Altium creates opportunities for third-party developers

Electronics design software company Altium is creating opportunities for third-party developers to build applications that extend the capabilities of the 3D PCB design solution, Altium Designer.

The new Solidworks modeller, by ECAD/MCAD collaboration experts Desktop EDA, is the result of Altium’s first add-on app development partnership. “We’ve worked hard during this past year to open up our DXP platform technologies,” said Daniel Fernsebner, Director of Technical Partnerships for Altium.

“This partnership with Desktop EDA represents our first steps in building a wider network of third-party app developers and providing our customers with leading-edge extensions for Altium products.”

Through the DXP platform’s unified data model, developers can create add-on apps that have access to all aspects of Altium’s electronics design system. Coupling this with Altium’s enterprise-ready design data management system, DXP App Server, apps for Altium Designer can: eliminate the need for translation of external files and switching to separate, external applications through access to Altium Designer’s design data and user interface; improve standardisation and design flow automation by extending and customising the Altium Designer user interface; increase team productivity by creating custom links between the Altium Vault and enterprise systems such as PLM, ERP or PDM; and reach Altium users through the new app distribution and licensing system.

Altium is currently working with other developers to bring additional apps to electronic designers and is targeting a wider release of the distribution and licensing system later this year.