Compare Altium Designer vs. PADS: What's The Difference

In the world of electronic design automation (EDA), Altium Designer and PADS are two prominent software solutions widely used by engineers and designers. Both of these software packages offer a comprehensive set of tools for printed circuit board (PCB) design, schematic capture, and other essential features. However, despite their shared purpose, there are several key differences between Altium Designer and PADS, ranging from their user interfaces to their pricing models, feature sets, and overall design philosophies.

This article aims to provide an in-depth comparison of Altium Designer and PADS, highlighting their respective strengths, weaknesses, and unique capabilities. By exploring the distinct features, user experiences, and design methodologies of these two EDA tools, we hope to empower engineers and designers with the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision when selecting the most suitable software for their specific projects and organizational needs.

Altium Designer Overview

Altium Designer is a powerful and comprehensive EDA software suite developed by Altium Limited, an Australian company. It offers a wide range of tools for PCB design, schematic capture, component management, and signal integrity analysis, among other features. Altium Designer is known for its innovative approach to design and its emphasis on streamlining the design process through a unified environment.

Key Features of Altium Designer

1. Unified Design Environment: Altium Designer provides a single, integrated platform that seamlessly combines schematic capture, PCB layout, and other design tasks, facilitating a smooth workflow and minimizing the need for frequent data translation between different tools.
2. Native 3D PCB Design: Altium Designer offers native 3D PCB design capabilities, allowing designers to visualize and analyze their designs in a three-dimensional space, enabling better collaboration and communication with stakeholders.
3. Design Reuse and Management: The software incorporates robust design reuse and management features, including component libraries, design variants, and version control, which can significantly enhance productivity and design consistency.
4. Signal Integrity Analysis: Altium Designer provides advanced signal integrity analysis tools, enabling designers to identify and mitigate potential signal integrity issues early in the design process, reducing the risk of costly design iterations and prototyping.
5. Design Rule Checking: Comprehensive design rule checking (DRC) capabilities are integrated into Altium Designer, ensuring that designs conform to specified design rules and manufacturing requirements.
6. FPGA/HDL Design Integration: For projects involving field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or hardware description languages (HDLs), Altium Designer offers tight integration with various FPGA vendors and HDL development environments.

PADS Overview

PADS, short for "Printed Artwork Design Solution," is an EDA software suite developed by Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics). It is a well-established and widely used tool in the electronics industry, particularly for PCB design and schematic capture. PADS is known for its robust and reliable performance, as well as its comprehensive feature set.

Key Features of PADS

1. Schematic Capture and PCB Layout: PADS offers powerful tools for schematic capture and PCB layout, allowing designers to create and document their designs efficiently.
2. Design Rule Checking (DRC): Robust DRC capabilities are integrated into PADS, ensuring that designs adhere to specified design rules and manufacturing constraints.
3. Library Management: PADS provides extensive library management tools, enabling designers to organize and manage component libraries effectively, promoting design reuse and consistency.
4. Design Collaboration and Data Management: PADS facilitates design collaboration through its integration with various data management and revision control systems, enabling teams to work together seamlessly.
5. Signal Integrity Analysis: PADS offers signal integrity analysis tools, allowing designers to identify and address potential signal integrity issues during the design phase.
6. Manufacturing Outputs: PADS supports a wide range of manufacturing outputs, including Gerber files, drill files, and other industry-standard formats, ensuring seamless integration with manufacturing processes.

User Interface and Workflow Comparison

One of the most notable differences between Altium Designer and PADS lies in their user interfaces and overall design workflows. Altium Designer is known for its modern, sleek, and intuitive user interface, which aims to streamline the design process through a unified environment. In contrast, PADS has a more traditional and feature-rich interface that may require a steeper learning curve but offers extensive customization options.

Altium Designer's unified design environment seamlessly integrates schematic capture, PCB layout, and other design tasks, enabling designers to move between different phases of the design process with minimal friction. PADS, on the other hand, follows a more modular approach, with separate tools for schematic capture, PCB layout, and other design tasks, which may require more data translation and integration between different modules.

Workflow Comparison Table

Aspect	Altium Designer	PADS
User Interface	Modern, sleek, and intuitive	Traditional, feature-rich, and customizable
Design Environment	Unified, seamless integration	Modular, separate tools for different tasks
Workflow	Streamlined, minimizes data translation	More traditional, may require data translation
Learning Curve	Relatively shorter	Steeper, due to extensive feature set

While both Altium Designer and PADS offer robust design capabilities, their user interfaces and workflows cater to different preferences and design methodologies. Altium Designer's unified environment may appeal to designers seeking a more streamlined and modern approach, while PADS' modular architecture and extensive customization options may be preferred by those who value flexibility and control over their design environment.

Feature Set Comparison

When it comes to feature sets, both Altium Designer and PADS offer a comprehensive range of tools and capabilities for PCB design and schematic capture. However, there are notable differences in terms of specific features, strengths, and areas of focus.

Altium Designer Feature Highlights

• Native 3D PCB Design: Altium Designer's native 3D PCB design capabilities allow designers to visualize and analyze their designs in a three-dimensional space, facilitating better collaboration and communication.
• Design Reuse and Management: Robust design reuse and management features, including component libraries, design variants, and version control, enhance productivity and design consistency.
• Advanced Signal Integrity Analysis: Altium Designer offers advanced signal integrity analysis tools, enabling designers to identify and mitigate potential signal integrity issues early in the design process.
• Integrated FPGA/HDL Design: Tight integration with various FPGA vendors and HDL development environments streamlines FPGA-based design workflows.
• Extensive Manufacturer and Component Support: Altium Designer provides extensive support for various manufacturers and component libraries, ensuring access to a wide range of parts and resources.

PADS Feature Highlights

• Robust Design Rule Checking (DRC): PADS is renowned for its comprehensive and reliable DRC capabilities, ensuring designs adhere to specified rules and manufacturing constraints.
• Extensive Library Management: PADS offers powerful library management tools, enabling effective organization and management of component libraries for design reuse and consistency.
• Collaboration and Data Management: Integration with various data management and revision control systems facilitates seamless design collaboration among teams.
• Manufacturing Outputs and Integration: PADS supports a wide range of manufacturing outputs and formats, enabling smooth integration with manufacturing processes.
• Customization and Extensibility: PADS provides extensive customization options and scripting capabilities, allowing users to tailor the software to their specific design requirements and workflows.

Feature Comparison Table

Feature	Altium Designer	PADS
3D PCB Design	Native 3D capabilities	Limited 3D visualization
Design Reuse and Management	Robust component libraries, design variants, version control	Extensive library management tools
Signal Integrity Analysis	Advanced signal integrity analysis tools	Signal integrity analysis capabilities
FPGA/HDL Integration	Tight integration with FPGA vendors and HDL environments	Limited FPGA/HDL integration
Manufacturer and Component Support	Extensive support for various manufacturers and components	Comprehensive component libraries
Design Rule Checking (DRC)	Comprehensive DRC capabilities	Robust and reliable DRC
Collaboration and Data Management	Integrated with various data management systems	Collaboration and revision control integration
Manufacturing Outputs	Supports industry-standard formats	Wide range of manufacturing outputs and formats
Customization and Extensibility	Limited customization options	Extensive customization and scripting capabilities

While both Altium Designer and PADS offer robust feature sets, their strengths and areas of focus differ. Altium Designer excels in areas such as native 3D PCB design, design reuse and management, advanced signal integrity analysis, and FPGA/HDL integration. PADS, on the other hand, stands out for its comprehensive design rule checking, extensive library management, collaboration and data management capabilities, and manufacturing output support.

Pricing and Licensing

Pricing and licensing models are important considerations when evaluating Altium Designer and PADS, as they can significantly impact the overall cost of ownership and accessibility for different organizations and projects.

Altium Designer Pricing and Licensing

Altium Designer is available in various editions, each tailored to different user needs and budgets. The pricing model for Altium Designer is based on perpetual licenses or subscription plans.

• Perpetual Licenses: With a perpetual license, users make a one-time payment and receive perpetual rights to use the software version they purchased. Perpetual licenses may require an additional annual maintenance fee for access to updates and support.
• Subscription Plans: Altium Designer offers subscription-based licensing options, where users pay an annual or monthly fee for access to the latest software versions, updates, and support. Subscription plans often provide more flexibility and cost-effective options for organizations with varying project durations or team sizes.

Altium Designer also offers specialized bundles and add-on packages for specific design tasks or industry segments, such as the Altium Designer Viewer for design review and collaboration, or the Altium Designer for FPGA for FPGA-based projects.

PADS Pricing and Licensing

PADS, being part of the Siemens EDA product portfolio, follows a different pricing and licensing model. PADS is typically licensed as part of larger bundles or product suites, rather than being offered as a standalone product.

• Bundled Licensing: PADS is often bundled with other Siemens EDA tools and products, such as the Xpedition Enterprise suite or the Capital suite. The pricing for these bundles varies based on the specific tools and features included.
• Floating Licenses: PADS supports floating licenses, which allow multiple users to share a pool of licenses, potentially reducing the overall cost for organizations with fluctuating usage demands.
• Maintenance and Support: Like many EDA software solutions, PADS requires an active maintenance and support contract to receive software updates, bug fixes, and technical support.

It's important to note that PADS pricing and licensing options can be more complex and may vary depending on the specific bundle or product suite being considered, as well as the organization's size and requirements.

Integration and Interoperability

In today's complex and interconnected design environments, integration and interoperability with other tools and systems are crucial considerations. Both Altium Designer and PADS offer various integration capabilities to facilitate collaboration and seamless workflows.

Altium Designer Integration and Interoperability

Altium Designer provides several integration and interoperability features to support collaboration and data exchange:

1. Design Data Exchange: Altium Designer supports industry-standard file formats for design data exchange, such as Gerber, ODB++, and IPC-2581, enabling seamless integration with manufacturing processes and third-party tools.
2. ECAD/MCAD Integration: Altium Designer offers integration with mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) tools like SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor, enabling collaboration between electrical and mechanical design teams.
3. FPGA/HDL Integration: Tight integration with various FPGA vendors and HDL development environments streamlines FPGA-based design workflows and enables seamless collaboration between hardware and software teams.
4. PLM and Data Management Integration: Altium Designer integrates with product lifecycle management (PLM) systems and data management tools, enabling version control, design collaboration, and lifecycle management.
5. API and Scripting: Altium Designer provides an Application Programming Interface (API) and scripting capabilities, allowing users to automate tasks, extend functionality, and integrate with custom or third-party tools.

PADS Integration and Interoperability

PADS offers several integration and interoperability capabilities to support collaboration and data exchange:

1. Design Data Exchange: PADS supports industry-standard file formats for design data exchange, such as Gerber, ODB++, and IPC-2581, enabling seamless integration with manufacturing processes and third-party tools.
2. ECAD/MCAD Integration: PADS integrates with various MCAD tools, facilitating collaboration between electrical and mechanical design teams.
3. PLM and Data Management Integration: PADS integrates with PLM systems and data management tools, enabling version control, design collaboration, and lifecycle management.
4. Scripting and Customization: PADS provides scripting and customization capabilities, allowing users to automate tasks, extend functionality, and integrate with custom or third-party tools.
5. Third-Party Tool Integration: PADS supports integration with various third-party tools and software solutions, such as simulation and analysis tools, enabling more comprehensive design workflows.

Both Altium Designer and PADS offer robust integration and interoperability capabilities, enabling collaboration, data exchange, and seamless integration with other tools and systems. However, the specific integration options and supported tools may vary between the two software solutions, so it's important to evaluate the integration requirements and compatibility with existing or planned tools and systems.

Design Methodologies and Philosophies

Beyond the technical features and capabilities, Altium Designer and PADS also differ in their design methodologies and philosophies, which can significantly impact the overall user experience and design workflow.

Altium Designer Design Methodology and Philosophy

Altium Designer is built around the concept of a unified design environment, where all design tasks are integrated into a single, seamless platform. This approach aims to streamline the design process by eliminating the need for frequent data translation and minimizing friction between different design phases.

Altium Designer's design methodology revolves around the following principles:

1. Unified Design Environment: The unified design environment allows designers to move seamlessly between schematic capture, PCB layout, and other design tasks without the need for separate tools or data translation.
2. Design Reuse and Management: Altium Designer emphasizes design reuse and management through robust component libraries, design variants, and version control, enabling designers to leverage existing work and maintain design consistency.
3. Concurrent Design: Altium Designer supports concurrent design, where multiple designers can work on different aspects of the same project simultaneously, facilitating collaboration and parallel development.
4. Native 3D PCB Design: The native 3D PCB design capabilities enable designers to visualize and analyze their designs in a three-dimensional space, facilitating better communication and collaboration with stakeholders.
5. Integrated Signal Integrity Analysis: Advanced signal integrity analysis tools are integrated into the design environment, allowing designers to identify and mitigate potential signal integrity issues early in the design process.

PADS Design Methodology and Philosophy

PADS follows a more traditional and modular approach to PCB design, with separate tools for schematic capture, PCB layout, and other design tasks. This modular architecture offers flexibility and customization options but may require more data translation and integration between different modules.

PADS' design methodology is characterized by the following principles:

1. Modular Approach: PADS provides separate tools for schematic capture, PCB layout, and other design tasks, allowing users to customize their workflows and select the tools they need for specific design phases.
2. Robust Design Rule Checking (DRC): PADS emphasizes comprehensive and reliable DRC capabilities, ensuring that designs adhere to specified rules and manufacturing constraints.
3. Extensive Library Management: PADS offers powerful library management tools, enabling effective organization and management of component libraries for design reuse and consistency.
4. Collaboration and Data Management: PADS facilitates design collaboration through integration with various data management and revision control systems, enabling teams to work together seamlessly.
5. Manufacturing Integration: PADS supports a wide range of manufacturing outputs and formats, enabling smooth integration with manufacturing processes and facilitating efficient handoff to production.

While both Altium Designer and PADS offer robust design capabilities, their design methodologies and philosophies cater to different preferences and workflows. Altium Designer's unified design environment and emphasis on streamlined workflows may appeal to designers seeking a more integrated and modern approach, while PADS' modular architecture and extensive customization options may resonate with those who value flexibility and control over their design environment.

Learning Curve and User Experience

The learning curve and overall user experience are crucial factors to consider when evaluating Altium Designer and PADS, as they can significantly impact productivity, efficiency, and user satisfaction.

Altium Designer Learning Curve and User Experience

Altium Designer is known for its modern and intuitive user interface, which aims to provide a seamless and streamlined design experience. The unified design environment and integrated tools contribute to a relatively shorter learning curve compared to more modular or traditional EDA software.

Key aspects of the Altium Designer learning curve and user experience include:

1. Intuitive User Interface: Altium Designer's user interface is designed to be modern, sleek, and intuitive, with a focus on minimizing clutter and providing a consistent experience across different design tasks.
2. Unified Design Environment: The unified design environment eliminates