📐 Embedded System Design with Altium Designer

This repository contains the source files and documentation for an embedded system design project using Altium Designer. The project focuses on designing a PCB for an STM32-based embedded system, covering project creation, schematic creation, and library management.

📋 Overview

This project provides a step-by-step guide to designing an embedded system PCB using Altium Designer. It covers the following key aspects:

1. 🆕 Project Creation: Creating a new project in Altium Designer, including setting up project parameters and organizing project files.
2. 📜 Schematic Creation: Creating a schematic for the embedded system, including adding components, connecting nets, and organizing the schematic for clarity.
3. 📚 Libraries: Managing libraries in Altium Designer, including using built-in libraries, creating custom libraries, and importing manufacturer part libraries.
4. 🔍 Component Selection: Selecting components for the embedded system design, including microcontrollers, sensors, regulators, and connectors.
5. 📏 PCB Layout: Layout considerations, including the placement of components, routing of traces, and ensuring signal integrity.
6. 🔧 Tooling Holes: Adding tooling holes to the PCB layout for manufacturing purposes.

🛠️ Required Software

To work on this project, you will need the following software:

1. Altium Designer: The primary tool used for creating schematics and PCB layouts. Download Altium Designer
2. STM32CubeMX (optional): A graphical tool to configure STM32 microcontrollers and generate initialization C code. Download STM32CubeMX
3. KiCad (optional): An open-source alternative for PCB design if you prefer or need to use a free tool. Download KiCad
4. Git (optional): For version control and managing your project repository. Download Git
5. A Gerber Viewer: To view the Gerber files before sending them for PCB fabrication. Examples include Gerbv or online Gerber viewers like Gerber Viewer.

Ensure you have these tools installed and properly configured to follow along with the project and make any necessary customizations.

🚀 Getting Started

To replicate the embedded system design:

1. Clone or download the repository to your local machine.
2. Open the project files in Altium Designer.
3. Follow the step-by-step instructions provided in the documentation to create the schematic and layout for the embedded system.
4. Customize the design as per your requirements, such as selecting different components or modifying the PCB layout.
5. Generate Gerber files and manufacturing documentation for PCB fabrication. (To generate Gerber files and want to know how to manufacture your PCB please refer 📌 References and more details)

🎥 3D View

📂 Contents

• 📝 Documentation: Contains detailed instructions, screenshots, and explanations for each step of the project.
• 📁 Project Files: Includes the Altium Designer project files (.PrjPcb, .SchDoc, .PcbDoc) for the embedded system design.
• 📦 Libraries: Contains custom libraries used in the project, including schematic symbols and footprints for components.

📚 References

• Altium Designer Documentation
• STM32 Microcontroller Documentation
• KiCad Documentation
• PCB Design Guidelines

🤝 Contributing

If you have any improvements or suggestions for this project, feel free to submit pull requests or raise issues in the repository.

📌 References and more details:

STM32 PCB Design