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Where Do They All Go? PCB Layout Component Placement Guidelines Where Do They All Go? PCB Layout Component Placement Guidelines When I first learned how to play “Hearts,” I was always worried about how to pass those three cards right off the bat. What if I helped who I was playing against? I got the hang of it eventually and with enough games under my belt. I could recognize card patterns to make the best choices, but until I got to that point it felt like I was throwing random cards across the tables. My PCB design wasn’t too far off from my card strategy there, in Read Article
Wet and Dry PCB Etching Solutions: Which Process is the Right Solution? Wet and Dry PCB Etching Solutions: Which Process is the Right Solution? I have always been a very visually-oriented thinker. When I was much younger, I used to look up maps to video game levels online and put a sheet of tracing paper up against the screen to copy them down. The Zelda games specifically would always leave me with a notebook full of maps and, on the more challenging dungeons, color-coded warnings. If I sneezed once in my tracing process or the screen moved or I was called away mid-tracing, my map would Read Article
Properties of Semiconductors: Electrodeposition and PCB Devices Properties of Semiconductors: Electrodeposition, Gas Sensors, and PCB Devices I started working with gas sensors 10 years ago—my team had several ideas on how to improve the performance of our devices by integrating semiconductor nanomaterials into our PCB-based sensors. We were familiar with various electron, barrier heights, valence electrons, conduction band and the semiconductor interface. We were all masters of electrodeposition and masters of gas sensors in our own right, and we had the idea to integrate the two Read Article
Sooner or Later, Your PCB Design Layout Will Need Rework Sooner or Later, Your PCB Design Layout Will Need Rework I woke up last Saturday morning eager to get started on my latest backyard project. First, a trip to the hardware store for supplies, and then spend the rest of the day working on the project. Or at least I thought that I had it all planned out until my wife reminded me that I had promised to help her with some other chores. The proverbial rug of my weekend project was yanked out from under me by the classic “honey-do” block. Since I had, in fact Read Article
Bill of Materials Management Strategies: Automation is Your Friend Bill of Materials Management Strategies: Automation is Your Friend When I was a boy I really enjoyed reading the “Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators” mystery books. These books were a contemporary to “The Hardy Boys” mystery books and I filled a lot of my free time reading about “The Secret of Terror Castle”, “The Mystery of the Screaming Clock”, and many other frightful enigmas. A few years ago I ran across some of these books, and now I collect as many as I can find. Another avid fan I know said it Read Article
Multi-Board Versus Multilayer Designs Step Up Your Game: Multi-Board Versus Multilayer Designs Sometimes, a circuit board gets too cramped and has too many layers for its good. Highly cramped assemblies and higher layer counts generally increase costs, and you can't always enlarge a board just to fit everything into your mechanical constraints. Things like enclosures, connector placements, attached mechanical or electrical components, and the like all limit what you can do inside the space you are given. What's the difference between a Read Article
Practice Makes Perfect: How to Test Electronic Components during PCB Design Practice Makes Perfect: Testing and Verifying Electronic Component Assemblies during PCB Design When I was younger, well much younger, I had dreams of one day being a pro athlete. I wanted to be the guy who scored the winning touchdown, knocked in the winning run or hit the buzzer-beater. Although I never made to the professional level, I did have some success and I learned a lot. The most important thing was the results you achieved were strictly tied to your preparation. In other words, if I wanted to do well in the game I had to test Read Article
Op amp layout guidelines for noise reduction Op-Amp Layout Guidelines for Noise Reduction in Your PCB I remember my younger self daisy chaining a stereo system and powered speakers to try and get that perfect sound. You quickly realize the power of amplifiers and the havoc that multistage amplifiers can wreak on your favorite music. I was specifically reminded of a fundamental component: operational amplifiers. Op-amps are particularly useful devices in a PCB design and they form the basis of many devices that make modern life possible. As op Read Article
High Current PCB Design and its Real World Applications High Current Board Design and its Real World Applications With the rise of PCB applications stretching far and wide, designs are being created for applications that extend past simple signal integrity solutions. Advancements in material technology, PCB manufacturing capabilities, and the rising demand for PCB design is opening up the floor for many industries that otherwise have been dormant in the PCB world. Many limitations that were not present a handful of years ago are beginning to loosen. Of Read Article
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Designing with Breadboards The Advantages and Disadvantages of Designing with Breadboards Breadcrumbs, breadboards, and breadwinners. One of which has electronic components. Two of which will provide you with a delicious and nutritious meal enough to feed a family. The first, will provide you with the foundational playground to which your printed circuit board board design will spawn from. I will save you time, effort, and many awkward encounters by telling you that if you go around trying to stick jumper leads into breadwinners Read Article
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