Serial Communications Protocols - Introduction In this series of articles, we will be looking at some of the different types of Serial Communication Protocols available to transfer information between microcontrollers, data-producing and data-processing peripherals, and other smart devices. The articles that follow this introduction to serial communications will cover some of the more popular protocols in common usage. At the end of this series, we will summarize the advantages and Read Article All About PCB Tooling Holes: What They Are and Where They Go Learn all about PCB tooling holes and mounting hole styles in your design and how they are used in the PCB manufacturing process. Read Article Your Guide to Gerber File Extensions in PCB Design Gerber files come with multiple extensions but in only two common file formats. You can learn more about Gerber file extensions in this article. Read Article 3 Key IPC Rules to Know, Follow and (Sometimes) Break Gerry Partida is joining us in this OnTrack Podcast episode. Watch it now or listen on the go! Read Article Lightning Surge Protection for Electronics Equipment On a clear fine day, the ground typically carries a slight negative charge with a corresponding positive charge in the upper atmosphere. This generates an average electric field strength around the globe in the order of 120 V/m. By comparison, just before it discharges through a lightning strike, a thunderstorm cloud generates an electric field strength in the order of 25 kV/m. This creates a potential difference between this cloud and the ground Read Article Successful ECAD/MCAD Collaboration Practices In this article Zachariah Peterson, founder of Northwest Engineering Solutions, discusses how his company successfully collaborates with mechanical engineers outside of his firm. He shares practices and tools that have been most useful along the way. Judy Warner: Zach, as an engineer and the owner of Northwest Engineering Solutions (NWES), what challenges do you see as most prevalent and problematic for design engineers when it comes to Read Article Easy Schematics Creation for Elegance and Readability Exemplary schematics will show you the circuits plus everything you need to know about them at a glance. Poor schematics will force you to decipher them to glean a sufficient understanding of what the circuits do. Read Article Guide to Choosing Version Control For Your PCB Design Projects If you’re deciding on a version control system for your hardware projects, use the cloud-connected PCB design and management environment in Altium 365. Read Article ESD Protection: Preventing Static Electricity in the Workspace Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) is essentially the sudden flow of current between two objects with a different electrical charge when there’s a conducting path between them. This could be lightning flowing from a charged cloud down to the ground via the dielectric breakdown of the air between them or that short sharp electric shock you feel when the static electricity that’s built up in your clothing flows to a metal door handle when you touch it Read Article Must Have Rapid Prototyping Tools If your job involves rapidly iterating designs or creating a wide range of products, these indispensable tools will help you ship a higher quality product in less time. Read Article Types of PCB Soldering and the Assembly Process There are multiple types of PCB soldering used in assembly, learn more about these types of solder and processes used to apply them. Read Article Designing High Integrity Systems It was not long after the first electrical devices were conceived that they were being used in situations where their failure could have disastrous consequences. This could be delivering a fatal electric shock to the user or failing to apply the brakes on a speeding vehicle; electrical devices are used everywhere and for almost every conceivable purpose. Medical devices are now routinely embedded into a patient’s body to regulate their heartbeat Read Article Transmission Line Reflection Coefficient View a numerical example of the transmission line reflection coefficient and how simulations can help you understand the results. Read Article IC Thermal Analysis: Thermal Management for Integrated Circuits As anyone who designs and builds electronic devices knows, the device will generate heat when it’s switched on. Wherever current flows through an impedance, energy losses will manifest themselves as heat, thanks to thermodynamics laws, whether in components, connections, wiring, or the PCB. The greater the loss, the greater the excess heat generated. While components with thermally enhanced packages are available to help manage any heat generated Read Article Moisture Sensitivity Levels in Electrical Components A range of materials used to construct electrical components can absorb moisture from the air over time. This initially became a problem with introducing reflow soldering, where the components are subjected to sudden high temperatures over a short period. This was then exacerbated with the switch to lead-free solder, which resulted in higher peak temperatures during the reflow process. Other factors that have increased the prevalence of moisture Read Article How to Automate Electronic Component Data Tracking Today’s design tools can help automate collection and tracking of electronic component data. Here’s how Altium Designer keeps your components healthy. Read Article Real-World Monitoring with Encoders Electrical devices don't tend to be useful unless they can interact with the real world, taking measures, producing outputs, or responding to events, for example. One functional ability that devices may require is the capability to measure physical movement. This may be a wheeled vehicle traveling across a surface or a fixed machine's shaft rotation. An encoder is a sensor that turns a position into an electrical signal. This position may be Read Article Pagination First page « First Previous page ‹‹ Page57 Current page58 Page59 Page60 Page61 Page62 Next page ›› Last page Last » Load More
