Biodegradable PCBs: Will They Really Help With PCB Waste Disposal? Isn’t the expansion of the PCB industry incredible? In the last 100 years, we’ve gone from using brass wire and pieces of wood to etched copper traces and fiberglass substrates. New industries like the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in cars are accelerating that growth. There are millions of PCBs in existence today, and that number will only continue to grow. The funny thing is that we design a printed Read Article Unmanned Autonomous Vehicles: Pros and Cons of Multiple Sensor Fusion Think back to when you were a child, how did you think the future would look? Spaceships, flying cars, internet connected eating utensils ? We have many of the things I hoped we would, but somehow cars have lagged behind. I was expecting to see flying cars zooming through the sky and driverless cars whizzing through the streets. I don’t have a solution for flying cars, but there is something that’s making unmanned autonomous vehicles a reality Read Article How to Choose Communications Modules in Your IoT Products A lot of my friends are engineers and we are constantly talking shop. If you’re in the mood for hearing about weird IoT , then it’s always a good idea to ask what project they are working on. I’ve stopped asking what programs they’re using since everyone is learning Python. Seriously, everyone. We talk about what’s fun at work, it’s usually design, but sometimes it’s soldering. We talk about what’s terrible at work, and it’s usually component Read Article IoT Security: Physical Layer Security for IoT PCBs Internet of Things security will be a big issue as the IoT expands. IoT security is definitely an issue getting more attention with the proliferation of devices and services coming to market. As the number of IoT products grows there are greater security risks. You’re not helpless to stop them, though. There are several methods that can mitigate physical security risks for your IoT PCB. These include shielding your board from EMI, designing for Read Article How Ultrafast UV Lasers are Improving HDI PCB Design Layouts Don’t let your manufacturers use Kylo Ren’s lightsaber - too unstable and too many defects. Do you remember the first time you saw Star Wars? I was 12 and it changed my world forever. I’d seen my future. Instead of a car, I would fly a spaceship. Instead of being an accountant like my father, I would be a lightsaber-wielding Jedi. Sadly, I turned out to be neither a Jedi or an accountant, but a humble PCB. Lasers still have a place in my life Read Article Why You Need Integrated Circuit Simulation: PCB Design Tips & Tricks - Altium Audio Bites Altium Audio Bites gives you bite-sized information that's easy to digest and apply to your everyday design tasks. From our PCB Design Tips & Tricks, audio series here is: Why You Need Integrated Circuit Simulation. All our audio series are from real PCB designers in the field, detailing their day-to-day problems and experiences. We hope you can learn from this as much as we have. Give it a listen and let us know what you think in the comments Read Article Why Version Control Should Be Implemented in Your PCB Design Software Everyone’s worst nightmare - the blue screen of death! Getting back into the flow after a business trip is never easy, but my return this week has been particularly challenging. We have a time critical contract with our client, so everyone on the project is operating at >100%. I was staying on track until I opened my Board design software and saw that someone had made changes to my layout. They removed two of the four tines from my smart fork Read Article PCB Mechanical Design and 3D Modeling Assists With Board Design In Embedded Systems When I was in college, we electrical engineers (EEs) always looked down our noses at the mechanical engineers (MEs). Our department had an introduction to electrical engineering class for the MEs (with a full-fledged 3D printer), which we referred to as “shocks for jocks.” It’s a bit sad that the mechanical nerds were “jocks” to us. The rivalry between electrical and mechanical engineering often continues after university and plays out in the Read Article Using Cans for EMI Shielding on Your PCB Make sure your can has enough clearance from the components it’s shielding. Preventing electromagnetic interference is critical for proper functioning of your PCB design. In addition to good design practices, can shields can also be used to isolate sensitive components. Did you ever play Operation? The game where you had to fish little pieces out of an awkward looking body without touching the edges of the slot. When you hit an edge, your failure Read Article 4:53 RC2 - Success Story Watch Video The Implications of Growing Automotive PCB Car Market Shares for PCB Designers Luxury used to mean heated seats, now it means a self-driving car with a 17” LED display in the dashboard. With automotive PCB gaining market share, the modern should start thinking about how their designs can enable essential and luxury features in connected cars. They should also get ready to learn cutting edge design techniques such as rigid-flex and HDI in order to meet automotive requirements. Do you remember the “dynamic duo” days they used Read Article Hyperloop Shows How Crowdsourcing Integrates Community into PCB Engineering Design & Prototyping Earlier this year, student design teams gathered to participate in Hyperloop’s largest design competition yet. Their goal? To create a prototype high-speed vehicle for next-generation transportation. Through this unique strategy, Hyperloop brings a compelling example of crowdsourcing at work. Crowdsourcing also stands to impact the PCB design space, providing new routes to project development and prototyping. Through combined efforts, cost Read Article 1:12 Object Specific Keepouts - Features Watch Video 1:04 DRC Flexibility - Features Watch Video Essential PCB Design - Power Delivery Network Analysis What’s that burning smell? Hopefully not your prototype. Try Altium's PDN Analysis Tool to easily find and prevent issues with your power delivery network. I once foolishly decided I would try my hand at woodworking. I thought I would start with something easy, you know, like a rocking chair. With my limited knowledge of structures and statics, I successfully made a chair that broke into pieces as soon as I sat down. The YouTube tutorials I used Read Article Getting Started with Design Miniaturization: Impacts and Complexity Since they’ve been created, electronics have been getting smaller, faster, and more efficient. But when you try to cram more components, pins, and connections in a smaller sized board, you’re going to have some problems. These challenges include heat, BGA breakouts and size itself, meaning how are you going to fit your board in that small, oddly shaped enclosure. Here are a few quick stats: Board area has remained relatively constant, while the Read Article Three Dumb Internet of Things Devices Using Smart PCB Designs Sometimes the fork is not in the road. With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), I’m afraid that Skynet is just on the horizon. Myriads of everyday items are being imbued with the gift of “intelligence.” The only comfort I have is that many IoT “smart” devices are so useless that there’s no way they could take over the world. There are three devices in particular that put Skynet class PCBs into items that should have stayed dumb. These Read Article Pagination First page « First Previous page ‹‹ Page175 Current page176 Page177 Page178 Page179 Page180 Next page ›› Last page Last » Load More