Altium Designer 26.9.1: true-arc polygon pour engine and the Advanced OrCAD Import in Open Beta. Altium Designer 26.9.1 (August 5, 2026) introduces an advanced polygon pour engine that generates true arcs instead of approximated segments, plus an Advanced OrCAD Import Engine in open beta. This article explains what true-arc geometry means for copper accuracy, DRC, and fabrication output, how to enable the new engines via Advanced Settings, and what the OrCAD importer actually handles (including design variants). On August 5, 2026, Altium released Designer 26.9.1. It is not a headline feature release, but it fixes something that has quietly annoyed PCB engineers for decades: polygon pours that represent curved boundaries as short straight segments. The new advanced pour engine generates true arcs, and it arrives alongside an Advanced OrCAD Import Engine in open beta. Both are optional, both are enabled through Advanced Settings, and both are worth understanding before you flip them on in a production project. Here is what changes technically, how to enable each feature, and where the caveats still live. 1. What "true arcs" Actually fixes. Every modern PCB tool has historically converted arcs into polygons made of many tiny straight segments. That works, but it leaks approximations into everything downstream: * Geometric accuracy: a curved copper boundary represented by segments deviates from the true radius. For large-radius arcs the error is small; for tight arcs it is measurable and it propagates into clearance calculations. * Gerber/ODB++ output bloat: thousands of micro-segments inflate file sizes and slow down CAM processing, especially on boards with many curved pours (RF, antenna, and wearable designs). * DRC noise: clearance checks computed against a segmented edge can produce false violations (or miss real ones) exactly at the segment vertices, particularly at acute angles between adjacent segments. * Impedance and RF behavior: for RF and high-speed designs where the copper boundary participates in the field solution, an approximated edge is a small but real inconsistency between the model and the manufactured board. The 26.9.1 advanced polygon pour engine addresses this at the source: solid pours are now described with true arc geometry. The PCB editor renders the arcs, the Design Rule Check evaluates the real geometry, and all generated outputs (Gerbers, ODB++, 3D exports) carry the true arcs instead of segment approximations. For the first time, what you pour is exactly what you fabricate - no polygonal ghost in between. 2. Enabling the new engines. Both new engines are off by default and live behind the Advanced Settings dialog. This is deliberate: Altium is rolling them out as opt-in features so existing projects are not disturbed until you validate them. True arcs polygon pour engine: * Open Advanced Settings and enable both: * PCB.Rendering.DrawArcBaseGeometry - renders and exports the true arc base geometry. * PCB.Polygon.AdvancedPour - activates the advanced pour engine that generates the arcs. * Note the current scope: the true-arc output applies to solid pours. Hatched or outline-only pours still use the conventional segmented path. Advanced OrCAD Import Engine: * Enable Importer.Orcad.AdvancedEngine in Advanced Settings. * Run the Import Wizard on an OrCAD design or library, and the advanced engine takes over. * The feature is in Open Beta: it imports the design, the libraries, and - notably - the variants defined in the OrCAD project, preserving the same variant list in the imported Altium project. 3. What the OrCAD importer really handles. The beta importer is aimed at teams migrating from OrCAD (particularly those coming from OrCAD Capture/PCB Designer environments) without losing project structure: * Schematics and libraries: the Import Wizard maps OrCAD capture libraries and design files into Altium's model, with a re-mapping workflow for footprints and symbols that do not map cleanly. * Design variants: this is the standout capability in the beta. OrCAD variants (component fit/not-fit, alternate parts, values) are carried across, so a multi-variant board - say, a base model and a high-end model sharing one design - arrives with its variant structure intact instead of being flattened. * Net and constraint translation: nets, part references, and the core constraint set translate through the wizard; anything unsupported is reported in the import log for manual rework. Being an open beta, the import engine is not yet a one-click migration for every OrCAD project. Complex rule sets, custom property dictionaries, and exotic library constructs still need manual reconciliation - the import log is your friend. Altium's documentation explicitly positions this as the beginning of a more complete OrCAD compatibility story, with the variant support as the first major deliverable. 4. Practical guidance: should you enable them today? True arcs: yes, but validate first. The engineering upside (accurate DRC, smaller output, cleaner RF geometry) is real. The correct rollout: * Enable both Advanced Settings on a copy of a representative board - ideally one with curved pours and known-good clearances. * Re-run DRC and compare violation sets against the previous engine. Expect noise to decrease at arc vertices. * Compare Gerber output size and CAM preview with your fabricator before production. Confirm your fab's CAM tools handle true arcs natively (modern CAM does; if yours pre-dates arc support, keep the segmented output for that project). * Only then promote the setting to your production templates. OrCAD import: enable it for evaluation, not for deadline-critical migrations. Use it on a reference project first, audit the import log, and reconcile variants before trusting it with a full library migration. If your team lives in OrCAD and is evaluating Altium, the variant-preserving import removes one of the biggest historical migration pain points. 5. The bigger picture. 26.9.1 is a quiet release that signals where Altium is investing: geometry fidelity at the copper level and migration paths for competitor ecosystems. True arcs matter because signal integrity, DFM, and CAM are all converging on the same requirement - the digital board model must match the physical board. And the OrCAD engine matters because in 2026 the EDA migration war is won or lost on how little rework an imported project needs. Both features are opt-in today; both are likely defaults in a future release. Getting familiar with them now means your next project is ready when they are. Key takeaways: * 26.9.1 adds an advanced pour engine that produces true arcs for solid pours - better DRC accuracy, cleaner Gerbers, and geometry that matches fabrication. * Enable it via PCB.Rendering.DrawArcBaseGeometry + PCB.Polygon.AdvancedPour in Advanced Settings, and validate on a non-production copy first. * The Advanced OrCAD Import Engine (open beta, Importer.Orcad.AdvancedEngine) imports designs, libraries, and design variants. * Validate any beta import with a reference project and audit the import log before a full migration. * Both features are opt-in today but point to where Altium is heading: copper-accurate geometry and low-friction ecosystem migration. #Altium #Altium Designer #Polygon Pour #True Arcs #OrCAD #Import #DRC #PCB Design Tools #2026

Onshape adds direct Altium integration to streamline ECAD. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design from Altium is now directly connected to Onshape CAD models thanks to a unified cloud-native workflow that eliminates file-based PCB data exchange between electrical and mechanical design. The connector allows for electrical and mechanical engineering teams to collaborate more effectively, keeping changes synchronised across both platforms during a workflow that requires close coordination. Working entirely in the cloud, it requires no file conversions, downloads or manual data transfers, with changes made in either platform automatically reflected in the other, eliminating version mismatches. The detailed electrical history lives in Altium, and mechanical history lives in Onshape, connected in real time so teams can trace and manage what changed and when. Accessible from any browser, all project stakeholders can review, comment on and markup designs from anywhere, with no software installation required. Onshape says the move allows teams to assess fit early, track changes in real time and stay aligned as designs evolve. Nikolay Ponomarenko, VP Altium R&D, called the announcement an important milestone for cloud-native engineering. "By expanding our direct ECAD-MCAD CoDesign technology, we are enabling a truly cohesive connection between leading cloud-based design platforms," he said. "In a complex, fast-paced industry, cloud data enables engineers to collaborate in real-time within a unified workflow across design domains. This eliminates all risks imposed by manually sharing files. This level of synchronisation keeps teams aligned from the very beginning of the design process and lays the foundation for even deeper collaboration in the future." Onshape GM David Katzman, added. "Connecting electrical and mechanical design in real-time is a critical step toward fully digital product development. "By bringing these workflows together in a single cloud-native environment, we give teams continuous access to a shared, real-time product definition so they can move faster, stay aligned and focus on building better products."

PTC Onshape adds Altium integration to improve ECAD-MCAD collaboration. May 14, 2026 By Craig Resnick Company and Product News The integration helps electrical and mechanical engineering teams reduce file-based exchanges, improve design synchronization, and identify PCB fit issues earlier in product development. PTC announced a new integration between its cloud-native Onshape computer-aided design (CAD) and product data management (PDM) platform and Altium. The Onshape Altium Connector helps to enable electrical and mechanical engineering teams to collaborate more effectively by bringing Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designs directly into Onshape and keeping changes synchronized across both platforms. Building products with electronics requires close coordination between electrical and mechanical teams. However, that coordination can become difficult when teams rely on emailed files, manual updates, and separate versions of design data. These workflows can lead to time spent exporting data, reconciling versions, and identifying issues too late, such as boards that do not fit correctly or misaligned connectors. The Onshape Altium Connector creates a direct connection between the two platforms, bringing PCB designs from Altium into Onshape so teams can assess fit earlier, track changes in real time, and stay more aligned as designs evolve. Key benefits of the Onshape Altium Connector include: * Works entirely in the cloud, with no file conversions, downloads, or manual data transfers required. * Keeps electrical and mechanical designs more in sync, with changes made in either platform automatically reflected in the other. * Helps teams identify design problems earlier by verifying that circuit boards fit correctly within their enclosures before issues become costly to fix. * Provides built-in version control, with electrical history managed in Altium and mechanical history managed in Onshape. * Enables browser-based access so stakeholders can review, comment on, and mark-up designs without requiring software installation on their device. With Onshape and the rest of its portfolio, PTC is supporting its vision for the Intelligent Product Lifecycle by helping manufacturers and product companies build a product data foundation, extend the value of that data across the enterprise, and accelerate AI-driven transformation. The new Onshape Altium Connector fits into this broader direction by helping electrical and mechanical engineering teams collaborate more effectively, assess PCB fit earlier, track changes in real time, and stay aligned as designs evolve. Follow ARC Advisory Group for the latest trends in sustainability, automation, and next generation technology.