Podcast

Browse and listen from our library of podcasts discussing pcb design, manufacturing, assembly, and more. You can also check out the latest podcast from OnTrack with Judy Warner

OnTrack Podcast with Judy Warner

Seven Design Guidelines to Break Bad Habits from Using Open-Source Designs Welcome back, today we speak with Dr. Eric Bogatin who is the Dean of Signal Integrity at Teledyne LeCroy. Eric has agreed, once again, to be a keynote speaker at AltiumLive, San Diego - October 9th to 11th and today he shares more with us about his keynote and the courses he teaches at Colorado University, Boulder, some books he’s writing, and the makers he serves. There’s no grass growing under this man’s feet. Listen to the Podcast: Download Read Article

Mike Buetow on PCB West Mike Buetow, the Editor in Chief and Vice President of Printed Circuit Design & Fab magazine as well as Circuit Assembly’s magazine, joins us to talk about PCB West. The publishers UP Media put on PCB West every year in Santa Clara, this year’s will be September 9th to 12th, 2019. We talk about what you can expect from the show, how it got started and some colorful history from their background. Altium is also a sponsor of the show this year, and Read Article

Mark Forbes on the Evolution of Chip Technology and Origin Stories Welcome back to the OnTrack Podcast. Today we speak with Mark Forbes, Director of Product Marketing at Altium, about the history of IC development and how that directly impacted you and will continue to impact you and your design practices. Capturing some of the history is important so that we know why we do things that we may not have known happened 30 years ago - you’re really going to enjoy this deep dive into what’s happened over the last 30 Read Article

Joe Grand on Hacking, Badgelife and AltiumLive Today we have an extra-special guest named Joe Grand of Grand Idea Studio. Joe started hacking software and hardware at the ripe old age of seven! He ended up becoming a part of hacker history and you’re going to love hearing about it. He’s also co-founder of The Badgelife movement, and co-host of a Discovery TV channel called ‘Prototype This.’ We’re delighted to announce that he’s agreed to be a keynote speaker at AltiumLive, October 9 to 11 in Read Article

Rick Hartley on EMI, Noise Reduction Today we talk to Rick Hartley about EMI, noise control and why it can be so difficult to get under control in your PCB designs. Listen in, because this is really a sneak peek into the full-day class Rick will be presenting at AltiumLive. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights: What in your childhood gave you some clues that you’d end up being an Engineer? It started with trying to Read Article

Gerry Partida on Wrap Plating Gerry Partida is back to talk to us about wrap plating and via filling and what the benefits, requirements and drawbacks of this technology are, and what you need to know about designing these and how this technology drives cost. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the Podcast: Show Highlights: Gerry is the Director of Engineering at Summit Interconnect with 35 years of experience in the PCB industry, of Read Article

Robert Feranec on How to Implement The PCB Design Process In this episode, we talk with Robert Feranec, a familiar name to many of our listeners. Apart from being a popular YouTuber, he’s also the founder and CEO of FEDEVEL Academy where he teaches PCB Design to people around the world. Robert shares what it takes to be a popular YouTuber, the work it takes to produce all the great content he creates and as a special bonus we’ll discuss Robert’s Keynote that he will deliver at AltiumLive PCB Summit this Read Article

PCB Design Certifications and Learning Programs Today we’re going to talk about the importance of learning, as Eric Bogatin emphasized at last year’s AltiumLive. Please join my conversation with Ben Jordan where we explore a variety of ways that you can continue to learn and drive your career forward. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights: A current hot topic on the forum is the value of CID or Certified Interconnect Designer Read Article

Board Fabrication Tips and Myths Amit Bahl, the Director of Sales and Marketing at Sierra Circuits, is here today to discuss a more holistic view of not only board fabrication, but also assembly as Sierra Circuits does both. He’s going to teach you ways to think more about your total cost of ownership. We also do some fun myth busting around PCB fabrication and assembly. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights: Amit Read Article

Process Engineering for Advanced Assembly with Chao Vang and Sebastian Weber Today we have a treat for you; we’re going to talk to two bright, young leaders at Advanced Assembly, Chao Vang, who’s the Engineering Manager there, and also Sebastian Weber who’s their Process Engineer. Both have come up through Advanced Assembly, learned in the trenches and they’re going to share great tips with you on how to make sure that your assembly is done right the first time and this will save you a lot of headaches. Listen to the Read Article

How to Conquer Data Package Problems Today we meet with Rob Cooke, Director of Engineering, and Jose Cordero, Lead CAM Engineer from Calumet Electronics Corporation in Michigan. We talk about something that’s often overlooked, which is making sure your data package references the most current revision of IPC Standards. Listen in as we discuss slash-sheets, ENIG, and Via Plugging. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights Read Article

How to Buy PC Boards From a Board Shop Today we talk with Greg Papandrew who’s just started a new company called Better Board Buying. With more than 27 year’s experience in PCB sales, he knows all the inside tricks to help you get the most out of your vendor partnerships and to save money and time. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights: Greg started in the industry as an inside sales and customer service guy. Believing he Read Article

Printed Circuit Fabrication Classes at Michigan Tech In this episode we’re filming at Michigan Tech with guest Dr. Chris Middlebrook who teaches a class on Printed Circuit Fabrication. Watch or listen in on our first OnTrack Field Trip as we sit down in Dr. Middlebrook’s lab, where they make circuit boards right on campus. We talk about students, the education program at Michigan Tech and all the hands-on work they do to prepare Electrical Engineers for the real world. Listen to the Podcast Read Article

Altium VP on New Library and Data Management Tool Concord Pro Lawrence Romine, VP of Marketing for Altium, is here to discuss the release of Altium Concord Pro and it’s aim to provide a fresh approach to library and component management. Romine describes the modern, streamlined experience that reduces context switching, keeps communication in sync and enables an information flow that dramatically improves workflow, productivity and accuracy. We also talk about Altium Designer 19.1, what that includes and Read Article

Dk And How Datasheets Impact Your Design If you design in RF, microwave or millimeter wave frequencies then this podcast is for you. Today we talk to John Coonrad who’s the Technical Marketing Manager for Rogers Corporation, a Global Manufacturer of advanced circuit materials. John talks about what dielectric constant (Dk) is exactly, the various test methods for Dk, why datasheets can sometimes be confusing and how all of this impacts your design. Listen to the Podcast: Download this Read Article

Datasheet Reliability with Ben Jordan When are datasheets accurate and can we rely on them? Ben Jordan is back on the show to discuss datasheets and how to achieve reliability for your use case. We also cover an unusual question from the forum about gilding that you won’t want to miss. Ben always enjoys catching up with the Lounge Forum, and this week, one of our users, Tim Philips, posted a datasheet that he had come across for an inductor. Listen in to explore these topics in this Read Article

Sourcing Components with Christopher Calvi The Head of Octopart®, Chris Calvi is with us today to talk about sourcing components, which has never been more challenging than it is today. Chris will also share his vision of the future where finding parts will be easy, fast, and fully transparent. Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: Show Highlights: Chris attended Georgia Tech and after graduation he moved to LA, where he worked at Shopzilla Read Article