EMS@C-LEVEL 2022 Season Episode #1 with Altium and MacroFab

EMS@C-LEVEL · 20 Feb 2022 · 23m · Episode 1

What this episode covers

Ted Pawela, Chief Ecosystem Officer at Altium, and Misha Govshteyn, CEO of MacroFab, discuss their strategic partnership and the launch of the Altimate solution. They explain how this integration connects Altium Designer directly to MacroFab’s cloud manufacturing network, allowing designers to see real-time cost, availability, and DFM data. The conversation highlights the shift from 'designing for manufacturing' to 'designing with manufacturing' to maintain agility and data coherence during the new product introduction process.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Next Byte Podcast · 1h 05m

    251. Michael Corr & Justin Sears on How Altium & Duro Are Fueling the Next Generation of Hardware Startups

    Michael Corr, co-founder and CEO of Duro, and Justin Sears, Head of Product Marketing at Altium, discuss how Duro’s cloud-based PLM platform and Altium’s Agile Teams are breaking down silos between electrical, mechanical, and procurement teams. They explain how Duro’s API-first architecture enables specialized AI agents to automate tasks like BOM analysis and part sourcing, addressing the critical need for real-time supply chain visibility. The conversation highlights the acquisition of Duro by Altium, the shift from selling 'vitamins' to 'medicine' for hardware startups, and the resurgence of small, fast-moving hardware companies leveraging modern tooling.

  • OnTrack · 14m

    PCB Design Tools for Every Team Size: Altium's New Approach

    Justin Sears, Head of Product Marketing for SaaS at Altium, explains the company's new product strategy announced at PCB West 2025. He details the split between Altium Develop for small teams and Altium Agile for larger organizations, focusing on how this shift removes friction for cross-disciplinary collaboration. Sears highlights the removal of per-seat fees for external collaborators and the move toward an end-to-end product development suite.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 03m

    Fear of Banjos

    Hosts Chris Gammell and Dave Jones discuss a hard drive failure in Dave's Synology NAS, the deceptive SMR recording technique in Western Digital drives, and the implications of Altium's acquisition of Macrofab and its 'Nexar' cloud-based manufacturing feedback tool. They debate the privacy and utility of sharing design data with distributors, noting issues with stock accuracy at Mouser and DigiKey, before Chris details his move from Chicago to the Research Triangle in North Carolina and his search for a new electronics lab space.

  • OnTrack · 46m

    Altium API Deep Dive: Opening PCB Data to Developers

    Rob Barton, Head of Platform API at Altium, explains the evolution of Altium's programmatic access from disconnected SDKs to the new Platform API, a federated GraphQL schema exposing design data, supply chain intelligence, and manufacturing services. He demonstrates live queries for Octopart supply data (pricing, availability, RoHS compliance) and deep PCB design data (layers, nets, track coordinates) via the Altium 365 infrastructure. Barton discusses the strategic shift toward an API-first philosophy to support enterprise customization and AI agents interacting via MCP servers, noting the upcoming Altium Developer Center.

  • OnTrack · 31m

    Altium & Duro: The PLM Software Built for Hardware Startups

    Michael Corr, founder and CEO of Duro, explains why Altium acquired his cloud-based PLM platform to help hardware startups and small engineering teams manage product data without heavy IT overhead. He details how the Altium Designer plugin publishes library parts and full projects into Duro with part numbers and revision status, while the deeper integration within Altium 365 allows seamless switching between the two interfaces. Corr also highlights Duro's new AI agents that act as RF, mechanical DFM, and supply chain specialists to review change orders for teams that cannot hire those specialized roles. Finally, he emphasizes Duro's API-first architecture, which is designed to be easily consumed by AI coding agents to build custom integrations and extensions.

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