Cloud-Based ECAD-MCAD Integration for PCB Development

PTC has integrated the cloud-native CAD and PDM platform PTC Onshape with the electronic design environment of Altium to improve collaboration between ECAD and MCAD engineering teams. The connector links PCB design data directly between both platforms and replaces file-based data exchange with a synchronized cloud workflow for electronics product development.

Integration of Electronic and Mechanical Design
The cooperation addresses a common engineering challenge in electronic product development: maintaining alignment between PCB design and mechanical enclosure design during iterative development cycles. Conventional workflows often rely on exported STEP files, manual version tracking, and email-based coordination, increasing the risk of outdated geometry, connector misalignment, or enclosure conflicts.

The Onshape-Altium connector establishes a direct cloud-to-cloud connection between the ECAD and MCAD environments. PCB assemblies created in Altium can be imported into Onshape without intermediate file conversion. Design modifications made in either platform are synchronized automatically, allowing engineering teams to review changes in parallel.

Technical Architecture and Responsibilities
Within the cooperation, Altium provides the PCB design environment and electronic design history management, while Onshape supplies the cloud-native CAD and product data management infrastructure. The integration maintains separate domain-specific version control systems while linking them through synchronized metadata and geometry updates.

The connector supports browser-based access and eliminates the need for local software deployment or manual transfer of design packages. Mechanical engineers can validate PCB placement, connector orientation, and enclosure fit directly inside the CAD environment while electronics engineers continue development in Altium.

The system architecture is intended to support continuous design synchronization across distributed engineering teams. Because both platforms operate natively in the cloud, updates are propagated without manual export or import procedures.

Deployment and Engineering Workflow
The integration is designed for electronics manufacturers, embedded systems developers, and industrial equipment suppliers requiring coordinated ECAD-MCAD workflows. Typical applications include PCB enclosure validation, connector alignment checks, and collaborative product configuration management.

The connector also enables early-stage interference and fit analysis before physical prototyping. This can reduce engineering rework by identifying integration issues during digital design phases rather than during manufacturing preparation or assembly testing.

Operational Impact
The cooperation supports digital engineering workflows by reducing dependency on file-based collaboration and disconnected revision management. Maintaining synchronized electronic and mechanical design data can improve traceability, reduce version conflicts, and shorten review cycles across multidisciplinary development teams.

The integration forms part of PTC’s broader strategy to connect product lifecycle data across engineering domains and support cloud-based product development infrastructures for industrial and electronics applications.

Edited by an industrial journalist Sucithra Mani with AI assistance.

www.ptc.com