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Deterministic Solutions to Solve Skew Problems

Judy Warner
|  Created: October 14, 2021
Deterministic Solutions to Solve Skew Problems

Everything that goes to making a board works against signal integrity...physics screw things up.
 -Bill Hargin

Avoid getting your design “skewed”! Today’s guest is Z-Zero’s Founder and CEO, Bill Hargin. Together we will dive into the cause of getting skews in your board. There are many details, and many questions answered, so make sure to watch through the end and check out the additional resources below.

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Show Highlights:

  • Introduction, a brief overview of Z-Zero and Bill’s background
    • Hardware Manager at Boeing (Electronic cooling and CAD design)
    • He became the Director of Sales and Marketing at Hyperlynx
    • High-speed marketing and five years in laminate space
    • Sharing his deep knowledge of signal integrity - travel around the world doing workshops
    • 2018 - full time at Z-Zero, a software company he founded. Z-Zero is an EDA start-up that offers solutions for stackup design, field solver, automation, library
  • Bill presents every year at the PCB West on topics of stackup design and material selection
  • Bill offers more resources through webinars and blog articles on z-zero.com
  • What are Skews, and why is it’s a problem?
    • Comprehensive overview and solutions
      • Deterministic solutions
      • Stochastic Solutions
  • What is a Glass-weave skew (GWS)?
  • Prepreg glass types, what is spread glass?
  • Bill’s deterministic solutions to avoid skew
    • Angled routing
    • Rotating artwork 10 degrees (waste about 15% of the material, higher cost)

Links and Resources:

Bill Hargin on LinkedIn
Z-Zero Website
Who Should Be Concerned about the Fiber-Weave Effect?

Read the blogs:
How to Avoid Getting Totally Skewed, Part 1
How to Avoid Getting Totally Skewed, Part 2
How to Avoid Getting Totally Skewed, Part 3
How to Avoid Getting Totally Skewed, Part 4

Watch the Webinars:
Glass-Weave Skew - Part 1 - Who Cares?
Glass-Weave Skew - Part 2 - Mitigation Methods  

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About Author

About Author

Judy Warner has held a unique variety of roles in the electronics industry for over 25 years. She has a background in PCB Manufacturing, RF and Microwave PCBs and Contract Manufacturing, focusing on Mil/Aero applications. 

She has also been a writer, blogger, and journalist for several industry publications such as Microwave Journal, PCB007 Magazine, PCB Design007, PCD&F, and IEEE Microwave Magazine, and an active board member for PCEA (Printed Circuit Engineering Association). In 2017, Warner joined Altium as the Director of Community Engagement. In addition to hosting the OnTrack Podcast and creating the OnTrack Newsletter, she launched Altium's annual user conference, AltiumLive. Warner's passion is to provide resources, support, and advocate for PCB Design Engineers worldwide.

More content by Judy Warner

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