Altair PollEx
PCB design software
CAD software
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What is Altair PollEx
Altair PollEx is a PCB design analysis and verification toolset used to review, validate, and troubleshoot printed circuit board designs and manufacturing data. It is commonly used by PCB designers, layout reviewers, manufacturing/DFM engineers, and electronics teams that need to check Gerber/ODB++/IPC-2581 and related outputs for errors, constraints, and manufacturability issues. The product focuses on design-for-manufacturing (DFM), design rule checking (DRC), and cross-probing/analysis workflows rather than being a full schematic-and-layout authoring environment. It is typically deployed alongside PCB CAD tools to improve release quality and reduce fabrication and assembly issues.
Strong DFM and rule checks
PollEx is built around automated checks that help identify manufacturing and assembly risks in PCB outputs before release. It supports rule-based validation across common PCB deliverables, which helps standardize review processes across teams. This makes it useful as an independent verification step when designs originate from multiple PCB CAD systems. It is particularly relevant for organizations that need repeatable signoff criteria for fabrication and assembly.
Broad manufacturing data support
The toolset is oriented to analyzing downstream manufacturing data such as Gerber and intelligent manufacturing formats used by fabricators and assemblers. This helps teams validate what will be built, not only what is represented in the design database. It can reduce back-and-forth with suppliers by catching issues in the released package. This capability is valuable when PCB design and manufacturing are handled by different organizations.
Independent review and collaboration
PollEx is commonly positioned as a reviewer/analysis environment that can be used by stakeholders who do not author PCB layouts. That separation supports workflows where manufacturing engineers, quality teams, or external partners perform checks without modifying the source design. It can also serve as a common review layer when multiple PCB CAD tools exist in the organization. This reduces reliance on each CAD tool’s native viewing and checking features for signoff.
Not a primary PCB authoring tool
PollEx is primarily an analysis and verification product rather than a full PCB schematic capture and layout platform. Organizations still need a separate PCB CAD system for design creation and iterative layout work. As a result, it adds an additional tool in the toolchain that must be integrated into release processes. Teams expecting an end-to-end design environment may find the scope narrower than typical PCB CAD suites.
Integration and workflow overhead
To realize value, teams typically need to define rule sets, signoff criteria, and handoff steps between the PCB CAD tool and PollEx. That setup can require process work and ownership across engineering and manufacturing stakeholders. If rules are not maintained, checks can become noisy or miss organization-specific constraints. This can slow adoption compared with relying solely on built-in checks in a single design platform.
Licensing and deployment complexity
As an enterprise-oriented verification tool, PollEx is often procured and managed separately from the PCB CAD authoring licenses. This can introduce additional licensing administration and access management for occasional reviewers. Some organizations may find it harder to justify for small teams or low-volume design work. The cost-benefit tends to depend on release volume, supplier interaction, and the cost of re-spins.
Plan & Pricing
Pricing model: Altair Units (subscription pool of Altair Units used to license PollEx features)
Free tier / trials:
- PollEx for ECAD (limited feature edition): free for 1 year (one-year free license). See official PollEx for ECAD page.
- Full PollEx: 30-day free trial available via trial request form.
Example unit draws (official Altair documentation / product pages):
- PollEx PCB Modeler (PollExBasic / Modeler features): 10 AUs.
- PollEx PCB Solver: 30 AUs.
- PollEx PCB Verification: 50 AUs.
- PollEx PCB Verification Post-Processing: 21 AUs.
- PollEx PCB UPE: 30 AUs. (These AU draw values are published in Altair product/help documentation and may vary by version.)
How pricing is obtained:
- Altair sells pools of Altair Units (subscription); customers purchase Units and consume them when launching products. Altair does not publish a public per-unit currency price on the product pages; quotes are obtained via Altair Sales / Contact Us or Altair One marketplace.
Discount / purchase options:
- Altair describes volume/commitment and pool-based licensing benefits (Units pooling, leveling, Altair One marketplace), but specific currency discounts or list prices are not published on the public site — contact Altair for quotes.
Key notes:
- PollEx for ECAD is explicitly offered "at no cost" as a limited one-year free edition; the full PollEx product offers a 30-day trial (request form). Upgrading to the full product or continued production use requires purchase of Altair Units (contact sales for pricing).
Seller details
Altair Engineering Inc.
Troy, Michigan, USA
1985
Public
https://www.altair.com/
https://x.com/altair
https://www.linkedin.com/company/altair-engineering/
