It’s easier to figure out what the data entry is by finding the corresponding letter in the diagram. All data entries have a name and a letter in brackets. Select the component type according to the data sheet and component shape.Find the Outline Dimensions page from the data sheet.Click on Tools and you will see the IPC Compliant Footprint Wizard.Create a PCB Library file within the project as shown below.In this example, we will be creating a footprint for ‘ADuM3151’, a 3.75kV, 7-Channel, SPI Digital Isolator from Analog Devices, this isolator is used in our BMS design to help isolate the High Voltage systems with Low Voltage systems. Next, I will demonstrate how a completely customized footprint can be created from scratch. In the first example, I will teach you how to use the IPC Compliant Footprint Wizard step by step. This article will focus on surface mount components I’ll go through two examples of creating footprints for surface mount components in Altium Designer. The ones with holes are for ‘through hole’ type components and the ones without are for surface mount components. The photo below is a prototype PCB of our cell balancing system before the components being soldered on. A footprint defines the land layout pattern of a component on a PCB (the shiny silver pads in the photo below). When designing PCBs for various purposes, it’s almost impossible to avoid the headache of finding footprints because the manufacturer in most cases only supplies us with a data sheet but no footprint files. For example, the safety system, voltage monitoring system, cell balancing systems are designed and manufactured onto PCB boards. At MUR, we design and manufacture PCBs for low voltage systems, battery management systems, electric power train, accumulator etc. Custom designed PCBs can achieve the exact function we want while saving all the spaces we can and plus the circuit is more stable on a PCB due to its protective coating. Printed circuit boards (PCB) are essential in almost all commercial devices that contain some form of electrical circuits because of its flexibility and compactness. MUR Blog - How to Manually Create Footprints in Altium Designer

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