Complete Component Library Management for PCB Design Data Complete Management Components are the basic building blocks of designs and even the slightest discrepancy can derail your whole design process. If one bad footprint makes its way through manufacturing, the rest of your design can be invalidated with necessary layout changes. Worst of all, you’ll have to identify everywhere a bad component has been utilized across several designs. The work required to change your layout grows exponentially the Read Article Pros and Cons of Different High-Frequency Transmission Line Types You already know that dating is something I struggle with. After my failed attempts at blind dates and speed dating, I decided it was time to try online dating. I found a nice woman who said she was my age and set up a date. Upon arrival, I found out that I’d been catfished--that wasn’t actually her in the picture! Needless to say, it didn’t go well. It made me realize that I should have done a bit more research about my date and online Read Article Power Integrity: 5 Common Myths Power integrity is nothing new, but it is becoming more and more of a concern and will continue to be on the forefront of people's minds moving forward. With the continuing trend of faster and smaller products, we no longer have the luxury of space. Each millimeter is precious, and we need to design that way. If you’ve been in the industry for more than a few years, you may have heard many of the following PI myths. Throw Copper at It You may Read Article Everything You Need to Know About Microvias in Printed Circuit Design Have you ever wondered how designers pack so much functionality into such a small space? You can thank HDI design techniques and microvias in printed circuit design. These small structures let traces reach inner layers of a PCB with high interconnect density and high layer count. These structures have been around for years, but they are becoming more common in a variety of systems that require multiple functions on a single circuit board. If you Read Article PCB Layout Tips: How to Get Your Layer Stack Right - OnTrack Watch Video Overcoming the Challenges with Rigid Flex Design There is no question that wearable electronic devices qualify as “break-out products”. The market for wearables is forecasted to be $30 billion in 2016 and will grow to $150 billion by 2026[1]. Most of these devices are simply impossible without rigid-flex PCB design technology . This means that engineers and PCB designers need to become experts in designing, testing, and manufacturing in a wearable and “foldable” world. The most familiar Read Article The Pros and Cons of Different LPWAN Networks for Your IoT Application Right now, IoT is like a gladiator battle in the coliseum of market forces and public opinion. There are constant rankings of what protocol or stack to use, which IoT products are useful ( or not ), and who’s going to win each element of the burgeoning IoT ecosystem. The best part is that each of these little battles is also a decision that you must face or plan for in your next IoT design. Awesome, right? Lucky for you, I’ve already considered Read Article Design Release Management and Communicating Intent We know that designing and releasing a product involves a multidisciplinary chain of command. Prior to its release, the ECAD side often goes through a series of adaptations to capture the incremental changes to the design. During this stage, the ECAD data is a moving target, which can impede the flow of communication to invested parties. Failure to effectively communicate these changes can have significant consequences on the design release Read Article How to Design MicroSD Card Power Circuits Without Destabilizing the On-Board Voltage Supply PCB designers often have the tough job of balancing perfection in design and keeping the cost down. For designs dealing with storage medias, like microSD, neglecting simple terms like “hot insertion” or “inrush current” can result in a prototype that imperfect and costly. My philosophy is to keep my hardware designs simple. I am quick to discard any components that seem superficial in my design. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that keeping Read Article Migration Guide Making the Switch from PADS to Altium Designer THE ALTIUM DESIGNER PHILOSOPHY At the core of Altium Designer® is one central theme - a unified approach to PCB design software. You’ll find that our tool differs from many conventional alternatives in its approach to design. Our workflow unifies all of the separate yet connected elements required to successfully complete a PCB design. As an existing PADS user, you are likely used to having multiple tools and interfaces for each stage of your Read Article PCB Design Guidelines for High-Frequency Circuits in Car Radar & 5G Applications One of the latest evolutions in next generation of 5G PCB design guidelines is being driven by two emerging technologies, 5G networks and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) enabled cars. Both of these technologies use something long feared by PCB designers, the extremely high-frequency (EHF) band. Read on and prepare your boards for a high-frequency future. This morning I saw a very strange sight while walking down my street. A long Read Article 3:36 Chris Carlson: How to Get Your Layer-Stack Right Watch Video Best Practices for High-Frequency PCB Materials Selection High frequency PCB design can seem esoteric, and I've heard many an engineer describe it as "black magic"! The subject is also a bit confusing, especially once someone asks which frequencies could be reasonably considered "high". The reality is that some of the challenges present in high speed design also appear in high frequency design, but we think about them in different ways. Before you do anything inside the layout for a high-speed or RF PCB Read Article Why Would Anyone Migrate from Mentor Xpedition Enterprise to Altium Designer? Many users of Xpedition Enterprise didn’t choose it: it was inherited in an acquisition or packaged in a bundle with other products. Now they find they have expensive support costs and many features that they never use. Plus, the tool UI are old and tired, making design more time consuming than it should be. Moving to Altium Designer® gives you a modern, efficient and unified UI, fast and efficient routing, and superior data management. A few Read Article Which IoT Communication Protocols Are Best Suited to Your Design Requirements For IoT products, the interoperability question depends on the communications protocol you use, since most products can’t communicate with systems using a different protocol. The protocol you choose will also affect your hardware. For example, transmission distance will determine your available IoT modules, power requirements, and shape the network configuration for your system. There are a huge number of protocols to choose from. New versions Read Article FIRST Robotics Competition Makes STEM Students into Superstars Over 25 years ago, FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) founder and prolific inventor, Dean Kamen, envisioned a high school robotics competition that rivaled the energy and excitement of the Super Bowl. An event that would turn science students into superstars and infect them with an unshakeable passion for STEM activities and careers. Chris Jennings has an infectious enthusiasm for the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) , as well as a rich history Read Article PCB Designer Cherie Litson: Accomplished BSEE and Master CID Instructor Cherie Litson is an accomplished BSEE and Master Instructor for CID and CID+ training at Eptac. She has enjoyed a long career as a PCB design professional and now spends her days training and certifying other designers. Here she shares how she became a designer, her thoughts on differences between men and women in business approach, and what advice she would offer to others thinking about a PCB design profession. Warner: Cherie, can you tell us Read Article Pagination First page « First Previous page ‹‹ Page175 Current page176 Page177 Page178 Page179 Page180 Next page ›› Last page Last » Load More