Altium Design Rescue: Taking Over Inherited PCB Projects
Broken libraries, missing footprints, obsolete parts and unclear revisions, sorted out
Altium design rescue is the review and repair of an inherited Altium Designer project so it can be built and changed again. It covers broken libraries, missing footprints, obsolete parts, unclear revisions and missing documentation. Electuni does this for teams whose engineer or freelancer has left and whose board files no longer produce a build they can trust.
Design → Prototype → Production
Key Facts: Altium Design Rescue
- Input
- Altium Designer Projects
- Libraries
- Repair & Consolidate
- Parts
- Lifecycle & Availability
- Revisions
- Baseline & Change Log
- Output
- Rebuilt Release Package
- Lead Designer
- IPC CID+ Certified
What You Get
- Project audit: what exists, what is missing and what is inconsistent
- Repaired component libraries with footprints matched to the parts in the BOM
- BOM lifecycle and availability check with proposed replacements
- Schematic and PCB synchronised, with rule violations resolved or documented
- Agreed baseline revision with a written change log
- Rebuilt release package with fabrication and assembly outputs and drawings
How We Approach Altium Design Rescue
A rescue starts by establishing what you actually have. Projects inherited from a departed engineer or freelancer often arrive as several folders with similar names, local libraries that are not in the project, Gerbers that do not match the PCB file, and no record of which version was built. The first step is to compile the project, compare schematic against PCB, compare the PCB against any released Gerbers, and identify the version that matches the boards already in the field.
Libraries are repaired next. Missing or unlinked symbols and footprints are recovered from the PCB document where possible, or rebuilt from datasheets, then checked against the exact manufacturer part numbers in the BOM, including ordering suffixes. The BOM is checked for lifecycle status and availability. Obsolete or end-of-life parts are flagged with replacements that fit the existing footprint or, where none exists, the smallest change that does.
Design rule violations are then resolved or documented, and the rule set is cleaned up so future checks are meaningful. A baseline revision is agreed, with a change log from that point on. The release package is regenerated from the repaired project, so every output is reproducible from source, and the project is handed back in a form another engineer can pick up without needing the person who left.
Technical Constraints and Trade-offs
- Released Gerbers and the PCB file may disagree. When they do, the boards in the field are the reference until the difference is understood.
- Footprints rebuilt from a datasheet must be checked against the part actually ordered, because variants under similar part numbers can have different packages, pinouts or internal circuits.
- Replacing an obsolete part may be drop-in, may need a footprint change, or may need a circuit change. The impact is assessed before anything is committed.
- Large numbers of rule violations often come from a poor rule set rather than poor routing, so the rules are corrected before the violations are judged.
- Without the original design intent, unusual choices such as non-standard clearances or stackups are kept and documented rather than changed blindly.
Fabrication and Assembly Handoff
- Gerber or ODB++ data and NC drill files regenerated from the repaired project
- Fabrication drawing with stackup, materials and finish
- Assembly drawings, pick-and-place file and do-not-fit list
- BOM with current manufacturer part numbers and approved alternates
- Revision record linking the released files to the project version that produced them
From a real project
Buck converter damage traced to a fixed-output part variant
Boards were coming back with damaged buck converters. The schematic and layout were sound and the BOM part number was almost right, but the fitted AP63203WU-7 was the fixed-output variant, which has its feedback divider inside the package. With the design's external divider also acting on the same node, the regulator was driven outside its intended operating point. The deliverables were the failure mechanism explained from the datasheet variant table, the corrected part number, and a BOM audit against variant suffixes across the rest of the design.
Read the project on our PCB division's site (opens in a new tab)How an Electuni Engagement Works
Step 1
Discovery
Requirements analysis and feasibility study.
Step 2
Architecture
System design, component selection, and risk assessment.
Step 3
Design
Schematic, layout, firmware, and mechanical CAD.
Step 4
Review
DFM/DFT checks and design review with stakeholders.
Step 5
Prototype
Board fabrication, assembly, and firmware bring-up.
Step 6
Handoff
Production files, BOM, and full documentation package.
Tools & Technologies
- Altium Designer
- Altium 365
- Manufacturer Part Search
- Design Rule Check
- Altium Draftsman
- Git Version Control
Altium Design Rescue FAQ
What makes an inherited Altium project need rescue?
Any project you cannot confidently build or change. Typical signs are missing libraries or footprints when the project opens, Gerbers that do not match the PCB file, a BOM with obsolete parts, thousands of rule violations, or no record of which revision was manufactured. These are common after an engineer or freelancer leaves without a formal handover.
What do you need from us to start?
Everything you have, even if it looks incomplete: the Altium project folders, any libraries, previously released Gerbers and BOMs, assembly files, and photos or samples of built boards. Old order files from the fabricator or assembler are especially useful, because they show what was actually manufactured rather than what the project folder claims.
Can missing footprints be recovered?
Usually. Altium Designer stores footprint geometry in the PCB document itself, so footprints can often be extracted from the board into a new library. Each one is then checked against the datasheet of the part being ordered. Where the PCB does not contain it, the footprint is rebuilt from the manufacturer's recommended land pattern.
How do you deal with obsolete or end-of-life parts?
Each BOM line is checked for lifecycle status and distributor stock. For parts that are obsolete or not recommended for new designs, replacements are proposed in order of disruption: drop-in equivalents first, then parts needing a footprint change, then circuit changes. Each replacement is checked against the original part's electrical requirements before it is adopted.
Will the board be redesigned?
Only if that is what you need. A rescue aims to make the existing design buildable and maintainable with the fewest changes. If the review shows faults in the design itself, they are reported with a severity ranking, and you decide whether to fix them in the rescued revision or plan them for a later one.
Can the work happen in our Altium 365 workspace or Git repository?
It can, if you grant access, or project files can be exchanged directly. Keeping the rescued project under version control with a defined baseline is recommended either way, so every future change can be traced back to a known revision and the next engineer does not face the same problem.