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Circular Product Design and PCBs for a Healthier World Circular Product Design and PCBs for a Healthier World The world of PCB design is a fast-moving and highly profitable sector. But with the rate of increase we are clearly seeing in the industry, it is apparent that if we are not careful, we may head into some stiff environmental issues that are too deep to repair. Thankfully the push we are seeing from environmental groups is equally correlated to the growth of the industry. The concept of a ‘circular economy’ is at the forefront of these qualms Read Article
Peeling Back the Layers: Electronic PCB Stackup Peeling Back the Layers: Electronic PCB Stackup One of the first things you notice about the Grand Canyon when you visit is the incredible scenery. The canyon walls with their histories inscribed for all to see through the different colored layers of rocks and minerals are truly inspiring. I’m sure you could spend years and not even come close to discovering all the connections, materials, and creatures that live or have lived within those layered rock-faces. Because it’s hard for me to stop Read Article
Crystal Oscillators in Your PCB Layout Keep Frequencies Steady Crystal Oscillators in Your PCB Layout Keep Frequencies Steady For most of human history, we relied on astronomical timekeeping to plan our lives. Now we have sophisticated clocks that help us manage daily life. As modern life becomes ever more frantic, we need to keep track of fractions of a second. Electronic pcb layout crystal oscillator guidelines are the secret sauce that makes this possible. The output clock signal from a Schmitt-trigger oscillator or a 555 timer is controlled using an RC time constant Read Article
How an Electrolytic Capacitor PDN Issue Almost Brought Down a Building How an Electrolytic Capacitor PDN Issue Almost Brought Down a Building I recently came across an interesting story that involves the tale of a boiler system that failed to start under the close supervision of a TDK-Lambda rep, only to be solved by none other than the building maintenance technician. The story starts by the shutdown of an aging boiler in the dead of winter a British winter that required replacement of the seven-year-old radiators. After the repair and replacements took place, the boiler was switched Read Article
Voltage Regulators and How to Plan Your Power Budget with PDN Analysis Voltage Regulators and How to Plan Your Power Budget with PDN Analysis and Examples With my first buck regulator design, I had been given a power budget for the circuit block and I had to take into consideration what it was supplying and what topology I’d use. I considered efficiency to remove heat from the enclosure and I wanted to avoid using a heat sink. I also wanted a robust engine, a regulator to keep on working when the CPU, memory, and other utility circuits were exercising their might. I decided on the buck regulator Read Article
Unifying a Comprehensive Collection: PCB Library Management Unifying a Comprehensive Collection: PCB Library Management Remodeling my kitchen was a project long overdue. I made a mental list of the materials I would need, such as appliances, cabinetry, countertops, flooring, and paint. Eagerly I drove to the local discount warehouse to peruse the materials. I sat with the store clerk making plans and quickly realized I’d need more than a few mental notes to stay organized. Keeping track of individual tasks within any big project is a chore if you don’t have a Read Article
Add Any Component to Your Design With Unified Component Libraries Add Any Component to Your Design With Unified PCB Component Libraries When embarking on the PCB design journey, there are some initial hurdles you’ll need to overcome in order to get your design process running smoothly and without interruption. Sometimes the hurdle is as manageable as making sure you get your coffee in the morning. Sometimes the hurdle is as tall as not having the knowledge, comfort, or software you need to accomplish your design tasks. Oftentimes, when sketching out an initial PCB design, there Read Article
Enable Temperature and Humidity Analysis with a Humidity Sensor Circuit Design Enable Temperature and Humidity Analysis with a Humidity Sensor Circuit Design Living in a country with temperature averages of 35°C all year long, I have excellent heat tolerance. It’s the humidity that gets me all hot and bothered. I come from a small and peaceful town at the base of a hill. It sounds nice but is arguably the most humid town in the whole country. I remember showering at least fives times per day, unable to stand the high concentration of water vapor in the air. When I wasn’t drowning out the heat, I was Read Article
Industrial Air Dryer Designs Demand a Keen Eye for Safety Industrial Air Dryer Designs Demand a Keen Eye for Safety Early in my school days, I was lazy and forgetful. I would procrastinate on everything, including washing my school shoes. Pressed for time, I often dried my shoes under the radiator coil of an old-school refrigerator. Of course, that didn’t spare me from an earful of mom’s scolding. In one of my first industrial electronics designs, I did more than dry shoes. I designed an intelligent air dryer controller for a local milk powder processing plant Read Article
Bill of Materials Control Bill of Materials Control In the past, many PCB designers were confined to tools that dictated at which point in the design process that the Bill of Materials could be produced. But we know from years of experience that the Bill of Materials, or BOM, can change throughout the design process and the iterative change management is its own challenge. We believe the decisions should be up to you, while the repetitive aspects should be automated as much as possible, which is Read Article
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