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In the olden and not-so-olden days of PCB development, the process of moving a board from design to manufacturing was often referred to as “throwing the design over the wall.” This was not the result of the operations being so clearly divided, but rather a way to assign ownership and blame if there were errors. My last project at Martin Marietta was a black hole program for the U.S. Airforce and Navy. When problems were encountered during the...

Introduction They say variety is the spice of life. That is also the case for PCB designs. It may come as a shock to some, but many companies are in business and always chasing this thing called “profits” (I am using my sarcastic voice). It is entirely understandable that profit is what keeps the doors open and people employed. A significant way that they improve the bottom line is to have a variety of product lines available to their customers...

When I hear the name “Arduino,” I don’t usually think of production-grade hardware. I’m not talking down to the folks at Arduino, they’ve done an excellent job at invading the educational and proof-of-concept development niches, to the extent that other hardware platforms simply haven’t been able to catch up. Arduino boards are an excellent choice for low volume functional prototyping and embedded software development. But what about production...

The Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic appears to be slowing in countries practicing social distancing measures, but we’re not out of the water yet. Serious medical equipment shortages continue to dog hospitals around the world, and officials are bracing for worst-case scenarios: medical triage. Here’s how one entrepreneur channeled his concern for a high-risk family member into action, using his training and resources to aid the fight...

The next smartphone you buy is likely to include a GaN MMIC power amplifier for wireless communication. What was formerly relegated to academia is now seeing fast commercialization. These developments aren’t limited to smartphones, although this is expected to account for a significant portion of the growing RF components market. High frequency radar in automotive, aerospace, and even robotics is expected to be a significant driver of further GaN...

When you need to pass EMC testing and your new product is being crippled by a mysterious source of EMI, you’ll probably start considering a complete product redesign. Your stackup, layout/routing, and component placement are good places to start, but there might be more you can do to suppress specific sources of EMI. There are many different types of EMI filters that you can place in your design, and the right filter can help suppress EMI in a...

Following DFM guidelines is a critical requirement for ensuring high yields and defect-free boards during fabrication. Most DFM guidelines are well-grounded and do not generally interfere with signal integrity. In the event that they do, most EDA tools include features that can help ensure you won’t sacrifice signal integrity for manufacturability, and the two design aspects often go hand-in-hand. One aspect of routing/layout, signal integrity...

Altium Concord Pro™ as a standalone product and brand name has been discontinued and the capabilities are now available as part of our Altium enterprise solutions. Learn more here. Introduction A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, or so the aphorism goes. I think it’s worth noting that the first step is the most difficult to take. In my experience, the best engineers suffer from a condition in which they, before even taking...

Fabrication: In general, advice given about flexible circuit fabrication is split between knowledge of the fabricator and their process, and communication. Knowledge of the printed circuit board fabrication process is not as common as it once was, and this is even more apparent with the subtleties of flex manufacturing. Understanding the manufacturing process helps to illuminate areas that are more challenging for fabrication, as well as areas...