Design Libraries

Bill of Materials for PCB: Part Number System and Organization, or Packing Tetris?

Bill of Materials for PCB: Part Numbering Systems and Organization, or Packing Tetris? It would be great if spending a day at the beach didn’t require gathering towels and chairs, fixing lunch, and making sure there was enough sunscreen to go around. Swimsuit selection, packing up, and traveling are also unpleasant chores. It would be nice to just think “beach” while sitting on the couch, and suddenly be comfortably working on a tan with your toes in the sand. That’s the thing about organization though; it’s what really gets us Read Article

Your PCB Bill of Materials Report Can Be So Much More Than a Simple Statement

Your PCB Bill of Materials Report Can Be So Much More Than a Simple Statement I just finished going through my bank balances and I am very grateful for the online utilities that my bank provides. It used to be that you could only get an account statement in the mail from your bank that you had to reconcile with your checkbook. Today’s online banking systems are far superior with different utilities to help you track and organize your finances. With these tools you can move money around, create and monitor budgets, as do Read Article

No Icebergs Here, Captain! Board Rule Checking for Bill of Materials Management

No Icebergs Here, Captain! Board Rule Checking for Bill of Materials Management You know the story of RMS Titanic and how just before midnight on April 14th, 1912, it struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and sank. What you may not know though is how one small item may have saved the ship from sinking. During the inquiry, one of the surviving crew members who was a lookout reported that they did not have a pair of binoculars to use in the crow’s nest. When asked if having the binoculars would have made a difference or not Read Article

Instructions Are Easy When You Write Them: The PCB Assembly Drawing

Instructions Are Easy When You Write Them: The PCB Assembly Drawing learn about the basics of assembly drawing. Read Article

How Multi-Level BOMs Can Organize Your Next System Design

How Multi-Level BOMs Can Organize Your Next System Design If only packing for vacation were as simple as it sounds: figure out what clothes you need, throw them in a suitcase, and you’re ready to go—wrong! Here’s the more realistic vacation planning scenario: pack your clothes, pack your children’s clothes, and then pack all the other personal necessities such as diapers, games, etc. Next you need to pack the food followed by whatever gear your particular vacation requires including tents, fishing Read Article

Using Obsolescence Management Software to Avoid Surprises with Obsolete Parts

Using Obsolescence Management Tools and Software to Avoid Surprises with Obsolete Parts Recently I helped with a plumbing problem at my mother-in-law’s house. A fixture had started to leak and water was going everywhere. As she thought about it for a while, mom realized that she had been living there for 25 years and had never replaced this fixture. The old part had now failed though, and needed to be replaced. However, trying to find a modern replacement part that would fit turned out to be an even bigger problem. It’s one of those Read Article

Using Bill of Material Management to Prevent Problems with Moisture Sensitive Devices

Using Bill of Material Management to Prevent Problems with Moisture Sensitive Devices Up here in the Pacific Northwest we are once again in the rainy season. My family doesn’t like it, my friends don’t like it, and even my dog doesn’t like it. The other night I had to pull the ladder out of the garage to unclog a gutter during a rainstorm. That was definitely not on my list of fun things to do, especially at 11:00 at night. We are used to the rain though. We know how to direct the water run-off so that it doesn’t pool up, we have Read Article

How Online BOM Management Helps Build Teamwork

How Online BOM Management Helps Build Teamwork Last week one of my co-workers, a brilliant guy named Phil, quit his job for a position in another company. Phil was amazing, and losing him was a tremendous blow to our department and the company. The tragic thing though is that Phil didn’t leave for a better job, he left because he felt that he no longer added any value. It is amazing at how many truly exemplary employees end up quitting because of workplace frustrations and feeling Read Article

Why You Should Include Mechanical Parts in Your Bill of Materials Template

Why You Should Include Mechanical Parts in Your Bill of Materials Template Have you ever put together a project where there weren’t enough to finish the job? I have, and I know how frustrating it is to have to wait for the missing to be replaced. Meanwhile, that partially completed bookshelf or bicycle just sits there mocking you. You can’t use the bookshelf, and nothing in life hurts worse than the scolding face of an 8-year-old who can’t ride their new bike. This problem can also happen during the manufacturing of Read Article

Considerations for PCB Circuit Design: Why PCB Labeling is Important

Considerations for PCB Circuit Design: Why PCB Labels are Important Checklists are an important part of life. Airline pilots use them to make sure that they’ve put the wheels down before landing. Shoppers use them to make sure that they don’t forget to buy the eggs. We all use checklists in different ways, and many of us would be lost without them. Here’s another good use for a checklist; making sure that we don’t forget to include important elements on our PCB design. It’s not likely that we will forget to place Read Article

PCB Designer Responsibilities: How to Manage Engineering and Manufacturing Expectations

PCB Designer Responsibilities: How to Manage Engineering and Manufacturing Expectations My wife works at an elementary school, and the thing she dislikes the most is when she has to put herself between two kids in an argument. Being caught in the middle like that is frustrating for her because it is often difficult to turn it into a “win” for both sides of the argument. We as PCB designers are often in the same position when we have to mediate the needs of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Trying to negotiate a “win Read Article

How PCB BOM Management Tools fit into a Paperless Manufacturing BOM System

How PCB BOM Management Tools fit into a Paperless Manufacturing BOM Software My wife is an avid reader, and we have a large selection of her favorite books filling the bookshelves in our family room. Lately though, she has been purchasing more and more E-books to read on her tablet. E-books are easier for her to store and transport, and she now prefers that format over the traditional printed book. This transition from paper to electronic format has been going on for a while now, and E-books are just a small portion of Read Article

Obsolescence Information Management for PCB BOM Maintenance

Obsolescence Information Management for PCB BOM Maintenance In my home laboratory, the garage, I have many bins. One contains small springs, another gear-motors, yet another small bolts… and so on. Despite my girlfriend’s skepticism, these bits are actually very useful for fixing assorted gadgets and household appliances, and they also provide fodder for my weekend tinkering habits. Keeping track of what I have and where it is uses up quite a lot of mental capacity in itself. At work, the sheer volume of Read Article

PCB BOM Creation as a Living Document

PCB BOM Creation as a Living Document The other day my son bought himself a new phone because the navigator in his old phone was defective. Every time that he used the old phone for directions, he would end up getting lost. Although taking the time to get a new phone wasn’t in his plans, he could no longer afford wasting time trying to figure out where he was and where he needed to go next. His difficulties reminded me of the problems that I’ve seen in some PCB design groups where Read Article

Bill of Materials Inventory Management and the Benefits of an Online Parts Request System

Bill of Materials Inventory Management and the Benefits of an Online Parts Request Documentation Systems I once asked a family member to borrow some money to use as a down payment. His response included a counter-proposal that I didn’t understand, so I let it pass. Unfortunately by not understanding his answer to my request, I missed out on an even better opportunity than what I had initially asked for. That exchange has stayed in my mind as an example of how important clear communication is. In our world of PCB design, the need for clear Read Article

Important Considerations in Your Embedded System's Master-Slave Communication Model

Important Considerations in Your Embedded System's Master-Slave Communication Model It can take a few weeks or months to finish a working prototype of an embedded system. Sometimes I would spend days working on a single part of the project. However, when your boss is looking for updates every day, it can be particularly distracting and hinder your productivity. When I started my design company, I learned not to repeat these mistakes on my team. Like a human, embedded systems come in various shapes and sizes, and more importantly Read Article

The Importance of Compliance Awareness in Circuit and PCB Design

The Importance of Compliance Awareness in Circuit and PCB Design I had an English professor once who was a lot of fun, but man, his requirements for essay writing were brutal. Making a decent grade required a ton of work. I had to check and recheck my paper’s content to make sure that every detail he asked for was painstakingly covered. These tedious rituals, though annoying and painful, helped teach me how to be thorough with my research. This was something that came in handy when I began my career and had to Read Article