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The Brave New World of PCB Data Management A Brave New World: PCB Data Management and the Great Paradigm Shift PCB Data Management is the acquisition, storage, verification, usage, distribution and maintenance of all the data connected to the development of printed circuit boards or PCBs In what some refer to as the “Olden Days” of the Electronics industry, it was definitely a different time. There wasn’t much need for PCB Data, let alone anything to manage it with. Tasks such as creating schematics, BOMs, drawings, and gerber files were problematic at Read Article
Get to Know Microvia Manufacturing Processes and HDI Substrates Get to Know Microvia Manufacturing Processes and HDI Substrates Initial HDI Fabrication High Density Interconnect printed circuits actually started in 1980, when researchers started investigating ways to reduce the size of vias. The first innovator is not known, but some of the earliest pioneers include Larry Burgess of MicroPak Laboratories (developer of LaserVia), Dr. Charles Bauer at Tektronix (who produced photodielectric vias), [1] and Dr. Walter Schmidt at Contraves (who developed plasma-etched vias) Read Article
11 HDI Materials You Need to Know 11 HDI Materials You Need to Know Happy Holden shows us some of the important materials used to produce high density interconnect PCB designs. Read Article
Introduction to High Density Interconnects and the Evolution of Electronics Introduction to High Density Interconnects and the Evolution of Electronics The Evolution of Electronics Electronics is a relatively new industry, since it has been only 65 years since the transistor was invented. The radio tube was developed nearly 100 years ago but blossomed in WWII, with communications, radar, ammunition fusing (especially the radar-altimeter electronic fusing for the first atom bomb) and has evolved into the world largest industry. All electronic components must be interconnected and assembled to Read Article
How Does the Cloud Change the DFX Process? How Does the Cloud Change the DFX PCB Design Process? Let’s face it: Engineers rarely design modern board systems on their own. However, it didn’t use to be that way. Not long ago, engineers primarily focused on form, fit, and function. Addressing those requirements was extremely difficult on its own. Constraints on cost, power, or part availability were secondary concerns. The prime directive was to get it to work. Fast forward to today, and the focus has flipped. It is a given that board systems Read Article
Layer Management as a Design Tool Priority Layer Management as a Circuit Board Design Tool Priority Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same could be said for printed circuit boards. PCBs are similar to cities in that they contain pathways connecting components. Components have dimension into the surrounding air space, as well as into the thickness of the board itself. Hidden subsystems similar to underground wiring and cityscape piping reside within the thickness of the boards. Printed circuit boards mimic cities with their layers of Read Article
Design Rules to Fanout a Large BGA Design Rules for Large BGA Fanout I have known people during my career who insisted on hand-routing every PCB design that they worked on. They would say that their manual routing performed better, looked better, and was just better in general. I’m not going to argue one way or the other on that, but I will say that there is one thing that can not be argued with; all of that manual routing took them a much longer time to complete than if they had used automated routers. With today Read Article
Electronic Components Shortages, Insights from John Watson Electronic Components Shortages in 2019, Insights from John Watson PCB design expert John Watson shares some ideas that can help electronic component shortages & address this crisis proactively. In this episode he shares tips on how to succeed through the challenge. Read Article
IPC-2152 calculator Using an IPC-2152 Calculator: Designing to Standards If you look at modern EDA programs, there are many calculators and simulators built into these applications. But one of the areas of simulation that has lagged behind everything else is thermal simulations. Thermal calculations are important particularly in power electronics, and in high-reliability electronics, even if these systems are running lower overall power. There are other instances where we can determine the potential need for an Read Article
Asymmetric Striplines in Your Next Multi-layer PCB Asymmetric Striplines in Your Next Multi-layer PCB The beauty of symmetricity in art, science, and nature, in general, is something of a wonder. The visual balance between elements in a painting or drawing can make or break a piece of artwork. PCB design is as much art as it is engineering, and symmetricity plays as much of a technical role as it does an aesthetic role. Ever since its humble beginnings as a replacement for high frequency coaxial cables and waveguides, striplines are a mainstay Read Article
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