Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1190860
32 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2019 Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team The I-Connect007 Editorial Team spoke with Linda Mazzitelli just a few weeks after she joined Altium. We asked her to discuss the pa- per she presented at the conference, as well as her work with ECAD/MCAD collaboration and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Andy Shaughnessy: Linda, it's good to see you again. I hear that you have a new job. Can you tell us about your role? Linda Mazzitelli: I recently joined Altium, in the position of solution architect primarily for the Nexus, ConcordPro, and Altium 365 prod- ucts. My prior role at PTC, in addition to ECAD product manager, also included being the part- ner liaison to the ECAD vendors. My new role at Altium will include essentially doing that in reverse (i.e., partnering with the PLM vendors from the Altium perspective). Shaughnessy: Can you tell us about the pre- sentation you gave at AltiumLive in San Diego, California? Mazzitelli: I spoke about ECAD MCAD collab- oration. Right now, the industry still large- ly uses a file-based transfer method between the two domains (DXF, IDF, or IDX). Altium is taking a different approach with cloud-based implementation, where it's more of a "man- aged" push-pull. It starts with one side propos- ing/creating changes, selecting a "push" but- ton, adding notes for the recipient, and pro- posing those updates to the other domain. Those changes can then be reviewed and ei- ther accepted or rejected by the person on the other end, after which the response is sent back to the initiator, all with no physical files to manage. I describe the process as being similar to having a conversation. Whoever initiates the "conversation," the domain initiating/propos- ing changes, has to get final confirmation that they were accepted or rejected. Because this is done through a cloud-managed application, it enables users to eliminate file-based trans- fers and not worry about who chooses which file and whether they are read in the right order. It is all managed behind the scenes au- tomatically and eliminates virtually any poten- tial for error. What You Need to Know About ECAD/MCAD Convergence Linda Mazzitelli