MISC-TN-0001: Accelerating carrier board design with AURA SOM Altium resources

Info Box Applies to AURA Technical Notes

History
Issue Date	Notes
2026/11/04	First release

Introduction

Designing a custom carrier board for a System-on-Module often requires a significant amount of work before the actual application-specific circuitry can be developed.

Engineers typically need to:

• create the SOM connector symbol
• create the PCB footprint
• associate connector pins to SOM signals
• verify mechanical dimensions and add mounting references
• create or import a 3D model of SOM

To simplify these activities, DAVE Embedded Systems provides a set of ready-to-use Altium Designer resources for the AURA SOM platform.

These resources allow hardware designers to start carrier board development immediately, reducing engineering effort and minimizing the possibility of design errors.

Available Altium Design resources

The AURA SOM design package includes Altium Designer elements specifically developed to accelerate carrier board development:

• schematic sheet with:
  • SO-DIMM connector symbol and P/N
  • predefined signal naming refereed to SoM nomenclature
  • design notes
  • pin delay for high speed signals
• PCB document with:
  • SO-DIMM footprint and 3D model
  • mechanical references
  • SoM 3D model

Together, these resources form a complete starting point for carrier board design.

Ready-to-Use schematic symbol

One of the most valuable resources provided by DAVE is the complete Altium schematic symbol of the AURA SOM.

Instead of manually recreating hundreds of connections from the hardware documentation, the designer can directly place the component into the project and immediately start designing the application circuitry.

Benefits include:

• immediate integration into Altium projects
• reduced schematic capture effort
• consistent signal naming
• easier design reviews
• lower risk of manual entry errors

AURA SOM schematic symbol supplied with the Altium design package

Predefined signal names

The supplied symbol already includes the signal names associated with the SO-DIMM connector pins.

This eliminates one of the most time-consuming activities during the initial design phase: manually cross-referencing the hardware manual and connector pinout. Examples include:

• Ethernet interfaces
• USB ports
• UARTs
• SPI buses
• I²C interfaces
• MIPI interfaces
• Power supplies
• Boot configuration pins
• control signals

Advantages:

• faster schematic creation with net names for any SO-DIMM contact (just copy our sheet port in your carrier board schematic related connections)
• immediate signal identification with improved readability
• reduced design mistakes and simplified debugging and review activities
• net delay on SO-DIMM pins for high speed signals (click on SO-DIMM pin for verify its delay value)

Example of predefined signal names already associated with SO-DIMM pins and its propagation delay

Ready-to-Use connector footprint

Beyond schematic capture, DAVE also provides the PCB footprint associated with the SO-DIMM connector used by the AURA SOM.

The net delays defined in the schematic are linked to the PCB footprint, in order to tuning the propagation delay in the PCB carrier design.

The footprint can be imported directly into the PCB project, allowing designers to immediately proceed with board placement and routing activities.

Benefits include:

• verified footprint dimensions with connector 3D model
• reduced library creation effort
• faster PCB floor planning
• simplify propagation delay tuning

Connector footprint ready for immediate PCB integration

Integrated mechanical references

Mechanical integration is often one of the most critical aspects of carrier board development.

The provided connector resources include the mechanical references required for proper integration of the SOM into the carrier board. This includes:

• connector placement references
• mounting-hole positions
• mechanical alignment information

As a result, engineers can start PCB layout activities with confidence that critical mechanical requirements are already available in the design data.

3D model

The PCB template includes a complete 3D model for the SOM connector and its PCBA (with all components populated): the two models can be usable separately for PCB design and mechanical verification.

This with that can be used directly within Altium Designer and enables early verification of:

• mechanical clearances and height constraints
• enclosure compatibility
• component interference
• assembly accessibility

3D model available for immediate mechanical validation in Altium Designer

Development workflow comparison

Traditional Carrier Board development

1. create SOM symbol
2. create connector symbol
3. create PCB footprint
4. define signal mapping
5. assign net names
6. add mounting references
7. build mechanical model
8. start board design
9. manual net delay insertion

Using DAVE Altium resources

1. import the supplied libraries
2. place the AURA SOM symbol
3. connect application circuitry
4. start PCB layout

The difference is substantial and allows hardware teams to focus on product functionality rather than infrastructure work. This results in a shorter time-to-market carrier board design for an aggressive schedules or limited hardware development resources.

Related Links

• AURA SOM/AURA Hardware
• AURA SOM/AURA Hardware/Pinout Table