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Help Your PCB Design Process with CAD Tools that are Designed to Work Together Help Your PCB Design Process with CAD Tools that are Designed to Work Together I’ve never quite understood how in all of our technological developments as humans, we haven’t yet developed a better grounding for playgrounds. When I was still small enough to swing, instead of sinking the whole swingset, I remember being so frustrated that our playground had rocks and mulch for us to run around on. That has always seemed a bit counterintuitive to me; designate an area as a play area for children but line it with hard or Read Article
Take the Fear out of PCB Form Factors with These Four Considerations Take the Fear out of PCB Form Factors with These Four Considerations Throughout the early 2000’s, we were blessed with an array of new and exciting products, shows, music, and technology. Myspace was just coming into view as one of the top social networking sites of its time, Livestrong bracelets were the most fashionable accessories around, and who could forget the launch of the very first iPod. However cool and hip all these things were, there was one that clearly stood out among the rest: the NBC show Fear Read Article
Learn to Manage Your BOM Inventory for Smooth Production Runs Learn to Manage Your BOM Inventory for Smooth Production Runs I’ve recently gotten into fermenting kombucha (which, I am well aware, is about the most hipster thing I could have said), and I ordered a handful of different-sized mason jars online in order to store it. Mason jars are reliable as ever but with the increasing popularity of home-fermenting and brewing, they’re one part of an industry trying to optimize how we store. During my ordering process alone, I had twelve tabs open of marginally different Read Article
How is Your Design Affected by PCB Edge Clearance? How is Your Design Affected by PCB Edge Clearance? We are often tasked with fitting a plethora of things into a small window of space. Whether it be cramming loads of info into our heads moments before a final exam, doing all twenty sightseeing activities into an eight-hour “vacation day,” or strategically stacking our Thanksgiving plates full of deliciousness, we must be aware of the boundaries given, and how each unique item interacts with the items surrounding (heaven forbid the mashed Read Article
Create a BOM That Works for Everyone Create a BOM That Works for Everyone For me, socks have always been about utility: they keep my feet from getting blisters. Yet for years I have spent far too much time sorting and organizing my socks to match up the colors. Browns with browns, blues with blues, and yellows with… well, to tell the truth, I would just throw those away. Yellow socks were just too weird for me. Then one day I decided to simplify my life and I replaced all my colored socks with plain black socks Read Article
Avoid Re-Placing the Same Parts Over and Over Again with a Pre-Placement Checklist Avoid Re-Placing the Same Parts Over and Over Again with a Pre-Placement Checklist Sometime during the evolution of the automobile, car makers decided that reading and understanding engine gauges were too difficult tasks for the average driver. To remedy this they substituted the check engine light instead; unlike the malfunction indicators of today which are computer controlled warnings, those early check engine lights would only tell you of a problem once it was occurring. Reporting a problem after it occurs is not the Read Article
Soup-Up Your CAD Tools as a 64-Bit PCB Designer Soup-Up Your CAD Tools as a 64-Bit PCB Designer For all the hazards that come along with older cars—rips in their vinyl, paint missing, smoking, rusted frames, and oil leaking—I will admit they are fun. I owned a 1969 Chevy Impala and for all the bad, one thing going for it was that it had been built to go fast. Even though it had a 4 barrel Quadrajet carburetor on a 350 cu in small block driving 350 horses into a Muncie 4 speed transmission, it still would only carry 6 people (well, and the Read Article
Learning Current Density: Don’t Pop the Balloon Learning Current Density: Don’t Pop the Balloon One area of PCB design that probably does not get the attention that it deserves is current density. Current density in a PCB trace is much like the pressure in a balloon. You want to squeeze as much air into the balloon as you can, but if you put too much: boom! The same is true of PCB traces many times. We want the traces to be as small as possible yet carry the most current possible, and if the trace carries too much: boom! For PCBs, that boom Read Article
Not That Much Force: Software for Updating PCB Layouts Not That Much Force: Software for Updating PCB Layouts and Avoiding Redesigns The other night I went to see the new Star Wars movie, “The Last Jedi," and although I really enjoyed the movie I found myself laughing out loud during one sequence. I wasn’t laughing because of the humor of the movie, or a silly looking alien—there were plenty of those to go around already. Instead I was laughing because for one brief sequence they showed some electronic circuitry that appeared to be composed of what looked like thru-hole Read Article
The Best PCB Component Placement Software Helps You to Efficiently Finish Your Placement The Best PCB Component Placement Software Helps You to Efficiently Finish Your Placement Remember when we were kids and our parents gave us permission to do something fun but first we had to finish our chores? Now, taking out the garbage, folding clothes, and mowing the grass I’d prefer compared to budgeting for vacations or renovating bathrooms. Getting the chores completed lets me move on to something that is at least significantly more convenient and in many cases more fun. When I’m designing, I have similar chore preferences and Read Article
Pass The Baton Well to PCB Design Successors Pass The Baton Well to PCB Design Successors Have you ever walked into a new job, first-day energy rolling through your shoulders, only to sit down and look at the notes left from the person who last had your job and know exactly what the problem was: poor organization. Poor organization is usually pretty noticeable in any work process; however, it takes on its most detrimental final form when you are trying to train someone based on the poorly organized leftovers of someone else. Early in Read Article
The Best PCB Routing Software Helps You to Finish Your Design on Time The Best PCB Routing Software Helps You to Finish Your Design on Time When my first child was young, my wife and I didn’t have a lot of income. It took everything that we had to pay the rent and put food on the table. When it came time for Christmas I really wanted to buy my boy a present, but I didn’t have any extra money to spend. That was a really humbling moment when I couldn’t even afford an extra couple of bucks for a toy. Fortunately, my wife had been saving money all along in preparation for Christmas. When Read Article
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
BOM Cost Analysis Shows PCB Design Savings Just Over the Horizon BOM Cost Analysis Shows PCB Design Savings Just Over the Horizon Ever have a rocky day? Or have the wind taken out of your sails? These and many other phrases have some of their roots as nautical expression but have been adapted for everyday use. “Keeping a weather eye,” for example, means to pay attention to the weather regardless of what else you might be doing. Sailors might not have intended to start this linguistic drifting, but at sea, overlooking a rapidly approaching cloud or a brief drop in the wind Read Article
The Best Layout Software for PCB Design Output Files Lets You Shop Carefree The Best Layout Software for PCB Design Output Files Lets You Shop Carefree Have you ever returned from the grocery store only to find out that you neglected something important? I have done this more times than I can count. Not that I mind getting out of the house, I just don’t necessarily want my free time consumed with trips to the store. Besides, I have already given my family plenty of reasons to have fun at my expense. I don’t need to help them out with additional ammunition. Newsflash! This is why shopping lists Read Article
Searching for Clarity: Signal Integrity Issues in PCB Design Searching for Clarity of Signal by Addressing Integrity Issues in PCB Design The clarity of TV signal transmission these days is amazing. I can still remember the days when I had a set of rabbit ears perched atop my 19” RCA. It was a challenge to position them just right to get the clearest picture, not to mention having to adjust them for every channel. Sometimes it’d take all night just to find the channel I wanted, so I’d sit down for five minutes and then head to bed. And if the weather was bad, forget about it. While Read Article
Practical Setups for PCB Design and Other Tips for Success Practical Setups for PCB Design and Other Tips for Success My father did not say a lot as he was a quiet man armed with a subtle wit, but he was very wise. He’s been gone for many years now, but I will always remember how he modeled for us a consistent perseverance in getting the job done and getting it done right. Every night, regular as clockwork, he would go through the house to make sure that all of the doors and windows were locked. This was his regular practice to make sure that his family was Read Article