Generating Outputs for Assemblers I was asked recently by a relatively new engineer what files I send to an assembler to make sure they do not encounter problems, and what would reduce the number of clarification questions they ask about the design. That engineer had been working professionally for several years with a large company, and had never had the responsibility of generating outputs or even seen the outputs from the products he was working on, so his only experience was Read Article Dimensioned PCB Drawings for Assemblers In my previous article, Generating Outputs for Assemblers, we generated a fantastic assembly drawing for an assembler or contract manufacturer to visually determine component placement positions. However, there are times you may wish to provide drawings that impart additional clarity to your assembler in order to ease the setup of machines or other processes—this typically involves panelization dimensions or fiducial positions on the panel. In Read Article Get Inspired by Major League Hacking with Jonathan Gottfried Jonathan Gottfried, Developer Evangelist at Twilio Inc., talks ‘Major League Hacking’ on the Altium Ontrack Podcast. Learn how MLH is influencing the next generation of engineers the world over. Read Article Getting Started with Your First Electronics Projects in Upverter (previously Geppeto) Sofftware Upverter (previously known as Geppetto) is an online platform that allows anybody with access to a modern browser to develop their newest development board and move on to low volume manufacturing. One of the challenges in launching your product, especially hardware products, is that it requires an array of skill sets and some reasonable level of experience. Upverter gives designers and start ups that are transitioning into their growth phase a Read Article Come See Microchip at AltiumLive 2019 in San Diego! We here at Microchip are excited to contribute to the presentation lineup at AltiumLive 2019 in San Diego. Join us this year to hear our very own Bob Martin’s keynote presentation covering prototyping using the Arduino platform, and Pete Wilson’s technical session on wireless design using RF modules. Here’s a summary of what you’ll learn from Microchip this year: In this keynote, Microchip's resident Wizard of Make, Bob Martin, will show us how Read Article Designing For The Mil-aero Market—Satellites Similar to the products developed for naval applications, satellites are subject to specific environmental conditions that must be addressed during the product development cycle. From Radhardened ICs to heat pipes and an extreme emphasis on reliability, PCBs designed for use in satellites are subjected to extraordinary operational issues. This article will describe the challenges associated with designing PCBs used in satellites and the Read Article Costs of Hiring Your First Electronic Engineer Several years ago, one of my top consulting clients was interested in bringing me onto their team as a salaried employee. They did not have any electronics design/testing capability in-house, so they needed to set up a lab to allow me to work for them in their offices, rather than from home. Hiring your first electronic engineer or technician can be a big step for a company that has been outsourcing all of its projects. The company that was Read Article Singularity in PCB Design Keeps the Team On the Same Page S.M.A.R.T. Rule First Pillar - Singularity "If we fail to plan then we are planning to fail." -Benjamin Franklin Given a professionally diverse readership composed of many people with differing company structures and situations, my intention isn’t to give a ‘sole’ method or plan that will magically fit everyone’s situation. Rather, I want to give a detailed explanation of how it “could” be done. I aim to give the bird’s eye view of this whole Read Article Extended Life and High Reliability: What would a Fabricator Want You to Know? Do you need to work with your fabricator every time you start a design? Maybe not. Do you need to work with your fabricator early in the design process for flex and rigid-flex? Yes, I think so, especially if flex and rigid-flex designs are new to you. If you are well-experienced in flex and rigid-flex and have worked closely with your fabricator to understand their materials, preferences, and processes, you probably don’t need to reach out every Read Article Chasing a Minimal Power Budget If you’re working on a battery powered project that needs a long service life between charges or battery replacements, you’ll quickly find that every last microwatt of power starts to add up over months of operation. I have worked on some projects in the past that needed to run for months on a single charge of a secondary battery, or a single primary battery that was small enough that simply running the microcontroller at full power would drain Read Article Carl Schattke - Designing Complex Boards Carl Schattke gives us a sneak peak of his keynote ‘Making and Breaking the Rules’ at AltiumLive 2019 in Frankfurt. He also shares what he considers the best tool every PCB designer must have. Read Article Designing Printed Electronics with Altium Designer 19 As far as I know, Altium Designer 19® is the first electronics design tool that effectively supports printed electronics design. With this tool you can create printed electronics designs in the same level as with capabilities parallel to standard PCB designs, and to do that, Altium created electronics design features specific to printed electronics. With Altium Designer 19 you can define design rules according to production capabilities that will Read Article Closing the gap between Electronics (ECAD) and Mechanics Users of modern devices expect manufacturers to design new generations of products that exceed their demands and expectations—high-quality products which provide amazing user experiences. With regard to product design that offers the best user experience, PCB design software is expected to provide engineers with specific features enabling the seamless collaboration between the electrical and mechanical engineers. To efficiently meet the above Read Article Ceramic Capacitors - Why Voltage and Capacitance Ratings Aren't the Full Picture Ceramic Capacitors - Why Voltage and Capacitance Ratings Aren't the Full Picture The true capacitance of ceramic capacitors rarely matches what is stated on the specifications once they’re installed in end applications. Depending on what frequency, voltage, and dielectric you’re using, true capacitance can be vastly different from what you’d expect. This guide walks through the common misconceptions and demonstrates how to select the right Read Article Designing For The Mil-aero Market Segment—Navy When it comes to PCB design for a particular market segment, often times the design methodologies readily transfer from one market segment to another with very few, if any, significant changes. Other times this is not the case and designing products for a particular market segment requires specific design practices, materials and testing procedures. This blog is the first in a series addressing design strategies for specific vertical market Read Article Getting Started in Altium Designer: The Schematic A schematic is a way to record an idea. Schematics are drawings or diagrams that are used to communicate electronic ideas to others. You may have never thought about it, but anyone who understands electronics can look at your schematic and understand your idea, no matter what language they speak! Schematics are a universal “language” for recording and sharing electronic ideas. Here’s the official definition from IPC-T-50 (Terms and Definitions) Read Article Unique Flex Termination Methods I think it is important to know that basically any connector you would select for rigid printed circuit boards can also be assembled to a flexible circuit. Traditional thru-hole and SMT connectors, high density circular connectors, D-subminiature connectors, pin and socket connectors, leaded and unleaded, are all options to consider with flexible materials. That said, I am going to veer slightly off topic with the caution to NOT forget to review Read Article Pagination First page « First Previous page ‹‹ Page99 Current page100 Page101 Page102 Page103 Page104 Next page ›› Last page Last » Load More
