tab. In the "Values" column that comes up, set all of the parameters to the values you'd like. Enter more than one name on each of the PrjEngineer lines if needed - using just a first initial and last name for each contributor is encouraged to save space. Remember to give credit where credit is due, and to include people who've contributed, even if they haven't taken point - remember that it costs you '''nothing''' to put a name on a circuit board but it's a great acknowledgement of the work your fellow SSI members have done.

Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB

2018-11-21T08:04:25Z

Smaldonado: more more more

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Getting Started==

[[File:TemplateProject.png|thumb|200px|right|The template project open in Altium, if you don't read and skip the step about renaming. So far, no one has come up with a board name that acronyms to "RENAME-ME" to justify not renaming the project. Please don't.]]

SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of making a PCB. A PCB project is a type of file in Altium that organizes all of the files that go into making a real circuit board. These include all of the schematic files that define the circuits and the layout file that defines the actual geometry of the real circuit board when it's printed. The templates live in the {{svn-repo|altium-core}} SVN repo, in libraries/templates. There are currently two versions, one for two-layer boards and one for four-layer boards. The layer count describes how many distinct copper layers are on the board - more layers adds increased flexibility but also increased cost and complexity for manufacturing. Most SSI projects use 2-layer boards; if you don't know, ask for advice in {{slack-channel|altium}}.

The templates are the complete folders "SSI Standard PCB Template" and "SSI Standard PCB Template - 4 Layer" - select and copy the correct folder for your board type, and paste it where you intend to work on it. On your pasted copy, rename the folder to the name of your project. Open the folder, and rename the file labeled "RENAME-ME" to the name of your project (typically with a version number - " v1" on the end). Then, open that file in Altium. You should get something that looks like the image at right in the Projects panel (if the Projects panel is not already open, go to View → Panels → Projects to open it and pin it somewhere convenient). Double click on "TopSheet.SchLib" to open it. This will produce a large, blank schematic with some default information in the lower right corner. We'll fix this information [[#Entering Project Parameters|later]].

==Working with Schematic Sheets==

Your circuit board will be electrically defined on your schematic sheet(s) - they describe what parts connect to what other parts, but not where the parts physically are on your circuit board. This abstract definition of your circuit will allow you to see where you need to draw in connections in metal when you actually begin to lay out your circuit board.

If your project is relatively simple, you should draw your entire schematic on the single TopSheet schematic document. However, if you want to reuse modular blocks (i.e. a microcontroller) from other boards, you have a meaningful amount of circuitry repeated on your board (i.e. multiple copies of the same circuit), or your board is sufficiently complicated as to not fit nicely on a single sheet, you'll want to add "subsheets." You can add sheets at any point in the design process as they become necessary, so unless you know you fall into one of the aforementioned categories, proceed by drawing your circuit on a single sheet.

===Using Multiple Sheets===

Altium supports [https://www.altium.com/documentation/18.0/display/ADES/((Multi-Sheet+and+Multi-Channel+Design))_AD hierarchical design], which has a lot of powerful features for complex designs that SSI projects don't generally need. A basic summary of hierarchical multi-sheet design is:

* All sheets have a position in the ''hierarchy'', with one sheet at the top (hence "TopSheet.SchLib") and all other sheets one or more levels below.
* Sheets get a place in the hierarchy by being referenced with ''sheet symbols'' (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] below). Any sheet that has a sheet symbol for another sheet gets a copy hierarchically beneath it. This means that your top sheet will have a sheet symbol for each second level sheet, which may each in turn have one or more lower level sheets (though this is uncommon).
* There is one unique, editable sheet file for each unique sheet in your design, but by duplicating its sheet symbol you can produce a duplicate copy of the circuit it contains in your design. This is useful for PCBs with repeated circuits - for example, ValBal avionics have two identical copies of the same motor driver circuit, one for each of the two motors in the system.
* Unless explicitly connected (see [[#Connecting Sheets|Connecting Sheets]] for how), wires on different sheets are not connected to each other by shared names. This means two wires labeled "SIGNAL1" on two separate sheets - even two copies of the same sheet - are not automatically connected. '''Importantly, this means that you need to add explicit connections for power and ground between sheets to make sure all sheets are powered.'''

===Adding Sheets===
[[File:AddNewSheet.png|thumb|200px|right|How to create a new schematic sheet. Also shows the option for adding an existing sheet to your project.]]

To add a new sheet to your project, in the Projects pane, right click on your project file, go to "Add New to Project," and select "Schematic." (see right) This will create a new, blank schematic sheet in the Projects pane. The sheet will also automatically open for editing, and you'll need to save it with a descriptive file name. You'll also need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

To reuse an existing sheet, from your file system outside of Altium, find the sheet in another project and copy it to the project folder where you want to use it. Then, in Altium, in the Projects pane, right click on your project and select "Add Existing to Project," (see right) which will bring up a new window. Find the '''copy''' you just made and select it. The sheet should then appear in the Projects pane. As with a new sheet, you'll need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

===Connecting Sheets===

[[File:Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|The four flavors of port. The use of unspecified ports is discouraged]]

After adding a sheet (whether new or reused), you will need to connect it into your design (see [[#Using Multiple Sheets| above]]). To pass wires (i.e. power, ground, and signals of interest) between your sheet and another, your new sheet will need to have ''ports''. Ports are placed using Place → Port. (shortcut {{altium-shortcut| p → r}}). A reused sheet will likely already have ports on it, but make sure they're the ports you want and change them as needed.

===Applying the SSI Schematic Template===
''This step is cosmetic and should be skipped and asked about on Slack if you can't get it to work in one attempt''

To get the SSI schematic template on your sheet, you'll need to apply the template. In Altium 18 and later, there's a template drop-down in the Properties pane, in the "Page Options" section. In earlier versions of Altium, this dropdown is in the "Document Options" menu, under "Design" (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|d → o}}). Most sheets will fit on the "SSI_Sch_Template_Small" sheet, but you can pick the standard or large sizes if needed.

==Entering Project Parameters==

To replace the default text on your PCB and in the schematic template, go to Project → Project Options (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|c → o}}) and switch to the Parameters tab. In the "Values" column that comes up, set all of the parameters to the values you'd like. Enter more than one name on each of the PrjEngineer lines if needed - using just a first initial and last name for each contributor is encouraged to save space. Remember to give credit where credit is due, and to include people who've contributed, even if they haven't taken point - remember that it costs you '''nothing''' to put a name on a circuit board but it's a great acknowledgement of the work your fellow SSI members have done.

Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB

2018-11-21T07:51:07Z

Smaldonado: more more

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Getting Started==

[[File:TemplateProject.png|thumb|200px|right|The template project open in Altium, if you don't read and skip the step about renaming. So far, no one has come up with a board name that acronyms to "RENAME-ME" to justify not renaming the project. Please don't.]]

SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of making a PCB. A PCB project is a type of file in Altium that organizes all of the files that go into making a real circuit board. These include all of the schematic files that define the circuits and the layout file that defines the actual geometry of the real circuit board when it's printed. The templates live in the {{svn-repo|altium-core}} SVN repo, in libraries/templates. There are currently two versions, one for two-layer boards and one for four-layer boards. The layer count describes how many distinct copper layers are on the board - more layers adds increased flexibility but also increased cost and complexity for manufacturing. Most SSI projects use 2-layer boards; if you don't know, ask for advice in {{slack-channel|altium}}.

The templates are the complete folders "SSI Standard PCB Template" and "SSI Standard PCB Template - 4 Layer" - select and copy the correct folder for your board type, and paste it where you intend to work on it. On your pasted copy, rename the folder to the name of your project. Open the folder, and rename the file labeled "RENAME-ME" to the name of your project (typically with a version number - " v1" on the end). Then, open that file in Altium. You should get something that looks like the image at right in the Projects panel (if the Projects panel is not already open, go to View → Panels → Projects to open it and pin it somewhere convenient). Double click on "TopSheet.SchLib" to open it. This will produce a large, blank schematic with some default information in the lower right corner. We'll fix this information [[#Entering Project Parameters|later]].

==Working with Schematic Sheets==

Your circuit board will be electrically defined on your schematic sheet(s) - they describe what parts connect to what other parts, but not where the parts physically are on your circuit board. This abstract definition of your circuit will allow you to see where you need to draw in connections in metal when you actually begin to lay out your circuit board.

If your project is relatively simple, you should draw your entire schematic on the single TopSheet schematic document. However, if you want to reuse modular blocks (i.e. a microcontroller) from other boards, you have a meaningful amount of circuitry repeated on your board (i.e. multiple copies of the same circuit), or your board is sufficiently complicated as to not fit nicely on a single sheet, you'll want to add "subsheets." You can add sheets at any point in the design process as they become necessary, so unless you know you fall into one of the aforementioned categories, proceed by drawing your circuit on a single sheet.

===Using Multiple Sheets===

Altium supports [https://www.altium.com/documentation/18.0/display/ADES/((Multi-Sheet+and+Multi-Channel+Design))_AD hierarchical design], which has a lot of powerful features for complex designs that SSI projects don't generally need. A basic summary of hierarchical multi-sheet design is:

* All sheets have a position in the ''hierarchy'', with one sheet at the top (hence "TopSheet.SchLib") and all other sheets one or more levels below.
* Sheets get a place in the hierarchy by being referenced with "sheet symbols" (see [[#Adding Sheets]] below). Any sheet that has a sheet symbol for another sheet gets a copy hierarchically beneath it. This means that your top sheet will have a sheet symbol for each second level sheet, which may each in turn have one or more lower level sheets (though this is uncommon).
* There is one unique, editable sheet file for each unique sheet in your design, but by duplicating its sheet symbol you can produce a duplicate copy of the circuit it contains in your design. This is useful for PCBs with repeated circuits - for example, ValBal avionics have two identical copies of the same motor driver circuit, one for each of the two motors in the system.
* Unless explicitly connected (see [[#Connecting Sheets]] for how), wires on different sheets are not connected to each other by shared names. This means two wires labeled "SIGNAL1" on two separate sheets - even two copies of the same sheet - are not automatically connected. Importantly, this means that you need to add explicit connections for power and ground between sheets to make sure all sheets are powered.

===Adding Sheets===
[[File:AddNewSheet.png|thumb|200px|right|How to create a new schematic sheet. Also shows the option for adding an existing sheet to your project.]]

To add a new sheet to your project, in the Projects pane, right click on your project file, go to "Add New to Project," and select "Schematic." (see right) This will create a new, blank schematic sheet in the Projects pane. The sheet will also automatically open for editing, and you'll need to save it with a descriptive file name. You'll also need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

To reuse an existing sheet, from your file system outside of Altium, find the sheet in another project and copy it to the project folder where you want to use it. Then, in Altium, in the Projects pane, right click on your project and select "Add Existing to Project," (see right) which will bring up a new window. Find the '''copy''' you just made and select it. The sheet should then appear in the Projects pane. As with a new sheet, you'll need to save the project file, by right clicking on it in the Projects pane and hitting "Save Project."

===Connecting Sheets===

===Applying the SSI Schematic Template===
''This step is cosmetic and should be skipped and asked about on Slack if you can't get it to work in one attempt''

To get the SSI schematic template on your sheet, you'll need to apply the template. In Altium 18 and later, there's a template drop-down in the Properties pane, in the "Page Options" section. In earlier versions of Altium, this dropdown is in the "Document Options" menu, under "Design" (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|d → o}}). Most sheets will fit on the "SSI_Sch_Template_Small" sheet, but you can pick the standard or large sizes if needed.

==Entering Project Parameters==

To replace the default text on your PCB and in the schematic template, go to Project → Project Options (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|c → o}}) and switch to the Parameters tab. In the "Values" column that comes up, set all of the parameters to the values you'd like. Enter more than one name on each of the PrjEngineer lines if needed - using just a first initial and last name for each contributor is encouraged to save space. Remember to give credit where credit is due, and to include people who've contributed, even if they haven't taken point - remember that it costs you '''nothing''' to put a name on a circuit board but it's a great acknowledgement of the work your fellow SSI members have done.

File:AddNewSheet.png

2018-11-21T07:01:30Z

Smaldonado:

Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB

2018-11-21T06:06:03Z

Smaldonado: more

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of making a PCB. A PCB project is a type of file in Altium that organizes all of the files that go into making a real circuit board. These include all of the schematic files that define the circuits and the layout file that defines the actual geometry of the real circuit board when it's printed.

==Getting Started==

[[File:TemplateProject.png|thumb|200px|right|The template project open in Altium, if you don't read and skip the step about renaming. So far, no one has come up with a board name that acronyms to "RENAME-ME" to justify not renaming the project. Please don't.]]

The templates live in the {{svn-repo|altium-core}} SVN repo, in libraries/templates. There are currently two versions, one for two-layer boards and one for four-layer boards. The layer count describes how many distinct copper layers are on the board - more layers adds increased flexibility but also increased cost and complexity for manufacturing. Most SSI projects use 2-layer boards; if you don't know, ask for advice in {{slack-channel|altium}}.

The templates are the complete folders "SSI Standard PCB Template" and "SSI Standard PCB Template - 4 Layer" - select and copy the correct folder for your board type, and paste it where you intend to work on it. On your pasted copy, rename the folder to the name of your project. Open the folder, and rename the file labeled "RENAME-ME" to the name of your project (typically with a version number - " v1" on the end). Then, open that file in Altium. You should get something that looks like the image at right in the Projects panel (if the Projects panel is not already open, go to View → Panels → Projects to open it and pin it somewhere convenient). Double click on "TopSheet.SchLib" to open it. This will produce a large, blank schematic with some default information in the lower right corner. We'll fix this information [[#Entering Project Parameters|later]]

==Entering Project Parameters==

To replace the default text on your PCB and in the schematic template, go to Project → Project Options (shortcut {{altium-shortcut|c → o}}) and switch to the Parameters tab. In the "Values" column that comes up, set all of the parameters to the values you'd like. Enter more than one name on each of the PrjEngineer lines if needed - using just a first initial and last name for each contributor is encouraged to save space.

File:TemplateProject.png

2018-11-21T05:36:11Z

Smaldonado:

Hitchhiker's Guide to Making a PCB

2018-11-21T05:35:49Z

Smaldonado: Created page with "{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}} SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of makin..."

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

SSI maintains Altium template PCB projects which configure a number of options to simplify the process of making a PCB. A PCB project is a type of file in Altium that organizes all of the files that go into making a real circuit board. These include all of the schematic files that define the circuits and the layout file that defines the actual geometry of the real circuit board when it's printed.

==Getting Started==

[[File:TemplateProject.png|thumb|200px|right|The template project open in Altium, if you don't read and skip the step about renaming. So far, no one has come up with a board name that acronyms to "RENAME-ME" to justify not renaming the project. Please don't.]]

The templates live in the {{svn-repo|altium-core}} SVN repo, in libraries/templates. There are currently two versions, one for two-layer boards and one for four-layer boards. The layer count describes how many distinct copper layers are on the board - more layers adds increased flexibility but also increased cost and complexity for manufacturing. Most SSI projects use 2-layer boards; if you don't know, ask for advice in {{slack-channel|altium}}.

The templates are the complete folders "SSI Standard PCB Template" and "SSI Standard PCB Template - 4 Layer" - select and copy the correct folder for your board type, and paste it where you intend to work on it. On your pasted copy, rename the folder to the name of your project. Open the folder, and rename the file labeled "RENAME-ME" to the name of your project (typically with a version number - " v1" on the end). Then, open that file in Altium. You should get something that looks like the image at right in the Projects pane (if not already open, go to {{altium-shortcut|v → "Panels" → p}} to open it and pin it somewhere convenient).

How to Install and Configure Altium

2018-11-14T18:30:55Z

Smaldonado: Added notes for lab064 remote desktop config

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Background==

Altium Designer is SSI's preferred circuit board design program. The program runs exclusively on Windows; Mac and Linux users have successfully run Altium through both dedicated Windows partitions and Windows virtual machines. Though debated amongst SSI members, a USB mouse is also a useful tool when designing circuit boards.

[https://altium.com Altium Ltd.] sponsors SSI with a number of shared licenses to use their software. These licenses are managed over the internet - after signing in for the first time, your computer will automatically download a license file every time you open Altium and release your license when you close the program.

Altium allows users to draw circuit schematics and then design the physical layout of the components represented in the schematic. This requires libraries of symbols to represent components, the physical dimensions of those components in real life, and links so that they can be purchased from suppliers. SSI and Stanford Solar Car Project members have designed parts for these libraries over the course of several years, and as an Altium user, you will almost certainly [[Making Parts for PCB Libraries|add parts to the SSI PCB libraries]].

These libraries are shared and synchronized amongst all of SSI's Altium users using a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Version_control version control] technology called Subversion (typically "SVN"). SVN allows a group of folders (known as a "repository") to be shared selectively between SSI's Altium users, while tracking changes between versions of the files and allowing users to decide when they share changes they've made with the rest of the SSI userbase (sharing your changes is known as "committing" those changes). SSI's SVN is hosted on a server in ES3.

==A Brief Motivational Note==
At the time of this guide's original writing, only two people in SSI had used Altium for more than a year (neither of whom wrote this article - I began using Altium 8 months prior to originally writing it). As with any worthwhile skill, Altium takes time to gain familiarity with, and doing projects in Altium - though initially somewhat tedious and frustrating at times - is the best way of learning to use it.

Furthermore, as with all good technical software, Altium has many features, with many buttons and options. This is understandably anxiety-inducing. This guide (and the SSI wiki at large) is written to try and point you to the buttons you will need to complete setup and common tasks, which are a small subset of all of the buttons available to you. People who have worked in Altium for 20 years have commented that they still have never used most of the features of the program. In reality, doing a couple of projects is enough for you to learn what the core functions are and how to use them, and SSI has a robust community of able and willing engineers eager to help you get started.

With that in mind, let's get underway!

==Installation and Setup==

===Account Setup===
[[File:TortoiseSVNMenu.png|thumb|200px|right|A screenshot showing all of the SVN functions available when right-clicking after installing TortoiseSVN. You will never use most of these.]]
Within the {{slack-channel|altium}} channel, request an account for both Altium itself and for the SVN. Messaging {{slack-user|altium-admin}} will summon the relevant person.

===Installing SVN===
''Skip this step if you're configuring a Lab 064 remote desktop''

You will need SVN software to use the SSI Altium repository. The recommended choice is to install [http://tortoisesvn.net/ Tortoise SVN] (Windows-only). There are solutions for Mac and Linux users as well, though none quite as streamlined as TortoiseSVN; many Linux and Max users use the command line (Terminal) to handle SVN.

TortoiseSVN will run persistently on your computer and allow you to work with files synchronized with the SVN. As shown at right, TortoiseSVN will appear as a menu available when right clicking on files or folders. We will introduce the most useful of these commands in this article; several more are discussed [[Using TortoiseSVN|here]] (recommended reading ''after'' completing this guide).

===Downloading SSI Altium Libraries===
[[File:SVNCheckout.png|thumb|200px|right|Make sure you're right clicking on the folder you just created.]]
[[File:SVNCheckout2.png|thumb|200px|right|Your checkout window should look very similar to this.]]
Find a convenient location on your computer (i.e. your desktop) to create a folder that will host all of the shared SSI Altium files. Create a new folder there (my folder is called "SVN-SSI-Altium," though "altium-core" is what the folder is called on the server). Right click on the folder, and select "SVN Checkout" (see right). A window should pop up (see right) showing a URL to download files from and a location on your computer where the files will be downloaded. Verify that the target on your computer is where you intend and set the URL of the repository to {{altium-repo}}, and click OK. You will then likely be prompted for your SVN login - this will be your '''username''' and password Slacked to you after you requested them. You do not need credentials to download the libraries on campus, but you do need credentials to push changes to the libraries (regardless of where you are). Enter credentials if you have them, click OK, and your computer should begin to download the Altium libraries. These should take less than a minute to download on campus.

===Installing Altium===
''Skip this step if you're configuring a Lab 064 remote desktop''

Once you have an Altium account, Altium Designer can be downloaded [http://www.altium.com/products/downloads here] after logging in on the Altium website. Be aware that the software will only install on Windows operating systems. After downloading, install with the default settings.

===Connecting Altium to the License System===
[[File:AltiumLicense.png|thumb|200px|right|Protip: Don't publish sensitive information on the internet.]]
After Altium finishes installing, open it. Under "My Account," click "Sign in" and log in with your Altium account. Check "Sign me in when I open Altium Designer," as this will automatically grant you license access when you start the program. Next, under "Available Licenses," select Altium Designer from the list of products (you may or may not have other options listed; you can safely ignore all other ones) and click "Use" underneath (see right). This will now happen automatically every time you open the program.

===Open SSI Integrated Library===
[[File:ProjectsPanel.png|thumb|200px|right|This is a super useful panel to have open pretty much whenever you're in Altium.]]
If you do not see the "Projects" panel of your Altium window (see image on right - if open, the panel is typically on the left side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Projects," also accessible with the keyboard shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → p}}.

Once this panel is open, File → Open and navigate to the folder you set up for the Altium SVN. Enter, and go to "libraries/intlib." Inside, you should find "SSI.LibPkg" (whose file name may simply show up as "SSI"). Open the file; it should expand in your Projects panel, as shown at right.

===Compiling the SSI Altium Library===
With SSI.LibPkg open in your Projects panel, right click on SSI.LibPkg and hit "Compile Integrated Library SSI.LibPkg." This LibPkg file is an editable copy of all of the symbols, component footprints, and supplier links used for designing circuits and circuit boards in Altium; compiling it produces a non-editable version that can actually be used in circuit design. The compile process will take up all of Altium's resources and typically lasts between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. When done, you may see a "Messages" panel appear, which should indicate that you compiled successfully. Even if the Messages panel does not appear, you should be able to tell when the library finishes compiling based on a green progress bar in the lower left part of the screen.

If the Messages panel appears but errors show up (which is rare), message {{slack-channel|altium}} for help, as the failure is likely due to a recent editor of the library doing something incorrectly. Errors may or may not prevent you from proceeding in this guide; attempt the next step, knowing that you may be forced to pause until the errors are resolved.

This step is important, as it is required every time you wish to update your copy of the library to include changes that others (or you) have made. You will likely do this a good number of times over the course of your Altium career.

===Installing the SSI Altium Library===
[[File:LibraryInstallWindow.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this.]]
If you do not see the "Libraries" panel of your Altium window (if open, the panel is typically on the right side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Libraries," also accessible with the shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → l}}.

Once the panel is open, click the "Libraries..." button in the upper left, bringing up a window as shown in the image at right. Go to the "Installed" tab, where a list of (typically two) default libraries will appear. These libraries are not built to SSI standards and no SSI projects use them. Click on each library in the list, and then click "Remove" in the lower right.

Next, click "Install..." and then "Install from file." A new file dialog will open up; from your Altium SVN folder, navigate to "libraries/intlib/Project Outputs for SSI," where you should find SSI.IntLib (which will again likely just appear as "SSI"). Select it, and it will install.

If you do not have a "Project Outputs for SSI" folder, your compile failed, and you will need to resolve the issue before proceeding.

===Installing the Microsoft Access 2010 Driver===
For reasons that are poorly understood, many SSI Altium users cannot use database libraries without first installing this [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13255 Microsoft Office 2010 compatibility driver]. This solution took considerable experimentation to discover and is a good example of SSI [[Tribal Altium Knowledge]]. Installing this driver, though demonstrably not required for all users, will prevent hard-to-diagnose future headaches.

===Installing Passives Database Library===
Several additional parts categories - including a large number of surface mount chip resistors and surface mount ceramic capacitors - are stored in separate "database" libraries because they come in several thousand very similar varieties which can be defined using a creatively formatted Excel sheet and are imported into Altium through a .dblib file. We will install this library in this step.

In the same window used to install SSI.IntLib (from the Libraries panel, "Libraries..." → ''"Installed"'' → "Install..." → "Install from file"), navigate to "libraries/dblib." You will initially see nothing there; to fix that, change the type of libraries visible from "Integrated Libraries *.INTLIB" to "Database Libraries *.DBLIB" (see right). Three files - "passives," "resistor," and "sscp" should appear; install "passives.DbLib."

===Configuring Altium Preferences===
[[File:SystemDefaultLocations.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this.]]
Altium's default preferences are quite workable, but a couple of settings relating to the default locations of files need to be configured on each new computer. To change Altium preferences, from the top bar, click "DXP → Preferences..."

====Files and Libraries Location====
Within Preferences, go to "System → Default Locations." There are two fields; set "Document Path" to your Altium SVN folder, and set "Library Path" to your "libraries" folder in the Altium SVN. See the image at right for an example of the result.

====Templates Location====
[[File:DataManagementTemplates.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this, unless you're attempting to steal my identity, in which case you will end up with ''exactly'' this.]]
An unjustifiable length of time was spent creating formatting templates for SSI circuit schematics, which make for a clean, professional project and add a bit of information to each schematic. To use, in Preferences, go to "Data Management → Templates," and set the "Template location" field to point to the "libraries\templates" folder in your Altium SVN. See the image at right for an example of the result.

===Install the SSI PCB Logos Font===
Adding logos to PCBs is an important aspect of professionalism, part of SSI's agreements with its sponsors, and a nice way to add some creativity to a technical process. For logos that SSI commonly uses, we've created a font with scalable versions of each. This font is stored in "libraries\logos\SSI" - there, you can double click on "SSI_logos.ttf" to install it.

===Remap Delete Key===
[[File:DeleteKeyRemapping18.png|thumb|200px|right|You should end up with this.]]
''This step is only required of computers which do not have distinct "backspace" and "delete" keys. Desktops and most non-Apple laptops can skip this step. '''Apple laptops which have a "delete" key that functions as a backspace key need to complete this step.'''''

If you do not have a schematic open already, open one by clicking "File → New → Schematic." Next, open up the Customize panel by either clicking on a blank space of the toolbar (the space to the right of the "Help" drop-down menu works) or by right-clicking in that same spot and selecting "Customize..." In the window that comes up (see right), click "Edit" from the "Categories" column on the left, then double click on "Delete" in the "Commands" column on the right. This is the command used to delete components from a schematic, which is by default mapped to the delete key, which, if you're completing this step, you do not have. Click the "Primary" field, and then hit your backspace key to remap the command to that key. This only changes the delete key for schematics, so repeat this process with a PCB document open.

==A Brief Introduction to SVN==
This is the last part of this guide! You have actually already completed the installation and configuration of Altium; this step is intended to give you a quick introduction to SVN and how to use it. You will not need Altium for this last step; if you're completing this tutorial at a time when others are likely to also be working through it, close Altium, as that will free up licenses for others to use. If you're already familiar with SVN, skip to the [[#Your First Commit|last task]].

===Background===
An SVN repository is a series of "snapshots" of a folder over time. Each snapshot is called a '''commit''', and represents the state of the folder and some or all of its contents at a moment in time. Commits are created by users (aka you) when they want to preserve a version of the files they are working on - this typically happens after making a group of changes to files stored in the SVN repository (ie. after adding a part to a library or making progress on a circuit schematic or circuit board).

Any file can be stored in an SVN repository, and the repository can detect any change to any file. With TortoiseSVN installed, tracked files in an SVN repository which have been edited since the last commit will have a small red exclamation point displayed on their icon when viewed in a folder. New files created in your Altium SVN folder will not automatically be tracked - this is intentional, and a good thing.

Unlike other version control systems, "branches" do not work in SVN. All commits in an SVN repository contain changes that directly follow the commit before them, and can have only a single commit that follows after them. Because of this, SVN users can '''lock''' files and folders, becoming the only person allowed to commit changes to that file or folder. Other users can still edit the files, but their changes cannot be committed, making those edits futile. TortoiseSVN shows when a file has been locked by someone else, to help keep you from trying to edit something that somebody else is working on. Locking exists so that two users cannot try to commit different versions of the same file - someone who opens a file and knows they will commit changes to it soon can lock the file, marking the fact that they started editing the file first and so should be allowed to complete and commit their changes before anyone else. Locks can be taken away from someone who locks a file for an extended period of time, preventing abuse of this feature.

Changes other people make to files stored in the SVN must be downloaded manually, through the SVN '''update''' command. Updating replaces any files in your SVN folder that have been changed since the last time you ran SVN update with their most recently committed versions. You can see if there are new SVN commits to download in the {{slack-channel|altium}} channel, where notices of new commits are automatically posted.

Future tutorials will discuss when and how to add files and how to use Altium's SVN commands; below, we will briefly discuss how to generally commit file changes to the SVN repository.

===Your First Commit===
[[File:MakingACommit.png|thumb|200px|right|You will likely only have iwuzhere.txt in your list of files to commit, but if you have others, leave them unchecked.]]
In your SSI Altium SVN folder, right click while ''not'' on any file or folder, and mouse down to "SVN Update" and click it. This will quickly bring all of your files up to date. Next, in your Altium SVN folder, find "iwuzhere.txt." This file is tracked by the SVN repository, and should have a small green check mark on it. Right click on the file, mouse down to "TortoiseSVN," and then click "Get lock..." Click OK on any windows that appear. A small lock icon should appear on the file - you now have the lock on this file.

If the file was already locked by someone else, you will not be able to lock it, and should message the {{slack-channel|altium}} to ask to lock it. If you do not receive a response within 10 minutes, lock the file as described above, and check "Steal the locks" to take the lock from whomever had it previously. Slack is how locking conflicts like this (which are rare) are resolved, and 10 minutes is a short period of time to wait for a response, but this file is simple and very little work is lost from stealing the lock on it. If someone else commits a new version of the file, run another SVN update, and then you should be able to lock it.

Open the file, and add your name and the current date, matching the format of the names already there. ''You're now a part of SSI's corps of electrical engineers!''

To finish, go back to your Altium SVN folder, right click while ''not'' on any file or folder, and mouse down to "SVN Commit..." and click it. A dialog box will come up (see right), at the bottom of which should be a list of files. This shows files you have changed since the last time you ran SVN update, and ''should'' just have iwuzhere.txt listed. Make sure you have it checked. In the text box at the top of the window, you will need to write a '''commit message''', a brief description of what changes you're committing. This message will appear in Slack and must be at least 20 characters (but shouldn't be longer than a single sentence). Once you've written it, click okay, and wait for a message to appear in Slack.

'''You're done!''' Welcome to Altium!

==Next Steps==

;A First Project :[[Your First Altium Project|This (currently in-development) guide]] offers you a walkthrough of a fun introductory Altium project, which ends with making a circuit board that allows you to play StrEEt Fighter with your fellow SSI members.
;Creating Parts for Altium Libraries : [[Making Parts for PCB Libraries|This guide]] walks you through the process of adding new parts to the SSI Altium library, teaching both the process involved and quality standards for the library that we and the Stanford Solar Car Project have long worked to maintain.

[[Category: Altium]]

E40M Board

2018-11-05T00:08:11Z

Smaldonado: fixed

''This article is a work in progress intended to direct people to PCB resources - will be "complete" at some point in the future; see [[:Category:Altium]] in the meantime''

E40M Board

2018-11-05T00:06:04Z

Smaldonado:

''This article is a work in progress intended to direct people to PCB resources - will be "complete" at some point in the future; see [[Category:Altium]] in the meantime''

How to Install and Configure Altium

2018-10-26T00:57:52Z

Smaldonado: /* Installing the Microsoft Access 2007 Driver */ it's 2010 now

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Background==

Altium Designer is SSI's preferred circuit board design program. The program runs exclusively on Windows; Mac and Linux users have successfully run Altium through both dedicated Windows partitions and Windows virtual machines. Though debated amongst SSI members, a USB mouse is also a useful tool when designing circuit boards.

[https://altium.com Altium Ltd.] sponsors SSI with a number of shared licenses to use their software. These licenses are managed over the internet - after signing in for the first time, your computer will automatically download a license file every time you open Altium and release your license when you close the program.

Altium allows users to draw circuit schematics and then design the physical layout of the components represented in the schematic. This requires libraries of symbols to represent components, the physical dimensions of those components in real life, and links so that they can be purchased from suppliers. SSI and Stanford Solar Car Project members have designed parts for these libraries over the course of several years, and as an Altium user, you will almost certainly [[Making Parts for PCB Libraries|add parts to the SSI PCB libraries]].

These libraries are shared and synchronized amongst all of SSI's Altium users using a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Version_control version control] technology called Subversion (typically "SVN"). SVN allows a group of folders (known as a "repository") to be shared selectively between SSI's Altium users, while tracking changes between versions of the files and allowing users to decide when they share changes they've made with the rest of the SSI userbase (sharing your changes is known as "committing" those changes). SSI's SVN is hosted on a server in ES3.

==A Brief Motivational Note==
At the time of this guide's original writing, only two people in SSI had used Altium for more than a year (neither of whom wrote this article - I began using Altium 8 months prior to originally writing it). As with any worthwhile skill, Altium takes time to gain familiarity with, and doing projects in Altium - though initially somewhat tedious and frustrating at times - is the best way of learning to use it.

Furthermore, as with all good technical software, Altium has many features, with many buttons and options. This is understandably anxiety-inducing. This guide (and the SSI wiki at large) is written to try and point you to the buttons you will need to complete setup and common tasks, which are a small subset of all of the buttons available to you. People who have worked in Altium for 20 years have commented that they still have never used most of the features of the program. In reality, doing a couple of projects is enough for you to learn what the core functions are and how to use them, and SSI has a robust community of able and willing engineers eager to help you get started.

With that in mind, let's get underway!

==Installation and Setup==

===Account Setup===
[[File:TortoiseSVNMenu.png|thumb|200px|right|A screenshot showing all of the SVN functions available when right-clicking after installing TortoiseSVN. You will never use most of these.]]
Within the {{slack-channel|altium}} channel, request an account for both Altium itself and for the SVN. Messaging {{slack-user|altium-admin}} will summon the relevant person.

===Installing SVN===
You will need SVN software to use the SSI Altium repository. The recommended choice is to install [http://tortoisesvn.net/ Tortoise SVN] (Windows-only). There are solutions for Mac and Linux users as well, though none quite as streamlined as TortoiseSVN; many Linux and Max users use the command line (Terminal) to handle SVN.

TortoiseSVN will run persistently on your computer and allow you to work with files synchronized with the SVN. As shown at right, TortoiseSVN will appear as a menu available when right clicking on files or folders. We will introduce the most useful of these commands in this article; several more are discussed [[Using TortoiseSVN|here]] (recommended reading ''after'' completing this guide).

===Downloading SSI Altium Libraries===
[[File:SVNCheckout.png|thumb|200px|right|Make sure you're right clicking on the folder you just created.]]
[[File:SVNCheckout2.png|thumb|200px|right|Your checkout window should look very similar to this.]]
Find a convenient location on your computer (i.e. your desktop) to create a folder that will host all of the shared SSI Altium files. Create a new folder there (my folder is called "SVN-SSI-Altium," though "altium-core" is what the folder is called on the server). Right click on the folder, and select "SVN Checkout" (see right). A window should pop up (see right) showing a URL to download files from and a location on your computer where the files will be downloaded. Verify that the target on your computer is where you intend and set the URL of the repository to {{altium-repo}}, and click OK. You will then likely be prompted for your SVN login - this will be your '''username''' and password Slacked to you after you requested them. You do not need credentials to download the libraries on campus, but you do need credentials to push changes to the libraries (regardless of where you are). Enter credentials if you have them, click OK, and your computer should begin to download the Altium libraries. These should take less than a minute to download on campus.

===Installing Altium===
Once you have an Altium account, Altium Designer can be downloaded [http://www.altium.com/products/downloads here] after logging in on the Altium website. Be aware that the software will only install on Windows operating systems. After downloading, install with the default settings.

===Connecting Altium to the License System===
[[File:AltiumLicense.png|thumb|200px|right|Protip: Don't publish sensitive information on the internet.]]
After Altium finishes installing, open it. Under "My Account," click "Sign in" and log in with your Altium account. Check "Sign me in when I open Altium Designer," as this will automatically grant you license access when you start the program. Next, under "Available Licenses," select Altium Designer from the list of products (you may or may not have other options listed; you can safely ignore all other ones) and click "Use" underneath (see right). This will now happen automatically every time you open the program.

===Open SSI Integrated Library===
[[File:ProjectsPanel.png|thumb|200px|right|This is a super useful panel to have open pretty much whenever you're in Altium.]]
If you do not see the "Projects" panel of your Altium window (see image on right - if open, the panel is typically on the left side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Projects," also accessible with the keyboard shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → p}}.

Once this panel is open, File → Open and navigate to the folder you set up for the Altium SVN. Enter, and go to "libraries/intlib." Inside, you should find "SSI.LibPkg" (whose file name may simply show up as "SSI"). Open the file; it should expand in your Projects panel, as shown at right.

===Compiling the SSI Altium Library===
With SSI.LibPkg open in your Projects panel, right click on SSI.LibPkg and hit "Compile Integrated Library SSI.LibPkg." This LibPkg file is an editable copy of all of the symbols, component footprints, and supplier links used for designing circuits and circuit boards in Altium; compiling it produces a non-editable version that can actually be used in circuit design. The compile process will take up all of Altium's resources and typically lasts between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. When done, you may see a "Messages" panel appear, which should indicate that you compiled successfully. Even if the Messages panel does not appear, you should be able to tell when the library finishes compiling based on a green progress bar in the lower left part of the screen.

If the Messages panel appears but errors show up (which is rare), message {{slack-channel|altium}} for help, as the failure is likely due to a recent editor of the library doing something incorrectly. Errors may or may not prevent you from proceeding in this guide; attempt the next step, knowing that you may be forced to pause until the errors are resolved.

This step is important, as it is required every time you wish to update your copy of the library to include changes that others (or you) have made. You will likely do this a good number of times over the course of your Altium career.

===Installing the SSI Altium Library===
[[File:LibraryInstallWindow.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this.]]
If you do not see the "Libraries" panel of your Altium window (if open, the panel is typically on the right side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Libraries," also accessible with the shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → l}}.

Once the panel is open, click the "Libraries..." button in the upper left, bringing up a window as shown in the image at right. Go to the "Installed" tab, where a list of (typically two) default libraries will appear. These libraries are not built to SSI standards and no SSI projects use them. Click on each library in the list, and then click "Remove" in the lower right.

Next, click "Install..." and then "Install from file." A new file dialog will open up; from your Altium SVN folder, navigate to "libraries/intlib/Project Outputs for SSI," where you should find SSI.IntLib (which will again likely just appear as "SSI"). Select it, and it will install.

If you do not have a "Project Outputs for SSI" folder, your compile failed, and you will need to resolve the issue before proceeding.

===Installing the Microsoft Access 2010 Driver===
For reasons that are poorly understood, many SSI Altium users cannot use database libraries without first installing this [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13255 Microsoft Office 2010 compatibility driver]. This solution took considerable experimentation to discover and is a good example of SSI [[Tribal Altium Knowledge]]. Installing this driver, though demonstrably not required for all users, will prevent hard-to-diagnose future headaches.

===Installing Passives Database Library===
Several additional parts categories - including a large number of surface mount chip resistors and surface mount ceramic capacitors - are stored in separate "database" libraries because they come in several thousand very similar varieties which can be defined using a creatively formatted Excel sheet and are imported into Altium through a .dblib file. We will install this library in this step.

In the same window used to install SSI.IntLib (from the Libraries panel, "Libraries..." → ''"Installed"'' → "Install..." → "Install from file"), navigate to "libraries/dblib." You will initially see nothing there; to fix that, change the type of libraries visible from "Integrated Libraries *.INTLIB" to "Database Libraries *.DBLIB" (see right). Three files - "passives," "resistor," and "sscp" should appear; install "passives.DbLib."

===Configuring Altium Preferences===
[[File:SystemDefaultLocations.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this.]]
Altium's default preferences are quite workable, but a couple of settings relating to the default locations of files need to be configured on each new computer. To change Altium preferences, from the top bar, click "DXP → Preferences..."

====Files and Libraries Location====
Within Preferences, go to "System → Default Locations." There are two fields; set "Document Path" to your Altium SVN folder, and set "Library Path" to your "libraries" folder in the Altium SVN. See the image at right for an example of the result.

====Templates Location====
[[File:DataManagementTemplates.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this, unless you're attempting to steal my identity, in which case you will end up with ''exactly'' this.]]
An unjustifiable length of time was spent creating formatting templates for SSI circuit schematics, which make for a clean, professional project and add a bit of information to each schematic. To use, in Preferences, go to "Data Management → Templates," and set the "Template location" field to point to the "libraries\templates" folder in your Altium SVN. See the image at right for an example of the result.

===Install the SSI PCB Logos Font===
Adding logos to PCBs is an important aspect of professionalism, part of SSI's agreements with its sponsors, and a nice way to add some creativity to a technical process. For logos that SSI commonly uses, we've created a font with scalable versions of each. This font is stored in "libraries\logos\SSI" - there, you can double click on "SSI_logos.ttf" to install it.

===Remap Delete Key===
[[File:DeleteKeyRemapping18.png|thumb|200px|right|You should end up with this.]]
''This step is only required of computers which do not have distinct "backspace" and "delete" keys. Desktops and most non-Apple laptops can skip this step. Apple laptops which have a "delete" key that functions as a backspace key need to complete this step.''

If you do not have a schematic open already, open one by clicking "File → New → Schematic." Next, open up the Customize panel by either clicking on a blank space of the toolbar (the space to the right of the "Help" drop-down menu works) or by right-clicking in that same spot and selecting "Customize..." In the window that comes up (see right), click "Edit" from the "Categories" column on the left, then double click on "Delete" in the "Commands" column on the right. This is the command used to delete components from a schematic, which is by default mapped to the delete key, which, if you're completing this step, you do not have. Click the "Primary" field, and then hit your backspace key to remap the command to that key. This only changes the delete key for schematics, so repeat this process with a PCB document open.

==A Brief Introduction to SVN==
This is the last part of this guide! You have actually already completed the installation and configuration of Altium; this step is intended to give you a quick introduction to SVN and how to use it. You will not need Altium for this last step; if you're completing this tutorial at a time when others are likely to also be working through it, close Altium, as that will free up licenses for others to use. If you're already familiar with SVN, skip to the [[#Your First Commit|last task]].

===Background===
An SVN repository is a series of "snapshots" of a folder over time. Each snapshot is called a '''commit''', and represents the state of the folder and some or all of its contents at a moment in time. Commits are created by users (aka you) when they want to preserve a version of the files they are working on - this typically happens after making a group of changes to files stored in the SVN repository (ie. after adding a part to a library or making progress on a circuit schematic or circuit board).

Any file can be stored in an SVN repository, and the repository can detect any change to any file. With TortoiseSVN installed, tracked files in an SVN repository which have been edited since the last commit will have a small red exclamation point displayed on their icon when viewed in a folder. New files created in your Altium SVN folder will not automatically be tracked - this is intentional, and a good thing.

Unlike other version control systems, "branches" do not work in SVN. All commits in an SVN repository contain changes that directly follow the commit before them, and can have only a single commit that follows after them. Because of this, SVN users can '''lock''' files and folders, becoming the only person allowed to commit changes to that file or folder. Other users can still edit the files, but their changes cannot be committed, making those edits futile. TortoiseSVN shows when a file has been locked by someone else, to help keep you from trying to edit something that somebody else is working on. Locking exists so that two users cannot try to commit different versions of the same file - someone who opens a file and knows they will commit changes to it soon can lock the file, marking the fact that they started editing the file first and so should be allowed to complete and commit their changes before anyone else. Locks can be taken away from someone who locks a file for an extended period of time, preventing abuse of this feature.

Changes other people make to files stored in the SVN must be downloaded manually, through the SVN '''update''' command. Updating replaces any files in your SVN folder that have been changed since the last time you ran SVN update with their most recently committed versions. You can see if there are new SVN commits to download in the {{slack-channel|altium}} channel, where notices of new commits are automatically posted.

Future tutorials will discuss when and how to add files and how to use Altium's SVN commands; below, we will briefly discuss how to generally commit file changes to the SVN repository.

===Your First Commit===
[[File:MakingACommit.png|thumb|200px|right|You will likely only have iwuzhere.txt in your list of files to commit, but if you have others, leave them unchecked.]]
In your SSI Altium SVN folder, right click while ''not'' on any file or folder, and mouse down to "SVN Update" and click it. This will quickly bring all of your files up to date. Next, in your Altium SVN folder, find "iwuzhere.txt." This file is tracked by the SVN repository, and should have a small green check mark on it. Right click on the file, mouse down to "TortoiseSVN," and then click "Get lock..." Click OK on any windows that appear. A small lock icon should appear on the file - you now have the lock on this file.

If the file was already locked by someone else, you will not be able to lock it, and should message the {{slack-channel|altium}} to ask to lock it. If you do not receive a response within 10 minutes, lock the file as described above, and check "Steal the locks" to take the lock from whomever had it previously. Slack is how locking conflicts like this (which are rare) are resolved, and 10 minutes is a short period of time to wait for a response, but this file is simple and very little work is lost from stealing the lock on it. If someone else commits a new version of the file, run another SVN update, and then you should be able to lock it.

Open the file, and add your name and the current date, matching the format of the names already there. ''You're now a part of SSI's corps of electrical engineers!''

To finish, go back to your Altium SVN folder, right click while ''not'' on any file or folder, and mouse down to "SVN Commit..." and click it. A dialog box will come up (see right), at the bottom of which should be a list of files. This shows files you have changed since the last time you ran SVN update, and ''should'' just have iwuzhere.txt listed. Make sure you have it checked. In the text box at the top of the window, you will need to write a '''commit message''', a brief description of what changes you're committing. This message will appear in Slack and must be at least 20 characters (but shouldn't be longer than a single sentence). Once you've written it, click okay, and wait for a message to appear in Slack.

'''You're done!''' Welcome to Altium!

==Next Steps==

;A First Project :[[Your First Altium Project|This (currently in-development) guide]] offers you a walkthrough of a fun introductory Altium project, which ends with making a circuit board that allows you to play StrEEt Fighter with your fellow SSI members.
;Creating Parts for Altium Libraries : [[Making Parts for PCB Libraries|This guide]] walks you through the process of adding new parts to the SSI Altium library, teaching both the process involved and quality standards for the library that we and the Stanford Solar Car Project have long worked to maintain.

[[Category: Altium]]

E40M Board

2018-10-17T03:57:52Z

Smaldonado: added boilerplate

''This article is a work in progress intended to direct people to PCB resources - will be "complete" by the time Lab 3 is released''

E40M Board

2018-10-16T19:39:26Z

Smaldonado: redirect makes bad URL

[[Category:Altium]]

E40M Board

2018-10-16T19:37:42Z

Smaldonado: Placeholder for larger, better article

#REDIRECT [[Category:Altium]]

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-11T19:59:14Z

Smaldonado: /* SSI.OutJob */ typo

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|(1 of 2) OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|(2 of 2) OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr), which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GBP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, the DfM process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png| (1 of 2) Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png| (2 of 2) DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

The goal is to always be within BAC's standard capabilities - this minimizes the risk of manufacturing errors and shortens production time. Small deviations (like the 0.01 mil deviation shown) come from rounding errors during the Altium export process and can be safely ignored. If truly necessary, features requiring the advanced capabilities can be produced; however this should be avoided if possible. The Altium design rules included in the template projects are designed to keep projects within BAC's standard capabilities.

The second image in the above slideshow shows a failing DfM check. There are two major issues: first, no board outline file was included in the fabrication ZIP, meaning that BAC doesn't know what shape of board to cut. Errors like this are easy to fix by uploading a new ZIP file with all of the required files and running DfM again. Second, a hole on an inner layer does not have a copper ring, meaning that a trace on that layer won't make a good electrical connection to the hole. This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed in the design before the board is manufactured.

If your board meaningfully fails DfM for design reasons, you will need to fix the error in Altium and then repeat the outjob and DfM process. This can take some time, particularly if there are multiple issues, so make sure to budget time for DfM ('''especially the first time you release a board'''). In industrial applications, for complicated boards, it's not unheard of for a design team to spend a week verifying manufacturability; SSI designs usually pass within a few hours, and less than an hour if there are no serious problems on the first attempt.

Once you have a ZIP that passes DfM, download the InstantDfM PDF report and add it into your fabrication ZIP (to show BAC that a passing DfM was run on that board). Commit that final ZIP to the SVN, and then message {{slack-channel|altium}} asking for your board to be released and with a link to your ZIP. The SSI BAC contact will give your board a final once-over and then send it out for manufacture - either that same day or as part of the next batch. Once that's done, your board is out of your hands! It'll be back in your hands in physical form in about a week. Congratulations!

=== Ordering Components ===
''This is generally a time-consuming process; [[BOMSquad]] is in development to simplify it but at present there's a decent amount of manual labor involved. Make sure you allocate time accordingly''

Open your BoM Excel file (in either Excel or Google Sheets).

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-09T17:46:39Z

Smaldonado: /* Ordering Components */ less aggression

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|(1 of 2) OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|(2 of 2) OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr), which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GTP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, the DfM process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png| (1 of 2) Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png| (2 of 2) DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

The goal is to always be within BAC's standard capabilities - this minimizes the risk of manufacturing errors and shortens production time. Small deviations (like the 0.01 mil deviation shown) come from rounding errors during the Altium export process and can be safely ignored. If truly necessary, features requiring the advanced capabilities can be produced; however this should be avoided if possible. The Altium design rules included in the template projects are designed to keep projects within BAC's standard capabilities.

The second image in the above slideshow shows a failing DfM check. There are two major issues: first, no board outline file was included in the fabrication ZIP, meaning that BAC doesn't know what shape of board to cut. Errors like this are easy to fix by uploading a new ZIP file with all of the required files and running DfM again. Second, a hole on an inner layer does not have a copper ring, meaning that a trace on that layer won't make a good electrical connection to the hole. This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed in the design before the board is manufactured.

If your board meaningfully fails DfM for design reasons, you will need to fix the error in Altium and then repeat the outjob and DfM process. This can take some time, particularly if there are multiple issues, so make sure to budget time for DfM ('''especially the first time you release a board'''). In industrial applications, for complicated boards, it's not unheard of for a design team to spend a week verifying manufacturability; SSI designs usually pass within a few hours, and less than an hour if there are no serious problems on the first attempt.

Once you have a ZIP that passes DfM, download the InstantDfM PDF report and add it into your fabrication ZIP (to show BAC that a passing DfM was run on that board). Commit that final ZIP to the SVN, and then message {{slack-channel|altium}} asking for your board to be released and with a link to your ZIP. The SSI BAC contact will give your board a final once-over and then send it out for manufacture - either that same day or as part of the next batch. Once that's done, your board is out of your hands! It'll be back in your hands in physical form in about a week. Congratulations!

=== Ordering Components ===
''This is generally a time-consuming process; [[BOMSquad]] is in development to simplify it but at present there's a decent amount of manual labor involved. Make sure you allocate time accordingly''

Open your BoM Excel file (in either Excel or Google Sheets).

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-09T17:46:17Z

Smaldonado: Started BoM

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|(1 of 2) OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|(2 of 2) OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr), which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GTP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, the DfM process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png| (1 of 2) Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png| (2 of 2) DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

The goal is to always be within BAC's standard capabilities - this minimizes the risk of manufacturing errors and shortens production time. Small deviations (like the 0.01 mil deviation shown) come from rounding errors during the Altium export process and can be safely ignored. If truly necessary, features requiring the advanced capabilities can be produced; however this should be avoided if possible. The Altium design rules included in the template projects are designed to keep projects within BAC's standard capabilities.

The second image in the above slideshow shows a failing DfM check. There are two major issues: first, no board outline file was included in the fabrication ZIP, meaning that BAC doesn't know what shape of board to cut. Errors like this are easy to fix by uploading a new ZIP file with all of the required files and running DfM again. Second, a hole on an inner layer does not have a copper ring, meaning that a trace on that layer won't make a good electrical connection to the hole. This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed in the design before the board is manufactured.

If your board meaningfully fails DfM for design reasons, you will need to fix the error in Altium and then repeat the outjob and DfM process. This can take some time, particularly if there are multiple issues, so make sure to budget time for DfM ('''especially the first time you release a board'''). In industrial applications, for complicated boards, it's not unheard of for a design team to spend a week verifying manufacturability; SSI designs usually pass within a few hours, and less than an hour if there are no serious problems on the first attempt.

Once you have a ZIP that passes DfM, download the InstantDfM PDF report and add it into your fabrication ZIP (to show BAC that a passing DfM was run on that board). Commit that final ZIP to the SVN, and then message {{slack-channel|altium}} asking for your board to be released and with a link to your ZIP. The SSI BAC contact will give your board a final once-over and then send it out for manufacture - either that same day or as part of the next batch. Once that's done, your board is out of your hands! It'll be back in your hands in physical form in about a week. Congratulations!

=== Ordering Components ===
'''This is generally a time-consuming process; [[BOMSquad]] is in development to simplify it but at present there's a decent amount of manual labor involved. Make sure you allocate time accordingly'''

Open your BoM Excel file (in either Excel or Google Sheets).

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T09:03:11Z

Smaldonado: /* SSI.OutJob */ defucked square bracket

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr), which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GTP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, the DfM process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png|Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png|DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

The goal is to always be within BAC's standard capabilities - this minimizes the risk of manufacturing errors and shortens production time. Small deviations (like the 0.01 mil deviation shown) come from rounding errors during the Altium export process and can be safely ignored. If truly necessary, features requiring the advanced capabilities can be produced; however this should be avoided if possible.

The second image in the above slideshow shows a failing DfM check. There are two major issues: first, no board outline file was included in the fabrication ZIP, meaning that BAC doesn't know what shape of board to cut. Errors like this are easy to fix by uploading a new ZIP file with all of the required files and running DfM again. Second, a hole on an inner layer does not have a copper ring, meaning that a trace on that layer won't make a good electrical connection to the hole. This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed in the design before the board is manufactured.

If your board meaningfully fails DfM for design reasons, you will need to fix the error in Altium and then repeat the outjob and DfM process. This can take some time, particularly if there are multiple issues, so make sure to budget time for DfM ('''especially the first time you release a board'''). In industrial applications, for complicated boards, it's not unheard of for a design team to spend a week verifying manufacturability; SSI designs usually pass within a few hours, and less than an hour if there are no serious problems on the first attempt.

Once you have a ZIP that passes DfM, download the InstantDfM PDF report and add it into your fabrication ZIP (to show BAC that a passing DfM was run on that board). Commit that final ZIP to the SVN, and then message {{slack-channel|altium}} asking for your board to be released and with a link to your ZIP. The SSI BAC contact will give your board a final once-over and then send it out for manufacture - either that same day or as part of the next batch. Once that's done, your board is out of your hands! It'll be back in your hands in physical form in about a week. Congratulations!

=== Ordering Components ===

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T09:02:10Z

Smaldonado: /* Putting It All Together */ clarified that other manufacturers also do DfM, but they do it differently

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr], which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GTP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, the DfM process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png|Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png|DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

The goal is to always be within BAC's standard capabilities - this minimizes the risk of manufacturing errors and shortens production time. Small deviations (like the 0.01 mil deviation shown) come from rounding errors during the Altium export process and can be safely ignored. If truly necessary, features requiring the advanced capabilities can be produced; however this should be avoided if possible.

The second image in the above slideshow shows a failing DfM check. There are two major issues: first, no board outline file was included in the fabrication ZIP, meaning that BAC doesn't know what shape of board to cut. Errors like this are easy to fix by uploading a new ZIP file with all of the required files and running DfM again. Second, a hole on an inner layer does not have a copper ring, meaning that a trace on that layer won't make a good electrical connection to the hole. This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed in the design before the board is manufactured.

If your board meaningfully fails DfM for design reasons, you will need to fix the error in Altium and then repeat the outjob and DfM process. This can take some time, particularly if there are multiple issues, so make sure to budget time for DfM ('''especially the first time you release a board'''). In industrial applications, for complicated boards, it's not unheard of for a design team to spend a week verifying manufacturability; SSI designs usually pass within a few hours, and less than an hour if there are no serious problems on the first attempt.

Once you have a ZIP that passes DfM, download the InstantDfM PDF report and add it into your fabrication ZIP (to show BAC that a passing DfM was run on that board). Commit that final ZIP to the SVN, and then message {{slack-channel|altium}} asking for your board to be released and with a link to your ZIP. The SSI BAC contact will give your board a final once-over and then send it out for manufacture - either that same day or as part of the next batch. Once that's done, your board is out of your hands! It'll be back in your hands in physical form in about a week. Congratulations!

=== Ordering Components ===

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T09:00:53Z

Smaldonado: Finished DfM section

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr], which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GTP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, some of the process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png|Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png|DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

The goal is to always be within BAC's standard capabilities - this minimizes the risk of manufacturing errors and shortens production time. Small deviations (like the 0.01 mil deviation shown) come from rounding errors during the Altium export process and can be safely ignored. If truly necessary, features requiring the advanced capabilities can be produced; however this should be avoided if possible.

The second image in the above slideshow shows a failing DfM check. There are two major issues: first, no board outline file was included in the fabrication ZIP, meaning that BAC doesn't know what shape of board to cut. Errors like this are easy to fix by uploading a new ZIP file with all of the required files and running DfM again. Second, a hole on an inner layer does not have a copper ring, meaning that a trace on that layer won't make a good electrical connection to the hole. This is a serious issue that needs to be fixed in the design before the board is manufactured.

If your board meaningfully fails DfM for design reasons, you will need to fix the error in Altium and then repeat the outjob and DfM process. This can take some time, particularly if there are multiple issues, so make sure to budget time for DfM ('''especially the first time you release a board'''). In industrial applications, for complicated boards, it's not unheard of for a design team to spend a week verifying manufacturability; SSI designs usually pass within a few hours, and less than an hour if there are no serious problems on the first attempt.

Once you have a ZIP that passes DfM, download the InstantDfM PDF report and add it into your fabrication ZIP (to show BAC that a passing DfM was run on that board). Commit that final ZIP to the SVN, and then message {{slack-channel|altium}} asking for your board to be released and with a link to your ZIP. The SSI BAC contact will give your board a final once-over and then send it out for manufacture - either that same day or as part of the next batch. Once that's done, your board is out of your hands! It'll be back in your hands in physical form in about a week. Congratulations!

=== Ordering Components ===

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

File:InstantDfMfail.png

2018-10-08T08:46:31Z

Smaldonado:

File:InstantDfM.png

2018-10-08T08:46:04Z

Smaldonado:

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T08:45:52Z

Smaldonado: /* PCB Fabrication */ fix to get files

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr], which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GTP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, some of the process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

[[File:InstantDfM.png|Passing DfM results.]]
[[File:InstantDfMfail.png|DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.]]

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png|Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png|DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

=== Ordering Components ===

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T08:45:11Z

Smaldonado: Adding DfM section

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil!

==Wait, What? I Thought I Was Done!==

[[File:whatisagerber.png|thumb|200px|right|A snippet from a Gerber file. They contain configuration instructions and a list of points (note the "XY" coordinates on the lower lines) for production equipment to "draw" shapes on each layer of a board.]]
PCB manufacturers require special files in order to actually make circuit boards. These files describe where to place and remove copper on each layer of the board, where to drill holes, and where to expose copper and draw artwork on the outsides of the board. There are several different formats that manufacturers will accept; for SSI's leading manufacturer ([https://bayareacircuits.com Bay Area Circuits], one of our oldest and most supportive sponsors), we export '''Gerber files''', which are machine-readable descriptions of what should be manufactured on each layer of the board. You'll also export a plain text file with coordinates for drilled holes (and what size drill bit to drill them with). These are the files required for a manufacturer like Bay Area Circuits to actually create a PCB.

Your PCB, however, will ship from the manufacturer without any components attached. If, as in most cases, you're assembling a board yourself, you'll (usually) need two additional things: components, which we generally buy from [https://digikey.com Digikey] (but sometimes elsewhere, as needed - see [[Recommended PCB Component Suppliers]] if you're curious); and a stencil to help apply solder paste to your board for attaching components, which we usually buy from [https://oshstencils.com OSHStencils]. Digikey accepts Excel spreadsheets specifying the type and number of components needed to build your board, and OSHStencils uses aforementioned Gerber files to laser cut either polyimide ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapton Kapton]) film or thin stainless steel.

To recap, you will need three things:
# A collection of Gerber files (and a text file) to send to Bay Area Circuits (or another PCB manufacturer)
# A smaller collection of Gerber files to send to OSHStencils
# An Excel spreadsheet (called a Bill of Materials, or BoM) to upload to Digikey (or manually order from other vendors)

Luckily, we have a system for producing all of the above! Enter the '''outjob'''.

== SSI.OutJob ==

[[File:outjobadded.png|thumb|200px|right|A project with an outjob correctly added to it.]]

There are a number of things to configure to get Altium to correctly output Gerbers and other files. These have been fortunately taken care of and saved in a special Altium file called an '''outjob'''. You'll need to add the outjob file to your project (as if it were a schematic file), and will then be able to output files for fabrication with a couple of clicks.

Master copies of the outjobs are in the SVN at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/outjobs}}. Outjobs are also automatically included in the PCB project templates at {{svn-repo|altium-core/libraries/templates}}. If you didn't start from a project template (doing so next time will make your life easier), '''make a copy''' of the outjob you want to use and paste it into your project folder. Making a copy is important so that your project doesn't break on other people's computers or as people update the master copies of the outjobs (which your board may not be properly configured for). '''Make sure to pick the outjob that correspond's with your board's layer count. SSI.OutJob is for 2-layer boards, and SSI-4-LAYER.OutJob is for 4-layer boards. Picking the wrong outjob may result in your board coming back without the inner layers it should have or with two extra inner layers.''' Once you've copied the outjob, in the Projects pane in Altium, right click your project and select "Add Existing to Project" and in the window that comes up, select your copy of the outjob. You should now see a "Settings" folder under your project in the Projects pane with an "Output Jobs" folder within it (see right).

Once you have the outjob in your project and are ready to export files, open the outjob by double-clicking on it from the Projects pane. This will produce a screen like the first one below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:outjob.png|OutJob configured for all outputs
File:outjob_no_BOM.png|OutJob configured to skip BoM generation
</gallery>

[[File:outputfiles.png|thumb|200px|right|An example "Fabrication Outputs" folder.]]

This outjob has the "Generate Manufacturing Files" option selected on the right side and has all three outputs - Gerbers, a drill file, and an Excel bill of materials - enabled. From here, either click the "Generate content" button under "Generate Manufacturing Files" or hit the F9 key, and Altium will produce output files (yes, it is that simple!). Outputs will be placed in your project folder inside of a new subfolder called "Fabrication Outputs." Generating all of the output files takes generally about 1 minute.

If you're in a hurry (BoM generation takes about 75% of the output file generation time) or for some other reason just want to generate Gerber and drill files and not an Excel BoM, you can disable BoM generation by clicking the little numbered circle in the Bill of Materials row. Your screen will look like the second image in the above slideshow with BoM generation disabled. To reenable BoM generation, just click the circle again.

Once your fabrication outputs have been generated, find the new Fabrication Outputs folder and open it in your file browser. Add this folder to the SVN and commit it. You'll see a collection of files like the one shown at the right (with a different base name but the same file extensions). You care about the following files:
* [board].GTL - your board's top copper layer
* [board].GTS - your board's top soldermask layer, which defines what copper is exposed and solderable
* [board].GTO - your board's top silkscreen layer, which will appear as the printed artwork on the top side
* [board].GTP - your board's top solder paste layer, which will not be used to make the board but is needed for stencils
* ''[board].G1 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 1 (closer to the top side)
* ''[board].G2 (4-layer only)'' - your board's internal layer 2 (closer to the bottom side)
* [board].GBL - your board's bottom copper layer
* [board].GBS - your board's bottom soldermask layer
* [board].GBO - your board's bottom silkscreen layer
* [board].GBP - your board's bottom solder paste layer
* [board].TXT - your board's drill file
* [board].GM32 (sometimes [board].GKO) - your board's outline file
* Bill of Materials-[board].xls

You can safely ignore all of the other files (i.e. [board].apr], which are generated automatically and can't be suppressed but are not needed to manufacture a board.

For fabrication, you'll need to create a ZIP file containing all of the above files, except for the GTP/GTP files and the Excel spreadsheet (.xls). Make sure you specifically check the file extensions; several text files will be generated but there will only be one [board].txt file, which is your drill file. Give the ZIP a presentable, descriptive name that ends with "Gerbers" - it's going to be sent to a manufacturer. Also make sure you add the ZIP specifically to SVN so there's a record of exactly what was sent to the manufacturer.

== Putting It All Together ==

We'll now describe specifically how to get each of the three things you need to assemble your board.

=== PCB Fabrication ===
''This guide assumes you're ordering from Bay Area Circuits. For other manufacturers, some of the process will be different, though you will still ultimately provide your manufacturer with your ZIP of Gerber files''

The first step in getting your board ordered is a manufacturability check, to verify you have all of the required files and the manufacturer can read them and actually make the board they describe. Bay Area Circuits (BAC) has a Design for Manufacturability (DfM) tool that automatically reads and interprets fabrication ZIPs to make sure the boards have a full set of files and can be built. Go to the [http://instantdfm.bayareacircuits.com InstantDfM] page and follow the instructions to upload your fabrication ZIP. Once you submit, you'll have to wait usually around 10 minutes (shorter for simpler boards, longer for more complicated/four-layer boards) for processing. You'll be emailed a link when your board has finished being evaluated. The link will go to a page like the first below:

<gallery mode="slideshow" widths=750px>
File:InstantDfM.png|Passing DfM results.
File:InstantDfMfail.png|DfM missing a file and failing manufacturability checks.
</gallery>

=== Ordering Components ===

=== Ordering a Stencil ===

File:Outputfiles.png

2018-10-08T08:13:59Z

Smaldonado:

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T08:07:48Z

Smaldonado: Added how to use outjob

File:Outjob no BOM.png

2018-10-08T07:56:48Z

Smaldonado:

File:Outjob.png

2018-10-08T07:44:25Z

Smaldonado:

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T02:57:20Z

Smaldonado:

Template:Warn

2018-10-08T02:23:47Z

Smaldonado: fixed it

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width:90%"
! style="background:#F5D76E; width:100px; text-align:left; vertical-align:center; border-right: 0px solid black" |[[File:warn.png|30px|]][[File:yumbiscuit.jpg|30px|]][[File:warn.png|30px|]]
! style="background:#F5D76E; text-align:left; vertical-align:center; border-left: 0px solid black; border-right: 0px solid black" |
<span style="font-size:125%">''Risky Biscuits Ahead!''</span>

{{{1|NO WARNING TEXT PROVIDED}}}

! style="background:#F5D76E; width:100px; text-align:right; vertical-align:center; border-left: 0px solid black" |[[File:warn.png|30px|]][[File:yumbiscuit.jpg|30px|]][[File:warn.png|30px|]]
|}

Template:Warn

2018-10-08T02:10:30Z

Smaldonado: Created page with "{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width:90%" ! style="background:#F5D76E; text-align:left; vertical-align:center; border-right: 0px solid black" |File:w..."

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width:90%"
! style="background:#F5D76E; text-align:left; vertical-align:center; border-right: 0px solid black" |[[File:warn.png|left|50px|]][[File:yumbiscuit.jpg|left|50px|]][[File:warn.png|left|50px|]]
! style="background:#F5D76E; text-align:left; vertical-align:center; border-left: 0px solid black" |[[File:warn.png|right|50px|]][[File:yumbiscuit.jpg|right|50px|]][[File:warn.png|right|50px|]]
<span style="font-size:150%">''Risky Biscuits Ahead''</span>

{{{1}}}

|}

File:Yumbiscuit.jpg

2018-10-08T02:07:55Z

Smaldonado:

File:Warn.png

2018-10-08T02:07:37Z

Smaldonado:

File:Outjobadded.png

2018-10-08T01:52:25Z

Smaldonado:

Releasing a Board for Manufacture

2018-10-08T01:19:39Z

Smaldonado: Created page with "{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}} All done with your PCB? Time to get it sent out for manufacturing and to order components and a stencil! ==Wai..."

File:Whatisagerber.png

2018-10-08T00:08:34Z

Smaldonado:

Category:Altium

2018-10-07T22:44:10Z

Smaldonado: Began board release article

Altium Designer (typically '''Altium''') is a [[printed circuit board|printed circuit board (PCB)]] design program, made by [http://altium.com Altium Limited]. Altium Ltd is a platinum-tier sponsor of SSI, having provided a number of licenses of Altium to SSI for the past two years.

Altium is well documented, and many questions can be readily answered through online searching - links from [http://techdocs.altium.com techdocs.altium.com] are the official online documentation, and are usually quite helpful. The {{slack-channel|altium}} Slack channel is also a valuable resource for problems the TechDocs don't have a solution for, for asking about best practices, and for discussing group issues (ie. maintaining the SSI Altium part libraries). The intent of this wiki category is to provide guidance on how to set Altium up for working with SSI, important elements of the SSI PCB workflow, and general notes on PCB design.

;Getting Started
: [[How to Install and Configure Altium]]
: [https://techdocs.altium.com/display/ADOH/Tutorial+-+Getting+Started+with+PCB+Design Altium's "Getting Started" Tutorial]
;Using Altium
: [[SSI PCB Workflow]]
: [[Working with PCB Libraries]]
: [[Making Parts for PCB Libraries]]
: [[Tribal Altium Knowledge]]
;Getting PCBs Manufactured
: [[Final PCB Error Checklist]]
: [[Releasing a Board for Manufacture]]

[[Category:Raccoonworks]]

List of SVN Repositories

2018-07-28T21:52:48Z

Smaldonado: Added spaceshot, radio repos, and a pointer to the balloonerang channel

{| class="wikitable"
! Repo Name + Link
! Contents
! Notifications In
|-
| {{altium-repo}}
| Core files for using Altium, including part libraries, templates, and examples
| {{slack-channel|altium}}
|-
| {{svn-repo|balloons-altium}}
| Non-ValBal Balloons PCB projects
| {{slack-channel|balloons-habees}}{{slack-channel|balloons-balloonerang}}
|-
| {{svn-repo|valbal}}
| ValBal PCB, mechanical design, and simulation files
| {{slack-channel|balloons-vb-ee}}{{slack-channel|balloons-vb-me}}
|-
| {{svn-repo|biology-altium}}
| Biology PCB projects
|
|-
| {{svn-repo|rockets-altium}}
| Rockets PCB projects
| {{slack-channel|rockets-avionics}}
|-
| {{svn-repo|rockets-irec}}
| Rockets IREC simulation and analysis files
| {{slack-channel|rockets-irec}}
|-
| {{svn-repo|rockets-prop}}
| Rockets engine design and simulation files
| {{slack-channel|rockets-helios}}
|-
| {{svn-repo|satellites-altium}}
| Satellites PCB projects
|
|-
| {{svn-repo|spaceshot}}
| Spaceshot files
| {{slack-channel|spaceshot-avionics}}
|-
| {{svn-repo|satellites-pointr}}
| Optical and optoEE simulation files for the POINTR mission
|
|-
| {{svn-repo|raccoonworks-iceradar}}
| Radioglaciology PCB projects
|
|-
| {{svn-repo|raccoonworks-s6b}}
| Radio transceiver projects
| {{slack-channel|raccoonworks-rf}}
|}

[[Category:Altium]]

How to Install and Configure Altium

2018-01-22T23:24:11Z

Smaldonado: Updated a couple of things about SVN credentials

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

==Background==

Altium Designer is SSI's preferred circuit board design program. The program runs exclusively on Windows; Mac and Linux users have successfully run Altium through both dedicated Windows partitions and Windows virtual machines. Though debated amongst SSI members, a USB mouse is also a useful tool when designing circuit boards.

[https://altium.com Altium Ltd.] sponsors SSI with a number of shared licenses to use their software. These licenses are managed over the internet - after signing in for the first time, your computer will automatically download a license file every time you open Altium and release your license when you close the program.

Altium allows users to draw circuit schematics and then design the physical layout of the components represented in the schematic. This requires libraries of symbols to represent components, the physical dimensions of those components in real life, and links so that they can be purchased from suppliers. SSI and Stanford Solar Car Project members have designed parts for these libraries over the course of several years, and as an Altium user, you will almost certainly [[Making Parts for PCB Libraries|add parts to the SSI PCB libraries]].

These libraries are shared and synchronized amongst all of SSI's Altium users using a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Version_control version control] technology called Subversion (typically "SVN"). SVN allows a group of folders (known as a "repository") to be shared selectively between SSI's Altium users, while tracking changes between versions of the files and allowing users to decide when they share changes they've made with the rest of the SSI userbase (sharing your changes is known as "committing" those changes). SSI's SVN is hosted on a server in ES3.

==A Brief Motivational Note==
At the time of this guide's original writing, only two people in SSI had used Altium for more than a year (neither of whom wrote this article - I began using Altium 8 months prior to originally writing it). As with any worthwhile skill, Altium takes time to gain familiarity with, and doing projects in Altium - though initially somewhat tedious and frustrating at times - is the best way of learning to use it.

Furthermore, as with all good technical software, Altium has many features, with many buttons and options. This is understandably anxiety-inducing. This guide (and the SSI wiki at large) is written to try and point you to the buttons you will need to complete setup and common tasks, which are a small subset of all of the buttons available to you. People who have worked in Altium for 20 years have commented that they still have never used most of the features of the program. In reality, doing a couple of projects is enough for you to learn what the core functions are and how to use them, and SSI has a robust community of able and willing engineers eager to help you get started.

With that in mind, let's get underway!

==Installation and Setup==

===Account Setup===
[[File:TortoiseSVNMenu.png|thumb|200px|right|A screenshot showing all of the SVN functions available when right-clicking after installing TortoiseSVN. You will never use most of these.]]
Within the {{slack-channel|altium}} channel, request an account for both Altium itself and for the SVN. Messaging {{slack-user|altium-admin}} will summon the relevant person.

===Installing SVN===
You will need SVN software to use the SSI Altium repository. The recommended choice is to install [http://tortoisesvn.net/ Tortoise SVN] (Windows-only). There are solutions for Mac and Linux users as well, though none quite as streamlined as TortoiseSVN; many Linux and Max users use the command line (Terminal) to handle SVN.

TortoiseSVN will run persistently on your computer and allow you to work with files synchronized with the SVN. As shown at right, TortoiseSVN will appear as a menu available when right clicking on files or folders. We will introduce the most useful of these commands in this article; several more are discussed [[Using TortoiseSVN|here]] (recommended reading ''after'' completing this guide).

===Downloading SSI Altium Libraries===
[[File:SVNCheckout.png|thumb|200px|right|Make sure you're right clicking on the folder you just created.]]
[[File:SVNCheckout2.png|thumb|200px|right|Your checkout window should look very similar to this.]]
Find a convenient location on your computer (i.e. your desktop) to create a folder that will host all of the shared SSI Altium files. Create a new folder there (my folder is called "SVN-SSI-Altium," though "altium-core" is what the folder is called on the server). Right click on the folder, and select "SVN Checkout" (see right). A window should pop up (see right) showing a URL to download files from and a location on your computer where the files will be downloaded. Verify that the target on your computer is where you intend and set the URL of the repository to {{altium-repo}}, and click OK. You will then likely be prompted for your SVN login - this will be your '''username''' and password Slacked to you after you requested them. You do not need credentials to download the libraries on campus, but you do need credentials to push changes to the libraries (regardless of where you are). Enter credentials if you have them, click OK, and your computer should begin to download the Altium libraries. These should take less than a minute to download on campus.

===Installing Altium===
Once you have an Altium account, Altium Designer can be downloaded [http://www.altium.com/products/downloads here] after logging in on the Altium website. Be aware that the software will only install on Windows operating systems. After downloading, install with the default settings.

===Connecting Altium to the License System===
[[File:AltiumLicense.png|thumb|200px|right|Protip: Don't publish sensitive information on the internet.]]
After Altium finishes installing, open it. Under "My Account," click "Sign in" and log in with your Altium account. Check "Sign me in when I open Altium Designer," as this will automatically grant you license access when you start the program. Next, under "Available Licenses," select Altium Designer from the list of products (you may or may not have other options listed; you can safely ignore all other ones) and click "Use" underneath (see right). This will now happen automatically every time you open the program.

===Open SSI Integrated Library===
[[File:ProjectsPanel.png|thumb|200px|right|This is a super useful panel to have open pretty much whenever you're in Altium.]]
If you do not see the "Projects" panel of your Altium window (see image on right - if open, the panel is typically on the left side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Projects," also accessible with the keyboard shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → p}}.

Once this panel is open, File → Open and navigate to the folder you set up for the Altium SVN. Enter, and go to "libraries/intlib." Inside, you should find "SSI.LibPkg" (whose file name may simply show up as "SSI"). Open the file; it should expand in your Projects panel, as shown at right.

===Compiling the SSI Altium Library===
With SSI.LibPkg open in your Projects panel, right click on SSI.LibPkg and hit "Compile Integrated Library SSI.LibPkg." This LibPkg file is an editable copy of all of the symbols, component footprints, and supplier links used for designing circuits and circuit boards in Altium; compiling it produces a non-editable version that can actually be used in circuit design. The compile process will take up all of Altium's resources and typically lasts between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. When done, you may see a "Messages" panel appear, which should indicate that you compiled successfully. Even if the Messages panel does not appear, you should be able to tell when the library finishes compiling based on a green progress bar in the lower left part of the screen.

If the Messages panel appears but errors show up (which is rare), message {{slack-channel|altium}} for help, as the failure is likely due to a recent editor of the library doing something incorrectly. Errors may or may not prevent you from proceeding in this guide; attempt the next step, knowing that you may be forced to pause until the errors are resolved.

This step is important, as it is required every time you wish to update your copy of the library to include changes that others (or you) have made. You will likely do this a good number of times over the course of your Altium career.

===Installing the SSI Altium Library===
[[File:LibraryInstallWindow.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this.]]
If you do not see the "Libraries" panel of your Altium window (if open, the panel is typically on the right side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Libraries," also accessible with the shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → l}}.

Once the panel is open, click the "Libraries..." button in the upper left, bringing up a window as shown in the image at right. Go to the "Installed" tab, where a list of (typically two) default libraries will appear. These libraries are not built to SSI standards and no SSI projects use them. Click on each library in the list, and then click "Remove" in the lower right.

Next, click "Install..." and then "Install from file." A new file dialog will open up; from your Altium SVN folder, navigate to "libraries/intlib/Project Outputs for SSI," where you should find SSI.IntLib (which will again likely just appear as "SSI"). Select it, and it will install.

If you do not have a "Project Outputs for SSI" folder, your compile failed, and you will need to resolve the issue before proceeding.

===Installing the Microsoft Access 2007 Driver===
For reasons that are poorly understood, many SSI Altium users cannot use database libraries without first installing this [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23734 Microsoft Office 2007 compatibility driver]. This solution took considerable experimentation to discover and is a good example of SSI [[Tribal Altium Knowledge]]. Installing this driver, though demonstrably not required for all users, will prevent hard-to-diagnose future headaches.

===Installing Passives Database Library===
Several additional parts categories - including a large number of surface mount chip resistors and surface mount ceramic capacitors - are stored in separate "database" libraries because they come in several thousand very similar varieties which can be defined using a creatively formatted Excel sheet and are imported into Altium through a .dblib file. We will install this library in this step.

In the same window used to install SSI.IntLib (from the Libraries panel, "Libraries..." → ''"Installed"'' → "Install..." → "Install from file"), navigate to "libraries/dblib." You will initially see nothing there; to fix that, change the type of libraries visible from "Integrated Libraries *.INTLIB" to "Database Libraries *.DBLIB" (see right). Three files - "passives," "resistor," and "sscp" should appear; install "passives.DbLib."

===Configuring Altium Preferences===
[[File:SystemDefaultLocations.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this.]]
Altium's default preferences are quite workable, but a couple of settings relating to the default locations of files need to be configured on each new computer. To change Altium preferences, from the top bar, click "DXP → Preferences..."

====Files and Libraries Location====
Within Preferences, go to "System → Default Locations." There are two fields; set "Document Path" to your Altium SVN folder, and set "Library Path" to your "libraries" folder in the Altium SVN. See the image at right for an example of the result.

====Templates Location====
[[File:DataManagementTemplates.png|thumb|200px|right|You will end up with something like this, unless you're attempting to steal my identity, in which case you will end up with ''exactly'' this.]]
An unjustifiable length of time was spent creating formatting templates for SSI circuit schematics, which make for a clean, professional project and add a bit of information to each schematic. To use, in Preferences, go to "Data Management → Templates," and set the "Template location" field to point to the "libraries\templates" folder in your Altium SVN. See the image at right for an example of the result.

===Install the SSI PCB Logos Font===
Adding logos to PCBs is an important aspect of professionalism, part of SSI's agreements with its sponsors, and a nice way to add some creativity to a technical process. For logos that SSI commonly uses, we've created a font with scalable versions of each. This font is stored in "libraries\logos\SSI" - there, you can double click on "SSI_logos.ttf" to install it.

===Remap Delete Key===
[[File:DeleteKeyRemapping.png|thumb|200px|right|You should end up with this.]]
''This step is only required of computers which do not have distinct "backspace" and "delete" keys. Desktops and most non-Apple laptops can skip this step. Apple laptops which have a "delete" key that functions as a backspace key need to complete this step.''

From the top bar, click "DXP → Customize..." In the window that comes up (see right), click "Edit" from the "Categories" column on the left, then double click on "Clear" in the "Commands" column on the right. This is the command generally used in Altium to delete things, which is by default mapped to the delete key, which, if you're completing this step, you do not have. Click the "Primary" field, and then hit your backspace key to remap the command to that key.

==A Brief Introduction to SVN==
This is the last part of this guide! You have actually already completed the installation and configuration of Altium; this step is intended to give you a quick introduction to SVN and how to use it. You will not need Altium for this last step; if you're completing this tutorial at a time when others are likely to also be working through it, close Altium, as that will free up licenses for others to use. If you're already familiar with SVN, skip to the [[#Your First Commit|last task]].

===Background===
An SVN repository is a series of "snapshots" of a folder over time. Each snapshot is called a '''commit''', and represents the state of the folder and some or all of its contents at a moment in time. Commits are created by users (aka you) when they want to preserve a version of the files they are working on - this typically happens after making a group of changes to files stored in the SVN repository (ie. after adding a part to a library or making progress on a circuit schematic or circuit board).

Any file can be stored in an SVN repository, and the repository can detect any change to any file. With TortoiseSVN installed, tracked files in an SVN repository which have been edited since the last commit will have a small red exclamation point displayed on their icon when viewed in a folder. New files created in your Altium SVN folder will not automatically be tracked - this is intentional, and a good thing.

Unlike other version control systems, "branches" do not work in SVN. All commits in an SVN repository contain changes that directly follow the commit before them, and can have only a single commit that follows after them. Because of this, SVN users can '''lock''' files and folders, becoming the only person allowed to commit changes to that file or folder. Other users can still edit the files, but their changes cannot be committed, making those edits futile. TortoiseSVN shows when a file has been locked by someone else, to help keep you from trying to edit something that somebody else is working on. Locking exists so that two users cannot try to commit different versions of the same file - someone who opens a file and knows they will commit changes to it soon can lock the file, marking the fact that they started editing the file first and so should be allowed to complete and commit their changes before anyone else. Locks can be taken away from someone who locks a file for an extended period of time, preventing abuse of this feature.

Changes other people make to files stored in the SVN must be downloaded manually, through the SVN '''update''' command. Updating replaces any files in your SVN folder that have been changed since the last time you ran SVN update with their most recently committed versions. You can see if there are new SVN commits to download in the {{slack-channel|altium}} channel, where notices of new commits are automatically posted.

Future tutorials will discuss when and how to add files and how to use Altium's SVN commands; below, we will briefly discuss how to generally commit file changes to the SVN repository.

===Your First Commit===
[[File:MakingACommit.png|thumb|200px|right|You will likely only have iwuzhere.txt in your list of files to commit, but if you have others, leave them unchecked.]]
In your SSI Altium SVN folder, right click while ''not'' on any file or folder, and mouse down to "SVN Update" and click it. This will quickly bring all of your files up to date. Next, in your Altium SVN folder, find "iwuzhere.txt." This file is tracked by the SVN repository, and should have a small green check mark on it. Right click on the file, mouse down to "TortoiseSVN," and then click "Get lock..." Click OK on any windows that appear. A small lock icon should appear on the file - you now have the lock on this file.

If the file was already locked by someone else, you will not be able to lock it, and should message the {{slack-channel|altium}} to ask to lock it. If you do not receive a response within 10 minutes, lock the file as described above, and check "Steal the locks" to take the lock from whomever had it previously. Slack is how locking conflicts like this (which are rare) are resolved, and 10 minutes is a short period of time to wait for a response, but this file is simple and very little work is lost from stealing the lock on it. If someone else commits a new version of the file, run another SVN update, and then you should be able to lock it.

Open the file, and add your name and the current date, matching the format of the names already there. ''You're now a part of SSI's corps of electrical engineers!''

To finish, go back to your Altium SVN folder, right click while ''not'' on any file or folder, and mouse down to "SVN Commit..." and click it. A dialog box will come up (see right), at the bottom of which should be a list of files. This shows files you have changed since the last time you ran SVN update, and ''should'' just have iwuzhere.txt listed. Make sure you have it checked. In the text box at the top of the window, you will need to write a '''commit message''', a brief description of what changes you're committing. This message will appear in Slack and must be at least 20 characters (but shouldn't be longer than a single sentence). Once you've written it, click okay, and wait for a message to appear in Slack.

'''You're done!''' Welcome to Altium!

==Next Steps==

;A First Project :[[Your First Altium Project|This (currently in-development) guide]] offers you a walkthrough of a fun introductory Altium project, which ends with making a circuit board that allows you to play StrEEt Fighter with your fellow SSI members.
;Creating Parts for Altium Libraries : [[Making Parts for PCB Libraries|This guide]] walks you through the process of adding new parts to the SSI Altium library, teaching both the process involved and quality standards for the library that we and the Stanford Solar Car Project have long worked to maintain.

[[Category: Altium]]

Psalms of ValBal

2017-12-16T07:09:04Z

Smaldonado: Created page with "At one point it was jokingly suggested to use ValBal flight times (particularly record flight times) as keys for looking up Bible verses. This page summaries the results of do..."

At one point it was jokingly suggested to use ValBal flight times (particularly record flight times) as keys for looking up Bible verses. This page summaries the results of doing so, using the book of Psalm, English Standard Version.

==Pre-ValBal - record by the California Near Space Project, 57:02==

'''Psalm 57:''' ''Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth'' - 57:2
I cry out to God Most High,
	to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

==SSI-41, SSI's First Record, 70:10==

'''Psalm 70:''' ''O Lord, Do Not Delay'' - 70:1
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
	O Lord, make haste to help me!

==SSI-47, SSI's Second Record, 79:06==

'''Psalm 79:''' ''How Long, O Lord?'' - 79:6
Pour out your anger on the nations
	that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
	that do not call upon your name!

SSI-47 landed in Canada. The only other ValBal to have landed in Canada prior (SSI-22) was photographed by the farmer who retrieved it and who refused to return it despite significant prompting. SSI-47 also landed on the day of Donald Trump's election.

==SSI-52, SSI's Third Record, 88:40==

'''Psalm 88:''' - ''I Cry Out Day and Night Before You'' - 88:4
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
	I am a man who has no strength

==SSI-63, SSI's Fourth Record, 121:34==

'''Psalm 121:''' ''My Help Comes from the Lord'' - 121:3,4
He will not let your foot be moved;
	he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
	will neither slumber nor sleep.

[[Category: ValBal]][[Category: Satire]]

Your First Altium Project

2017-11-22T04:23:00Z

Smaldonado:

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

Hello! You're embarking on a journey to learn how to use Altium Designer, SSI's preferred circuit board design tool made available thanks to the considerable generosity of the folks at Altium Ltd.

This guide will assume that you have successfully completed [[How to Install and Configure Altium|installing and configuring Altium]]. Please complete that first before proceeding.

==Major Key==

This project is a customizable extension for your keyboard, which will connect to your computer via USB. Your new keypad will be able to send arbitrary strings to your computer with each key press - meaning you can add keys for Slack emoji, shortcuts for your favorite program or game, or even just words or phrases you often use.

===Updating Your SVN===

First, you'll want to update your Altium SVN. This is good to do periodically, and commit messages in {{slack-channel|altium}} will help you know when there are important changes that you will want to update to get.

To do this, find your Altium SVN root folder. This will likely be called "altium-core" or "SSI-SVN-Altium" (I will refer to it as "altium-core" from now on). Right click and hit "SVN Update." Depending on how much you have to sync up, this may take a minute or two, and will complete on its own.

===Open Altium===
[[File:ProjectsPanel.png|thumb|200px|right|This is a super useful panel to have open pretty much whenever you're in Altium.]]

If you haven't already :)

===Open SSI.LibPkg and Recompile===

If you do not see the "Projects" panel of your Altium window (see image on right - if open, the panel is typically on the left side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Projects," also accessible with the keyboard shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → p}}.

From Altium, go to File → Open Project... and open altium-core/libraries/intlib/SSI.LibPkg (its file name may just show up as "SSI"). Open the file; it should expand in your Projects panel, as shown at right.

Right click in your Projects panel on "SSI.LibPkg" and hit "Compile." This will start the compilation process, which will take about a minute. This is important to do every time you update the SVN (unfortunately). Long term solutions to eliminate this requirement are being pursued but for now it's how things work.

===Make Your Own Copy of Major Key===

From outside of Altium, go to altium-core/starter-projects/ and copy the folder "major-key-starter." Copy it into the folder called "working," and change its name to "major-key-<your-name>." Go into that folder and double-click on "major-key.PrjPcb" (possibly just showing up as "major-key") to open it in Altium.

===Check Out The Schematic===

From Altium, look at the Projects panel, and expand major-key. Open "TopSheet.SchDoc."

This document is the "top sheet" (hence the name) for the project. A board in Altium consists of one or more "sheets," pages of the electrical schematic. They are arranged hierarchically - every design with more than one sheet needs a "top" sheet and then "subsheets," which can be nested an arbitrary number of times (subsheets can have subsheets, which can have subsheets, which can have subsheets...) The green box (known as a "sheet symbol") represents a subsheet, containing the schematic for an Arduino microcontroller. You can open that sheet either from the Projects panel or by hitting {{altium-shortcut|ctrl + double click}} on the sheet symbol.

Open the subsheet as described above. We'll make one small edit to it for this project, and it may prove helpful to look at as an example of what an Altium schematic can look like.

====Add Missing Ports====
[[File:Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|The four different I/O types of ports]]

The yellow symbols on the right edge of the sheet are called "ports." They pass signals from the subsheet up to the top sheet, kind of like parameters in a function. Each port has a name and a input/output type - "input," "output," "bidirectional," and "unspecified." Altium matches them to symbols on the upper sheet (called "sheet entries," discussed below) to make connections between the subsheet and its "parent."

We're going to add three new ports with Place → Port {{altium-shortcut|p → r}}. After you start placing, hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} to bring up the options menu. The two fields to look at are "Name" and "I/O Type," which are how Altium matches ports to their corresponding sheet entries. We're going to add ports for pins 1, 3, and 5 - you'll note they're missing ports from the column on the right. Add three new ports, making sure their names are "1," "3," and "5," and their I/O types are all set to "bidirectional." Then switch back to the top sheet using your projects pane.

====Add Missing Sheet Entries====
[[File:Sheet Entries.png|thumb|200px|right|The four different I/O types of sheet entries]]

The yellow symbols on the right edge of the sheet symbol are called "sheet entries." They match up with ports to pass signals from the subsheet up to the top sheet. Like ports, each sheet entry has a name and a input/output type - again, "input," "output," "bidirectional," and "unspecified."

We're now going to add three new sheet entries with Place → Add Sheet Entry {{altium-shortcut|p → a}}. After you start placing, hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} to bring up the options menu. The two fields to look at are again "Name" and "I/O Type." We're going to add for sheet entries for pins 1, 3, and 5. Add three new sheet entries, making sure their names are "1," "3," and "5," and their I/O types are all set to "bidirectional."

====Place Power Ports====
[[File:Power Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|What you should have after placing the first two power ports and connecting them to the sheet symbol]]

Power ports are special symbols that represent power "rails" - specific voltages that are distributed across a PCB. These are commonly used for ground and power voltages. Power ports connect by name - meaning that all power ports named "GND" will connect to each other.

We're going to add two power ports - one for ground and one for 3.3 volts, by clicking Place → Power Port {{altium-shortcut|p → o}}. Hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} to bring up the options menu, which has two important fields: "Net," which is the name of the power port, and "Style," which controls its appearance. Set the net to "GND" and set the style to "Bar." It's a standard in SSI PCBs to use bar symbols for ground, with the bar facing down. Hit okay on the options menu and place the power port near the GND sheet entry. Rotate it with {{altium-shortcut|space}} to make the bar face down.

After placing, hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} again to bring up the options menu, and change the net to "+3.3V" and the style to "GOST Arrow." The SSI standard for supply voltages is a GOST arrow facing upwards (except when the voltage is negative, which should face down). Hit ok and place the new power port near the +3.3V sheet entry, rotating the arrow to point up.

====Place Wires====

Wires are the dark blue lines that electrically connect ports, sheet entries, and pins in your schematic.

Place wires with Place → Wire {{altium-shortcut|p → w}}. Draw a wire from the GND sheet entry to the pin of the GND power port, and another wire from the +3.3V sheet entry to the +3.3V power port. You should now have something looking like the picture at right.

====Pick Type and Number of Keys====

We're now going to add the actual key switches. We (as of this writing) have two switch types in the library - "white" and "blue." The different colors are for different mechanical properties of the switches; blue switches make an audible "clicking" sound when pressed, and white ones are quieter. You're free to pick either; please just be consistent.

You will also need to pick a number of keys to use. The board template is sized to fit up to 12 - enough to do a traditional number pad. Using fewer keys will save slightly on time, by reducing repetition, but will also limit what you can do with your finished product.

====Place Key Switches====

Bring up the Place Part menu with Place → Part {{altium-shortcut|p → p}}. On the window that comes up, hit "Choose" in the upper right corner. This will bring up the "Browse Libraries" window. From the drop-down at the top, make sure "SSI.IntLib" is selected. All of the parts in the SSI libraries will then be displayed in a large area on the left side of the window. You can search through these parts with the "Mask" field at the top of the window - type in "*" followed by your search term. Try this for a couple of common electronic components, such as "*LED" or "*OPAMP," to see some of the parts in the library.

The keyswitches we'll be using are manufactured by a company called Cherry; you can find them by searching "*CHERRY." Pick either blue or white, and then hit "OK," and then hit "OK" again when the window closes. You will now be dragging a switch symbol on your schematic. Neatly place as many as you would like (up to 12) on the schematic with a bit of space in between them. When you're done, hit {{altium-shortcut|escape}} to stop placing switches, and then hit {{altium-shortcut|escape}} again to exit the place command.

[[Category:Getting started]]
[[Category:Altium]]

File:Power Ports.png

2017-11-22T02:39:01Z

Smaldonado:

Your First Altium Project

2017-11-22T02:38:47Z

Smaldonado:

{{guide| authors=Sasha Maldonado ({{slack-user|smaldonado}})}}

Hello! You're embarking on a journey to learn how to use Altium Designer, SSI's preferred circuit board design tool made available thanks to the considerable generosity of the folks at Altium Ltd.

This guide will assume that you have successfully completed [[How to Install and Configure Altium|installing and configuring Altium]]. Please complete that first before proceeding.

==Major Key==

===Updating Your SVN===

First, you'll want to update your Altium SVN. This is good to do periodically, and commit messages in {{slack-channel|altium}} will help you know when there are important changes that you will want to update to get.

To do this, find your Altium SVN root folder. This will likely be called "altium-core" or "SSI-SVN-Altium" (I will refer to it as "altium-core" from now on). Right click and hit "SVN Update." Depending on how much you have to sync up, this may take a minute or two, and will complete on its own.

===Open Altium===
[[File:ProjectsPanel.png|thumb|200px|right|This is a super useful panel to have open pretty much whenever you're in Altium.]]

If you haven't already :)

===Open SSI.LibPkg and Recompile===

If you do not see the "Projects" panel of your Altium window (see image on right - if open, the panel is typically on the left side of your screen), you will need to open it. This can be done in "View → Workspace Panels → System → Projects," also accessible with the keyboard shortcut {{altium-shortcut|v → w → s → p}}.

From Altium, go to File → Open Project... and open altium-core/libraries/intlib/SSI.LibPkg (its file name may just show up as "SSI"). Open the file; it should expand in your Projects panel, as shown at right.

Right click in your Projects panel on "SSI.LibPkg" and hit "Compile." This will start the compilation process, which will take about a minute. This is important to do every time you update the SVN (unfortunately). Long term solutions to eliminate this requirement are being pursued but for now it's how things work.

===Make Your Own Copy of Major Key===

From outside of Altium, go to altium-core/starter-projects/ and copy the folder "major-key-starter." Copy it into the folder called "working," and change its name to "major-key-<your-name>." Go into that folder and double-click on "major-key.PrjPcb" (possibly just showing up as "major-key") to open it in Altium.

===Check Out The Schematic===

From Altium, look at the Projects panel, and expand major-key. Open "TopSheet.SchDoc."

This document is the "top sheet" (hence the name) for the project. A board in Altium consists of one or more "sheets," pages of the electrical schematic. They are arranged hierarchically - every design with more than one sheet needs a "top" sheet and then "subsheets," which can be nested an arbitrary number of times (subsheets can have subsheets, which can have subsheets, which can have subsheets...) The green box (known as a "sheet symbol") represents a subsheet, containing the schematic for an Arduino microcontroller. You can open that sheet either from the Projects panel or by hitting {{altium-shortcut|ctrl + double click}} on the sheet symbol.

Open the subsheet as described above. We'll make one small edit to it for this project, and it may prove helpful to look at as an example of what an Altium schematic can look like.

====Add Missing Ports====
[[File:Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|The four different I/O types of ports]]

The yellow symbols on the right edge of the sheet are called "ports." They pass signals from the subsheet up to the top sheet, kind of like parameters in a function. Each port has a name and a input/output type - "input," "output," "bidirectional," and "unspecified." Altium matches them to symbols on the upper sheet (called "sheet entries," discussed below) to make connections between the subsheet and its "parent."

We're going to add three new ports with Place → Port {{altium-shortcut|p → r}}. After you start placing, hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} to bring up the options menu. The two fields to look at are "Name" and "I/O Type," which are how Altium matches ports to their corresponding sheet entries. We're going to add ports for pins 1, 3, and 5 - you'll note they're missing ports from the column on the right. Add three new ports, making sure their names are "1," "3," and "5," and their I/O types are all set to "bidirectional." Then switch back to the top sheet using your projects pane.

====Add Missing Sheet Entries====
[[File:Sheet Entries.png|thumb|200px|right|The four different I/O types of sheet entries]]

The yellow symbols on the right edge of the sheet symbol are called "sheet entries." They match up with ports to pass signals from the subsheet up to the top sheet. Like ports, each sheet entry has a name and a input/output type - again, "input," "output," "bidirectional," and "unspecified."

We're now going to add three new sheet entries with Place → Add Sheet Entry {{altium-shortcut|p → a}}. After you start placing, hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} to bring up the options menu. The two fields to look at are again "Name" and "I/O Type." We're going to add for sheet entries for pins 1, 3, and 5. Add three new sheet entries, making sure their names are "1," "3," and "5," and their I/O types are all set to "bidirectional."

====Place Power Ports====
[[File:Power Ports.png|thumb|200px|right|What you should have after placing the first two power ports and connecting them to the sheet symbol]]

Power ports are special symbols that represent power "rails" - specific voltages that are distributed across a PCB. These are commonly used for ground and power voltages. Power ports connect by name - meaning that all power ports named "GND" will connect to each other.

We're going to add two power ports - one for ground and one for 3.3 volts, by clicking Place → Power Port {{altium-shortcut|p → o}}. Hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} to bring up the options menu, which has two important fields: "Net," which is the name of the power port, and "Style," which controls its appearance. Set the net to "GND" and set the style to "Bar." It's a standard in SSI PCBs to use bar symbols for ground, with the bar facing down. Hit okay on the options menu and place the power port near the GND sheet entry. Rotate it with {{altium-shortcut|space}} to make the bar face down.

After placing, hit {{altium-shortcut|tab}} again to bring up the options menu, and change the net to "+3.3V" and the style to "GOST Arrow." The SSI standard for supply voltages is a GOST arrow facing upwards (except when the voltage is negative, which should face down). Hit ok and place the new power port near the +3.3V sheet entry, rotating the arrow to point up.

====Place Wires====

Wires are the dark blue lines that electrically connect ports, sheet entries, and pins in your schematic.

Place wires with Place → Wire {{altium-shortcut|p → w}}. Draw a wire from the GND sheet entry to the pin of the GND power port, and another wire from the +3.3V sheet entry to the +3.3V power port. You'll now have something looking like the picture at right.

[[Category:Getting started]]
[[Category:Altium]]

File:Sheet Entries.png

2017-11-22T01:44:10Z

Smaldonado:

File:Ports.png

2017-11-09T01:52:48Z

Smaldonado: