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Supply Chain Solutions for Electronic Assemblies Supply Chain Solutions for Electronic Assemblies Has this happened to you? You’ve finished a new PCB design that is ready for its prototype build and the race is on. Marketing has put the pressure on engineering for this “must have” device that they can show off, and everyone is expecting you to deliver it as soon as possible. You got the design done in record time and are ready to send it to the manufacturer when the word comes back to you that there is a problem. One or more of the that you Read Article
Prioritize Precision Querying in Circuit Board Design Software Prioritize Precision Querying in Circuit Board Design Software There is nothing worse than losing your car keys when running late to an important meeting. Car keys are small and remembering where you put them becomes impossible given the projects taken on in the interim. They could be anywhere. These days it is possible to use RF devices to locate your keys. Having user-friendly technology keeps stress levels low. Working with a complex circuit design within EDA tools can pose the same problem. With Read Article
Tips for Connecting Hidden Pins with Altium Designer Tips for Connecting Hidden Pins with Altium Designer By far, the greatest form of entertainment is magic and even a century after his death Harry Houdini is still hailed as the magician ever. Although, acclaimed for his various escapes, Houdini was the first to perform the often duplicated “Vanishing Elephant” magic trick. Of course, the elephant, named Jennie, did not vanish but was only hidden from the vast majority of the spectators. When designing a highly congested printed circuit board (PCB) Read Article
How Bill of Material Software Can Protect You from Unintended Errors How Bill of Material Software Can Protect You from Unintended Errors Editorial credit: Willrow Hood / Shutterstock.com OK, I’ll admit it; I like the original Star Trek just as much as the next guy. Even with its laughable science, cheesy effects, and starships constructed with painted plywood for bulkheads, it still had relatable characters and compelling stories. But one thing that always bugged me was how our heroes could be all the way across the galaxy and jump into an alien spaceship and drive it like a pro Read Article
PCB Via Noise Coupling in Multilayer PCBs PCB Via Noise Coupling in Multilayer PCBs Call me boring, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become tired of taking my dates to bars. Shouting over people just to get to know someone is not my idea of a great time. The funny thing is that as everyone else talks louder, I have to talk louder to compensate. This level of crosstalk creates a vicious feedback loop and does not make for a romantic evening. Vias are critical features in multilayer PCBs that are used to route connections between Read Article
Component Symbol Information Management and Display Usability Component Symbol Information Management and Display Usability Building a library of PCB components requires compiling information on footprint, electrical specifications, simulation models, pin arrangements, and other specifications. The amount of information in any component library is massive and needs to be aggregated into a single module in your PCB design software. A PCB component library should be flexible enough to allow designers and engineers to define proprietary components and implement the Read Article
PCB Production for Industry Manufacturing with Supplier Information PCB Production for Industry Manufacturing with Supplier Information Moving to PCB production is that breathtaking and nerve-wracking final step in bringing your next electronic device to life. Manufacturers require that a specific set of deliverables be provided by engineers and designers before they begin production. This includes your bill of materials, CAD/CAM drafts of your PCB, Gerber files, and component sourcing information. Probably the most important piece of information is the pricing and lead time Read Article
Start Your Schematic Right with the Best Electronics Parts Management Start Your Schematic Right with the Best Way to Organize Electronics Components and Management Software I loved building models when I was a kid. Whether it was airplanes, cars, ships, or tanks, it didn’t matter as long as I was gluing pieces together. You can imagine my disappointment then when none of my sons shared the same interest. In fact we just discovered a couple of old models tossed in a box that they had started and then given up on. The really sad thing is that the instructions for these kits are missing, and I have no idea now what Read Article
PCB layout tips unroutable circuit board Practical PCB Tips and Tricks for an Unroutable Board I grew up in the era before PlayStation ever existed. Back then, generic consoles reigned alongside premium counterparts like Super Nintendo and Sega. I first discovered my stubborn streak while playing Super Mario, a game where a funny looking character starts shooting fireballs after getting power-ups from mushrooms. I lost count of how many times I repeated the entire game even though I was always ultimately defeated at the last level. As Read Article
Schematic Capture Design Integration Thrives With Unified Partners Schematic Capture Design Integration Thrives With Unified Partners The digital world is an evolving place. Just yesterday file formats were abundant for text and graphics. Or was that today? Sending a file to a friend can turn into disaster if their device doesn’t recognize the extension. Clicks occur rapidly while trying differing file formats to see if they will save and send. It gets a little trying and soon the search turns to a more elegant app. Designing circuits, iterating parallel ideas, and releasing Read Article
More than a Right-Click Menu Multi-Channel PCB Design More than a Right-Click Menu Multi-Channel PCB Design When it comes to creating a schematic I want the tools to work for me and not the other way around. I want easy access to, I want to place and connect those, and I want to be able to do all of this without having to jump through a lot of hoops to get there. Sadly many PCB design CAD systems don’t seem to share my opinion. I’m looking for an easy right-click menu solution while most CAD systems appear to want me to memorize a of ancient texts and Read Article
BOM Management Tools for PCB Manufacturing BOM Management Tools for PCB Manufacturing Between the mid-1980s and late 1990s, Spy magazine published a monthly “Separated at Birth” column/pictorial that would pair two selected photos of unrelated celebrities, cartoon characters, or movie characters. The authors would then point out similar physical characteristics from each photo. Mentally picture a space alien from a popular movie paired with a sultry singer to gain some appreciation for their humor. Separated at Birth? Well… Kinda Read Article
PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance From the early 15th century until the 17th century, artists used the Flemish masters’ method to create life-like paintings. This process begins with a pencil, charcoal, or ink pen drawing and continues with the imprimatura—or the first transparent, olive-tinged stain of color. Then, the method moves to the first umber underpainting, sanding, second umber underpainting, sanding, and a monochromatic underpainting. Each underpainting layer focuses Read Article
PCB Component Failure: How to Workaround a Tragedy How to Avoid PCB Component Failures and Workaround Them Probably, the single thing that drew me to pursue a technical career was the existence of laws that stipulated if you follow the same procedure then you will get the same results. I have always taken comfort in having that security for my work. However, there is another law that at times supersedes all others. That, of course, is Murphy’s law, which states “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” At times it seems that Murphy’s law applies Read Article
Escape the Pain of a Gerber Files Viewer and Invest in a 3D PCB Editor Escape the Pain of a Gerber Files Viewer and Invest in a 3D PCB Editor As the design of printed circuit boards grows more challenging with flex, rigid-flex, RF, and other technologies, it is becoming more important than ever to be able to see exactly what it is that you are designing. Then compounded by shorter design cycles and fewer prototype builds the need for full verification of the design before manufacturing has become a necessity. Thankfully PCB design tools have kept pace with different ways to view and Read Article
Annotate Reference Designators With Custom Global Properties Annotate Reference Designators With Custom Global Properties Having a system to find many similar items in a short amount of time can be helpful in staying organized. Everybody has a silverware drawer and most are organized with caddys that divide the flatware into forks, knives, and spoons. Reference designators are the unique identifiers on a PCB for each and every component or free pad on the design. Best design practice is to number the reference designators consecutively on the PCB to allow easy Read Article
Generate and Export Gerber File in Altium Designer: the Language of PCB Manufacturing Generate and Export Gerber File in Altium Designer: the Language of PCB Manufacturing It is always exciting to travel to a new country and explore the culture, sample the food, and meet new people. On these trips, it seems like every day is an adventure that ends with greater understanding, an altered palate, or new friends. However, to make the most of the experience, it is great to learn to speak the language. Otherwise, you may wind up spending most of your time in a state of confusion. This is similar to the confusion that can Read Article