How to Create a PCB Manufacturing Cost Estimation Unless I receive a layout job directly from a manufacturer, my clients will usually ask if I’m a manufacturer. My company doesn’t manufacture boards, but I think it’s important to keep clients informed of the manufacturing costs for new PCBs. Once I started gathering estimates for some of my first projects, I started to better understand the primary cost drivers of PCB manufacturing and how to properly structure a comprehensive estimate for my Read Article Earn Cash Rewards by Referring Friends to Altium “We use the Altium 365 workspaces as a way to keep all our components, designs, and projects all in one place so that everyone is working from the same source of information. It is also useful for keeping track of these parts as well, and we found the version control system in that very useful.” - Chris Brawn | Senior Design Engineer | Skyships You’ve always been our biggest fans. Why not get a bonus for your efforts? Altium’s referral program Read Article Current Monitor and Controller Project in Altium Designer Read more to learn Mark's design to help him monitor currents to be sure he doesn't trip his 16A breaker. Read Article Altium Designer 20 Changed My PCB Routing Techniques I just finalized my first PCB design using Altium Designer 20®. At the same time, I tested some new AD20 features, and in this article, I’ll share my thoughts about new PCB routing tools which had the biggest impression on me: sliding, and any-angle routing. Having read about and watched videos on these PCB routing tools beforehand, I was eager to try them out. These new features have given me more options for my PCB routing techniques. New PCB Read Article Stealth Aircraft, Meet Quantum Radar If you read Max Clivefield's recent article on quantum computing and quantum communication, then you've got a head start on most when it comes to understanding entanglement. These esoteric areas of technology are likely to become more common in the coming decades, and could revolutionize modern technology. I'm skeptical that we'll have desktop quantum computers or quantum cell phones, but these new technologies are worth developing as they have Read Article High Density PCB Design Game Changer: 25 Micron Trace and Space Have you heard the latest development in PCB fabrication processes? High density PCB design follows the same trend seen in integrated circuits, where more functionality is packed into a smaller space. The smaller spacing in these boards makes precise manufacturing more difficult, which places important DFM rules on your high density PCB design. Now with the A-SAP™ process, you can place trace widths and spacing down to 1 mil, allowing tight Read Article Exploring IPC’s Network of Printed Board Design Engineers Watch and learn how IPC can help you elevate your PCB design skills and career. Read Article Circuit Board Design for In-Circuit Testers There are many types of circuit board tests available in electronics manufacturing today, each having unique goals and characteristics. This article presents guidelines at the design level (schematic and layout) to enable the use of in-circuit testing (ICT) fixtures to verify proper component assembly. These simple test fixtures allow your board to be tested as its assembled, which helps identify and remove failed boards from your production run Read Article Showcase Your Designs and Win We’re giving away free licenses, official Altium-branded merch and more to engineers, students, makers, and hobbyists just like you. Create and submit a short video that can showcase your past, current, or even an all-new creation designed using Altium for a chance to win prizes and be featured on the Altium Stories YouTube channel. Prizes Top 5 Videos Free Altium Designer License on Altium 365 with Concord Pro Official Altium T-shirt Shoutout on Read Article PCB Additive Manufacturing: The Vaccine for Electronics Supply Shocks? At this time, at least a quarter of the world’s population is under quarantine, with workers unable to go to offices or factories, leading to fundamental disabling of the world economy. The electronics industry is suffering greatly as well, dealing with a supply shock from factories shutting down in Southeast Asia, to demand-side shocks from Western markets shutting down. Worst of all, the COVID-19 pandemic has created an enormous demand for Read Article The Role Of ISU Petasys, A Multilayer Manufacturing Company in Realizing a Successful PCB Implementation John Stephens, Senior Vice President of Sales for ISU Petasys (pronounced “E-soo”), built his first circuit board in 1974. Like many others of us in the industry, he got a first-hand education in PCB design, and manufacturing and assembly by working in the aerospace industry. He explains, “I started in aerospace at Litton Guidance and Control Systems, where I worked in a process development lab that was basically a prototyping shop where we Read Article LTE + GNSS Asset Tracker Part 2 This is Part Two of my LTE GNSS Asset Tracker project. In part one, I identified the right components for the project and captured the schematics. In this part, we are going to finish the project up with the PCB layout and routing. In the last article, I had stated my goal of making this board as small as possible with the intention of making a high density board, expecting I’d need 6 layers for the routing. However, a board’s total size is Read Article Take the Risk Out of Prototype PCB Assembly (PCBA) There is a special feeling one gets when polishing off a Rev A design and ordering the first set of PCBs from a board house. While designers everywhere would likely not trade that feeling for anything, taking some of the uneasiness off the table would probably be a welcome change. Here are review steps that should prove more effective at settling nerves than an after-work visit to the bar—and infinitely more effective at preventing errors! There Read Article Figure of Merit Formula: A Way to Score Your Opinions Metrics are data, and statistically backed measures. It is always expedient to base decisions on data and metrics. But what if a metric doesn’t exist? Then you can create the next best measure: the Figure of Merit. The problem with opinions is that they are difficult to defend, and when used in conjunction with producibility, they often they vary from person to person. That is why the Figure of Merit process is so popular. For a small amount of Read Article Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing: An Introduction If you do a search for “Hardware-in-the-Loop” testing, you will frequently find examples of complex, real-time systems. This article from National Instruments, for example, gives a nice explanation and background on what hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) is, and provides an example of testing electronic control units within an automobile. In this article, we will be focusing on a smaller, more bite-sized version of HIL testing concepts. What is Hardware Read Article COVID-19 Challenge My name is Piotr Lazarek. I’m a 19 year old engineer studying at Dulwich College in London. Because of the pandemic, I was forced to fly back to Poland for quarantine. To be frank, it wasn’t an easy time for me—after a week, I was practically dying of boredom. Thankfully, around that time, I received an invitation for a project called “COVID-19 Challenge”. The project was aimed at sixth form and university students who were passionate about Read Article Setting Up Concord Pro Revisions and Lifecycle 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. Precursor To help PCB Designers to become better at what they do, there are various Blog series on Concord Pro which are presented in such a way that they are first broken into by categories. These categories walk through the entire process of efficiently using Concord Read Article Pagination First page « First Previous page ‹‹ Page78 Current page79 Page80 Page81 Page82 Page83 Next page ›› Last page Last » Load More
