Designing PCB Vias with Altium Designer software
=======================================================================
In the world of PCB (Printed Circuit Board) design, vias play a crucial role in connecting different layers of the board. Altium Designer, a popular software for PCB design, offers a comprehensive approach to creating and modifying vias, ensuring consistency and adherence to manufacturing and electrical requirements.
Creating and Adjusting Vias
The process of creating and adjusting vias in Altium Designer primarily revolves around the PCB Rules and Constraints Editor. The key to this is the Routing Via Style rule. By setting parameters such as via diameter and hole size, you can standardize your via sizes across your design.
- Setting Via Parameters:
- Open the PCB Rules and Constraints Editor in your PCB document.
- Expand the Routing category.
- Select Routing Via Style.
- In this rule, you can specify parameters for vias such as via diameter and via hole size.
- Applying Parameters During Routing:
- When routing tracks and switching layers, vias will be automatically added according to these routing via style parameters.
- Additional Modifications:
- You can edit specific via properties manually by selecting vias on the PCB and adjusting properties like drill size and pad size directly in the PCB panel.
- For advanced requirements, you may adjust other design rules that could affect via placement and clearances in the Design Rules interface.
Defining Via Properties
Via properties in Altium Designer encompass a wide range of factors, including net, name, template, library, propagational delay, X and Y coordinates, hole size, tolerance, and thermal relief. You can define these properties using pre-placement settings or post-placement settings.
For instance, for a μVia requirement, you can check the μVia box when the via spans adjacent layers or an adjacent layer +1 (skip via). The Z-plane or layer-spanning requirements of every via type can be defined using the via types tab.
Advanced Via Management
Altium Designer offers more advanced features for via management. For example, you can define customized via stackups using external tools integrated with Altium, like PCB Stackup Designer. This tool calculates via current capacity and thermal effects based on drill and pad sizes, helping to optimize via design further.
Via Types
Defining a new via type requires switching to the via types tab in the layer stack manager. The software automatically identifies the via type based on the layers chosen (buried, blind, thru). To add a new via type, click the add button, followed by selecting the layers that the via type spans in the properties panel.
The size and shape of the via can be defined using the "Simple", "Top-Middle-Bottom", or "Full Stack" options. The span of the via type can be defined by configuring the first and last layer settings.
Special Via Types
Through-hole vias go from the top layer to the bottom layer of the board, while blind vias go from either the top layer or bottom layer to the layer immediately next to it, and do not travel through the whole board. Buried vias go between two inner layers of the circuit board.
The default thru-hole via type in a two-layer board is named as Thru 1:2 and cannot be deleted. Blind and buried vias can be created and customized similarly to thru-hole vias.
Mirroring Vias
The mirror option is available if stack symmetry is enabled in the board section of the properties panel. This allows you to mirror vias across the board for symmetrical designs.
By understanding and utilising these features, you can streamline your via design process in Altium Designer, ensuring consistency, efficiency, and adherence to manufacturing and electrical requirements throughout your PCB design process.
- To optimize the via design in Altium Designer, you can use the PCB Stackup Designer, an external tool integrated with Altium, which calculates via current capacity and thermal effects based on drill and pad sizes.
- In the world of advanced via management, the software allows you to define customized via stackups using tools like PCB Stackup Designer, ensuring an efficient and controlled impedance via design.
