Digitally Connecting ECAD-MCAD Collaboration

Key Takeaways

• Most companies still exchange ECAD and MCAD data as files (STEP, IDF, DXF, IDX), which is slow, error-prone, and leaves no lasting record of decisions.
• Altium MCAD CoDesigner replaces file exchange with a server-managed push-pull process, so only incremental updates move between the two domains after the first baseline.
• Every change is previewed, accepted or rejected, and retained with the project for its lifetime.
• Altium Agile Enterprise builds on this foundation, connecting ECAD-MCAD decisions to the wider product development environment as part of a governed digital thread.

The Problem: File-Based ECAD-MCAD Collaboration

Collaborative product development between the electronic and mechanical design domains brings unique challenges. Most companies still create and exchange data between the two domains as files (STEP, IDF, DXF, IDX). This usually means exchanging the entire database multiple times, which leads to README files, marked-up PDFs, and in-person meetings to confirm that every update is understood and implemented correctly. The process takes time and is error-prone. The history of updates is typically lost once the project ends.

The Solution: Altium MCAD CoDesigner

Altium MCAD CoDesigner connects the Altium and MCAD domains through a server-managed, push-pull process. It removes the need to create and send entire files for each exchange. After the first baseline push, only incremental updates are communicated, so sending and receiving changes between the two applications is faster and simpler.

Altium and MCAD users no longer have to coordinate changes manually. Updates can be previewed, accepted, or rejected by either side, and the full history of changes and communications stays with the project for its lifetime.

What You Will Learn in the Webinar

• Use MCAD CoDesigner to initiate an automated baseline push from Altium to MCAD
• Use the MCAD CoDesigner plug-in to create the board assembly in MCAD
• Update the MCAD assembly and push the changes back to Altium
• Preview updates and accept them into the Altium PCB design
• Exchange placement and copper information bi-directionally between ECAD and MCAD
• Enable virtual, cross-domain communication
• Implement an iterative push-pull workflow that reduces the time and errors of manual, file-based methods

ECAD-MCAD in the Altium Agile Enterprise

The webinar shows how two design domains stay in sync. For organizations operating at scale, the same capability becomes part of a larger platform. Altium Agile Enterprise extends the connected foundation of the Altium platform with intelligence, governance, scalability, and extensibility, so ECAD-MCAD decisions don’t stay isolated inside the design teams making them.

Here is how that changes the picture for enterprises:

• Digital thread: ECAD-MCAD updates, BOMs, workflows, approvals, and release readiness stay connected from intent through release. Mechanical and electrical decisions become part of a continuous record rather than a series of disconnected exchanges.
• Connected context: Each accepted or rejected change keeps its engineering context, so teams across sites, programs, and product lines can see why a decision was made.
• Governance and traceability: The change history that CoDesigner retains becomes audit-ready evidence under enterprise-wide governance, supporting traceable and predictable release execution.
• Intelligence: The platform analyzes engineering context, risk, tradeoffs, and workflow state, helping teams make better decisions as cross-domain changes accumulate.
• Scalability: The same workflow supports many teams, sites, suppliers, and release cycles without relying on in-person reviews or manual handoffs.
• Extensibility: Organizations can adapt the platform to their own workflows, rules, integrations, and requirements, and connect ECAD data to the broader product development environment as a system of record and system of action.

Altium Agile Enterprise turns ECAD-MCAD collaboration into a governed part of the full product lifecycle, and the webinar shows the workflow at the center of it.

Learn more about Altium Agile Enterprise →