combine multiple schematics onto same pcb altium designer

Combining Multiple Schematics onto the Same PCB in Altium Designer

When working on electronic projects, it is not uncommon to encounter situations where you need to design multiple variants of a PCB with different stuffing options. This can be a challenging task, especially when dealing with large and complex designs. In this article, we will explore an approach to managing multiple PCB designs within a single project in Altium Designer, ensuring that your single source of truth remains intact.

To begin with, let's consider the scenario where you have designed a PCB for a specific application and need to create variants for different components or configurations. You can start by creating separate schematics for each variant, but this approach has its limitations. For instance, if you make changes to the design, you would need to update multiple schematics separately, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.

A better approach is to combine all the schematics into a single project in Altium Designer. This allows you to maintain a single source of truth for your design while still being able to route and manage different variants of the PCB. To achieve this, you can create a single schematic with multiple variants, each representing a different configuration.

In my experience, I have found that creating variants requires some minor massaging, such as cutouts, polygon pours, and board outlines. However, the components and routes remain the same across all variants. After completing the routing, you can copy and paste the whole PCB design into your standard size PCB (PiHat - Full.PcbDoc).

To illustrate this approach, let's consider an example from my previous article on Pandemic Prototyping: Building Electronics from Your Living Room. In that project, I created two variants of a Kiln Controller PCB, one for the Raspberry Pi and another for the Raspberry Pi Zero. By combining these schematics into a single project, I was able to maintain a single source of truth while still being able to route and manage different variants of the PCB.

So, how do you handle changes across multiple variants? One approach is to use Altium Designer's variant management feature, which allows you to create multiple variants of a design from a single schematic. This ensures that any changes made to the design are reflected across all variants automatically.

In addition, by using a single project and schematic, you can easily track changes and revisions across different variants. For instance, if you need to make changes to a specific component or route, you can update the design once and then apply those changes to all variants.

In conclusion, combining multiple schematics onto the same PCB in Altium Designer requires some planning and organization, but it offers numerous benefits, including improved design efficiency, reduced errors, and easier maintenance of your single source of truth. By following the approach outlined in this article, you can create complex PCB designs with multiple variants while ensuring that your design remains organized and easy to manage.

Combine multiple schematics onto same pcb altium designer