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Even if you aren’t using top-of-the-line design software, you’ll still notice something very important in your PCB footprint layers: solder mask and paste mask openings. These will be placed into stencils and used to fabricate and assemble your PCB. With designers sometimes finding themselves needing to create their own components, it’s worth asking, what is the right value for mask expansions to set in your PCB footprint? The next question that...

An Introduction to Baxandall Active Volume Control Inspired by Douglas Self’s book on audio electronics (‘Small Signal Audio Design’) and his power amplifier design consisting of a massively-parallel array of NE5532 op-amps, I set out to design a headphone amplifier that uses similar techniques but scaled down due to the lower power requirements. The resulting amplifier utilizes many NE5532 op-amps (the first version used 44 in total!) and is...

The collaboration between electronic design (ECAD) and mechanical design (MCAD) teams is essential for successful product development. However, integrating these two domains has long been a hurdle for engineers. This blog post will explore the synergy of Altium Designer, Fusion 360 and Altium MCAD CoDesigner, showcasing how this powerful combination bridges the gap between ECAD and MCAD, fostering seamless collaboration and boosting design...

When connecting multiple circuit boards in a space-constrained environment without the budget for a rigid-flex PCB assembly, selecting the appropriate interconnect solution becomes crucial. Options include FPC connectors, flexible flat cables (FFCs), or off-the-shelf connectors integrated into a wire harness. Determining the best choice depends on your specific design requirements. Flex Cables vs. Ribbon Cables Flexible Flat Cables (FFCs) and...

We're joined today by the Technology Ambassador at Ventec and President of the European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC), Alun Morgan. He and host Zach Peterson have a broad, thoughtful conversation centered on PCB manufacturing. They chat about emerging manufacturing markets, the potential for supplier buyouts, reshoring, automation, and much more. This is a fascinating conversation for anyone looking to get a current view on the...

Altium 365 GovCloud is a specialized region operated by Altium, exclusively managed by U.S. Persons, and situated within the AWS GovCloud region in the United States. By opting for Altium 365 GovCloud, you can ensure compliance with U.S. government regulations, specifically ITAR and EAR. 🎯 This expert panel investigates crucial topics and considerations for implementing Altium 365 GovCloud.   👥 Meet the Guest Speakers: 👉 Mahesh Venugopala - A...

When you’re just getting started on your adventures in PCB design, you’ll eventually need to test your prototype boards. Prototyping and testing are very important tasks for any designer, but you need to have the right set of equipment to ensure you can get accurate results. In this article, I’ll go over some of the basic test equipment that new engineers should have in order to test and debug their prototype boards. We’re not talking about...

We are very fortunate to have Dr. Eyal Weiss for today’s episode. He is the CTO and founder of Cybord, an AI tool for detecting counterfeit hardware and electrical components. This is a very exciting conversation. We will talk about a better, practical applications of AI in the electronics industry, outside of design. Watch through the end and make sure to check all the additional links and resources below. Listen to the Podcast: Download...

Electronics manufacturing, like many industries, has made great strides to become more environmentally friendly over time. More experienced readers probably remember the Pb-free movement to eliminate Pb from many consumer and commercial products, including solder alloys and platings in PCBAs. Now the focus has shifted to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), particularly because the health risks associated with PFAS have become...