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Free Bill of Materials Software vs. Integrated Design Software Free Bill of Materials Software vs. Integrated Design Software The first time I prepared functional requirements for a web platform, I thought the document was massively complex. I forget the number of youtube tutorials I watched on preparing this document. Now that I have prepared several of these documents for a number of startups, I could probably write functional requirements in my sleep. A bill of materials might also seem like a complex document if you have never prepared one in the past. When it comes Read Article
When Should You Use an Online Circuit Calculator? When Should You Use an Online Circuit Calculator? Even if you’re an experienced engineer, you probably haven’t perfectly memorized every single formula you need to design PCBs and electronic devices. If this is true for experienced engineers, then what is a weekend warrior to do? Thankfully, there are many online calculators available that can help even novice designers build devices that meet industry standards. As you venture down the rabbit hole of designing a new electronic product, it Read Article
Circuit Breakers in Your PCB and Your Bill of Materials Circuit Breakers in Your PCB and Your Bill of Materials Circuit breakers are not required in every system, but in some environments they are the main source of protection against overvoltage/high current, as well as any damage that can result from power surges. Circuit breakers are best known for use in residential circuit protection, but they can be used in any environment (such as power systems and industrial systems) that require circuit protection. Some circuit breakers can be mounted on a PCB Read Article
Don’t Let Unmanageable Tools Deny You the Joy of Designing a PCB Don’t Let Unmanageable Tools Deny You the Joy of Designing a PCB There are a lot of “firsts” in our lives; the first time we drove alone after getting our driver’s license, going out on our first real date, buying our first home. These moments, and millions of others like them, are supposed to bring a feeling of joy when we remember them. Another moment of joy for me was the first PCB design that I worked on. I remember routing traces on a design that a co-worker opened up for me the first time I sat in front Read Article
Stephen Chavez Calls on PCB Designers to Get Involved Stephen Chavez Calls on PCB Designers to Get Involved Stephen Chavez has a passion for PCB design and fabrication. If you are a PCB designer, listen in and get involved. Click to listen or watch the OnTrack Podcast Episode. Read Article
Low Power Electronics: Do You Need a Battery to Keep Your Circuit Boards Online? Low Power Electronics: Do You Need a Battery to Keep Your Circuit Boards Online? I was recently chatting with a friend of mine about his new hardware startup and how his progress on his new product was coming along. He was building a Bluetooth device and his first run at a prototype only kept his circuit board online for 40 minutes before draining the battery. I’ve noticed the difficulty of many IoT devices is that often they need to run for long periods of time. Whether it’s something you can wear or a sensor in a smart home Read Article
Online PCB Printing: What to Know With Small or Large PCB Services Online PCB Fabrication: What to Know About Small or Large PCB Printing Services If you’re like any designer, you’ve probably spent more time than necessary trying to hammer out all the kinks of your printed circuit board before you go into making your device. But, especially if you’re not particularly part of the industry, you might wonder how exactly the “printed” gets put into the “printed circuit board”. After you’ve spent time learning the particulars of PCB design and laying out your new dream device, it’s time to bring Read Article
The Benefits of Using a BOM Management Tool for PCB The Benefits of Using a BOM Management Tool for PCB I am perhaps the worst speller in the history of the world. I’m the guy who asks his wife to sign the guestbook because I’m terrified that I will mess up someone’s name or write an unintelligible comment. The happiest days of my life have been when spell checkers became commonplace in web browsers, E-mail, and word processors. Even with that though there have still been a few times when I’ve driven a spell checker to its knees with some word that Read Article
Designing in an Intuitive Interface Leaves Time for Bright Ideas Designing in an Intuitive Interface Leaves Time for Bright Ideas in Users and Experienced Designers Keeping it simple with complex tasks demanding attention is challenging on a good day. Tools available to compute mountains of details with lightning speed is powerful but can be overwhelming if poorly designed. Powerful elegant tools move ideas into usage and benefit many. Many are benefited every day while using smartphones to communicate news, to navigate cars, and to keep scheduled calendar dates. Digital devices use printed circuit board Read Article
Using Rules-Driven Design to Control a High-Frequency Board Using Rules-Driven Design to Control a High-Frequency Board There was a time where high-frequency design belonged to realm of specialized engineers who lived in a world all of their own. For those of us designing printed circuit boards we rarely ventured into this realm, and when we did we were very happy to turn over that portion of the design to those engineers. They would perform calculations based on formulas that seemed to originate from the mystic arts, and then direct us to how the circuit should Read Article
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