- Overview
- Library Service Options
- Library Footprint Creation
- Library Footprint Validation
- Library Footprint 3D Models
- Library Sustainment
- Quote Request
- Library Introduction
- What's Your Structure?
- Why Conformity Matters
- Who's Your Librarian?
- Library Clean Up
- Symbol Style Guide
- DFM Library Example
- Library Resource Videos (18)
- Avoiding Gotchas
- Altium Vault Offerings
- Configuration Setup
- Vault Management Videos (16)
- Overview
- Point of Entry
- L9 Videos (4)
- L9 vs. Vault
- Evaluation
The Next Best Thing
If you lack the authority to mandate a company-wide unified database, your next best move is to create a library database that functions within the confines of your specific design group.
Understanding the need for a single database begins with recognizing where standard tools and industry workflows typically fall short.
Beyond a one person library
In Altium Designer, most new designers begin with what we call a "symbol-centric library." In this model, the schematic symbol is the primary requirement for starting a design. Intelligent information and links to PCB footprints are then added directly to that symbol.
While a single user may lay out a project, their parts and library components should not remain exclusive. Considering the time required to create and validate a component, it only makes sense to make the library components available to the entire team.
However, the symbol-centric method isn't built for collaboration. Since only one person can edit the file at a time, other designers often copy the master file, leading to "branching." This triggers a tedious manual process to reunite libraries in a graphical environment. The longer these files exist in parallel, the harder they are to reconcile.
Keeping master files in a version control system, such as SVN or GIT, is a step in the right direction, but it often requires a full-time "gatekeeper" librarian. This setup doesn't stop designers from creating their own parallel libraries when they can't get immediate access to the head revision.
By the way, do not confuse library placement in a version-control system with version-controlled libraries. They are very different. For more information, please read our commentary on this:
Version Controlled Library
The Case for Database Libraries
The most efficient approach is the database method. By nature, a database allows multiple users to access and reuse symbols, footprints, 3D models, and parameters simultaneously. For example, if a designer needs a resistor that differs from an existing one only by parametric data, they can simply clone the entry. No graphical changes are required. This can be done while others are adding or editing components at the same time.
Even so, databases aren't a silver bullet. If a librarian tends to be draconian, a backlog forms. To keep projects moving, designers will inevitably create rogue libraries, bringing us back to the reconciliation problem. Conversely, in a completely open database, you risk data being entered incorrectly or not at all. Under pressure, designers will naturally take the path of least resistance.
Point of entry = Point of failure
Problems start at the point of entry. The quality of the user interface determines the quality of the data. Too often, designers are faced with blank parameter fields and no guidance. Without mandatory fields or formatting rules, the library quickly becomes a mess. The longer a component lingers with incorrect info, the harder it is to fix once it's embedded in a design.
A robust interface should include:
- Audit Logs: Track who made changes and when.
- Automatic Serializing: Assign company numbers without external lists.
- Format Guidance: Clear examples or comments within the UI.
- Enumerated Lists: Drop-down menus for known values.
- Mandatory Fields: Clearly marked "must-have" data.
Building this requires a rare mix of database expertise, web programming, and deep knowledge of Altium Designer. Altium does provide a library management system known as Altium 365 (or commonly referred to as A365). It is capable of performing these functions without the need for a coder or database expert. That said, there are two considerations that need to be addressed from the very start:
- The quality of the library to be migrated.
- The configuration of the revision and lifecycle schemes, along with the templates, component categories, and their corresponding parameters.
For those who wish to keep the library on-premise, and would prefer not to have the administrative hassles that A365 requires, Nine Dot Connects has developed the L9 Library Manager to provide an intuitive, flexible solution for component management. To see how we made it possible, view the link below:
