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PCB Designers

PCB Designers

Resources and information for PCB Designers.

PCB Design - Fun, Frustration and Misconception PCB Design - Fun, Frustration and Misconception What do the top minds in the PCB Design social media space think about the modern landscape? We sat down with Hacksmith Industries, DD ElectroTech, and Electgpl to chat about how they got started, what frustrates them, what they think about A.I., and much more. Q1. Most Exciting PCB Design Ever & Its Biggest Challenge? Chris Thiele - Hacksmith Entertainment Ltd. So I think the most challenging design I've ever made was a Daft Punk helmet, Guy Read Article
Detroit Become Human Cosplay with Flexible PCBs and CircuitPython Detroit Become Human Cosplay with Flexible PCBs and CircuitPython A Father’s Story for “Introduce A Girl To STEM Day” Read Article
Huge Vu-meter with RGB LEDs Project Huge Vu-meter with RGB LEDs Project A laboratory journal to guide you through the steps to develop a successful product that value-conscious customers are sure to love. Read Article
Electrical design rules Customizing Performance-Based Electrical Design Rules in Altium Designer Electrical design rules go beyond manufacturing and assembly. PCBs also require electrical design rules that are based on a signals’ electrical behavior. Read Article
Pandemic PCB Prototyping: Building Electronics From Your Living Room Pandemic PCB Prototyping: Building Electronics From Your Living Room It feels like everyone is writing an article these days about how they’re managing (or not managing) with stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 restrictions. At the time of writing, California (where I am based) has the highest number of cases over any other state in the United States. To combat the pandemic, most non-essential businesses have been closed or open in a limited fashion. This means that folks who are able to work from home (e.g Read Article
Design data management system The Search for the All-in-One Design Data Management System In this article we discuss the pain points of using a single design data management system over linking many together. Read Article
12V DC Uninterruptible Power Supply 12V DC Uninterruptible Power Supply I live in a rural village that tends to have intermittent power when there are high winds or storms. Because of this, my computers, servers, and network equipment are all on relatively low-cost, uninterruptible power supplies. These all run on sealed lead acid batteries and are not an overly efficient way to power a DC device such as a Raspberry Pi or internet router as the incoming mains. AC charges a DC battery, which then creates AC power Read Article
How Calumet Electronics Joined the Fight Against COVID-19 With Altium 365 How Calumet Electronics Joined the Fight Against COVID-19 With Altium 365 The town of Calumet, with a population of barely seven-hundred, was once the booming epicenter of Michigan’s upper peninsula mining industry. When the industry began to fail, unemployment skyrocketed, and the townspeople sought local solutions for creating jobs that could sustain the town’s families. Rob Cooke, Director of Engineering Services at Calumet Electronics Corp, joins the OnTrack podcast to discuss the Open Source Ventilator project Read Article
IPC, Molding the Future of Printed Design Engineering Exploring IPC’s Network of Printed Board Design Engineers The renown global trade association known as IPC has put together a network of printed board design engineering affiliates under the name IPC Design. IPC Design’s affiliates are comprised of PCB design engineers across the globe who are working to advance the art and science of printed design engineering. IPC Design’s Patrick Crawford and Teresa Rowe join the OnTrack Podcast. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Read Article
Impacts of Design Miniaturization and Complexity Impacts of Design Miniaturization and Complexity Since they’ve been created, electronics have been getting smaller, faster, and more efficient. But when you try to cram more components, pins, and connections in a smaller sized board, you’re going to have some problems. These challenges include heat, BGA breakouts and size itself, meaning how are you going to fit your board in that small, oddly shaped enclosure. Here are a few quick stats: Board area has remained relatively constant, while the Read Article
Challenges with Rigid-Flex Design To learn more about this topic please see the full solution - Challenges with Rigid-Flex Design - at Altium.com. Download PDF
PCB Design Tools Utilizing the available PCB design tools to their maximum potential allows designers to strike the perfect balance of passion and productivity in their work. Data from top performing designers demonstrates how these tools can lead to more successful outcomes in both business and engineering when used correctly. Key findings include: Best-in-Class companies are more likely to improve designer productivity through tool and process efficiency. The Download PDF
Solving Modern PCB Layout Challenges PCB technology advances are a two-edged sword. They have increased the power and applicability of electronics. But they also make PCB layout more difficult, raising the risk of longer time-to-market cycles and higher product costs. Designers can mitigate these risks by using a unified PCB layout software package that provides the automation necessary to bring products to market quickly and on-budget. TOPICS IN THIS SOLUTION SOLVING BGA ROUTING Download PDF
59:39 Altium Aberdeen Watch Video
The Hateful Five of PCB Manufacturing The Hateful Five of PCB Manufacturing You just completed your last design review, got that needed approval signature, and the finish line has never been closer, or so you think. Even after your components are sourced and your board is laid out perfectly, the biggest challenge is yet to come - ensuring that all those months of design and team effort don’t go to waste when it comes time to communicate design intent to manufacturing. But how do you navigate this stage of your post Read Article
The Power of Integration - Why Analysis Belongs to PCB Designers The Power of Integration - Why Analysis Belongs to PCB Designers PCB designers often rely on simulation tools or prototypes for their network data, but this approach can disrupt design flow and drain funds. What if designers were capable of analyzing their network during the board layout process? Read on to find out how designers are increasing productivity with access to analysis data at design time. As the complexity of our product designs increases each year, so do the requirements of our designs. And Read Article
The Power of PDN Analysis Automation The Power of PDN Analysis Automation Relying on a prototype for analysis into your network costs time and money. Leveraging automation tools like the PDN Analyzer™ can reduce costs and allow the engineer to optimize designs without relying on a prototype. Read on for more information. “There’s nothing worse than an engineer dropping a via stitch array late in the RF design process and leaving barely any power plane copper left to carry current on a board makes it painfully obvious Read Article