Project Management

PCB Component Data Management Resolved with Connected Component Applications

PCB Component Data Management Resolved with Connected Component Applications My mouth was watering as I picked up the box sitting on my front porch. Dinner would be ready in 20 minutes. I was so hungry, having just gotten home. The box contained recipe cards and ingredients for making dinners throughout the week. I put on my slippers, and I pulled a recipe card from the box. All the ingredients were there. This new meal delivery service was growing on me. I’d be eating dinner soon, with time to spare for needed downtime Read Article

Avoid Integrated and Netlist Data Flows Slowing Design Starts

Avoid Integrated and Netlist Data Flows Slowing Design Starts The chaos theory was used by Edward Lorenz early in the 1960s to model weather. Given multiple data points and nonlinear behavior, integrated circuit and synthesized netlist data starts because of nonlinear behavior. Just like the weather which is difficult to model and predict. It turns out nonlinear complexity produces beautiful, elegant pictures of real things. A tree is fractal; if you were to magnify its branch 1 million times, you’d see the Read Article

Journey Through Embedded Active Components in PCB Substrates with Pacemakers

Journey Through Embedded Active Components in PCB Substrates with Pacemakers With 200,000 pacemakers implanted in the United States per year, the surgical process to correct heart abnormalities has become routine. When preparing for the process, cardiologists choose from three different incision types to determine the best implant method. Each type of incision impacts patient comfort and the amount of risk involved with the surgery. The incision provides access to a vein and allocates space for the pacemaker. A Read Article

Now that They’re Assigned, Find and Report Testpoints in Your PCB Design

Now that They’re Assigned, Find and Report Testpoints in Your PCB Design Whether it is a test in school, a driver’s test, or some sort of casual mention of a test at work, the word “test” can cause normally calm people to have a sense of anxiety. On the other hand, once beyond the test you can see those same people visibly relax. Perhaps that is why when PCB designers finish assigning testpoints to their design it is easy for them to breathe a huge sigh of relief. But, once you’ve assigned those testpoints there’s Read Article

Choose Unified Symbols for Your PCB Prototype Design Documents

Choose Unified Symbols for Your PCB Prototype Design Documents I love spending hours at the bench soldering parts together and looking at the resultant signals they produce. It is satisfying to see the signals take shape on the oscilloscope as I refine each block. I’m surrounded by tools and equipment, little bits of wire and solder strewed from the invention process. Joining the beautiful mess are scattered components pulled from sample parts binders stored in the lab. Soon my prototype design will be ready Read Article

How to Panelize Your PCBs Before Lunch with Altium Designer

How to Panelize Your PCBs with Altium's PCB Panelizer Whether you have a slew of PCBs to mass produce for your customers or a handful of project boards you wish to prototype all in one simple swoop, PCB panelization is an effective way to bring high throughput and efficiency to PCB production. In earlier days of PCB design, you would need additional software, hours of clunky engineering, and maybe even feasibility meetings with manufacturing teams for PCB panelization. However, today's PCB design Read Article

Inventors Should Spend Time Designing and Less Time Writing a Bill of Materials

Inventors Should Spend Time Designing and Less Time Writing a Bill of Materials There’s a beautiful sense of satisfaction that comes with building something great. You took the time to think through the concept, perfect your design, and translate your vision into a functional prototype. You’re driven to bring your product to market, but you don’t want to spend time worrying about documentation. Your bill of materials is like a recipe and a shopping list for your new product, all rolled into a single document. The bill of Read Article

Component Information Management in a Unified Design Environment

Component Information Management in a Unified Design Environment Selecting components for your PCB device gives it life and should be performed carefully. If you have ever looked for components to use in your PCB, you will find that the list of available components is massive. Each component has a long datasheet that defines its footprint, electrical specifications, pin arrangement, etc. Rather than read through datasheets all day trying to decide which components you need, all this information should be Read Article

Design for Easy Processes: Create and Link Supplier Data to Any Component

Design for Easy Processes: Create and Link Supplier Data to Any Component If you’ve spent any time with Altium Designer, you’ll already have some familiarity with the ease and simplicity behind such a powerful library platform. There are times, however, when these libraries will require you to get your hands dirty. Whether it be a simple part number change, or re-engineering some key parameters, your edits can be simplistically updated in a matter of moments. In this specific example, we’ll take a look at a common Read Article

Let Your Designs Talk for You: Export Altium 3D Layout Artwork to Adobe® PDF

Let Your Designs Talk for You: Export Altium 3D Layout Artwork to Adobe® PDF It wasn’t long ago that getting to new places around town required talking and writing down verbal instructions from another. I’d pull out my city map and study the route, having to note each street and intersection where I’d turn. It worked, but it took concentration and good map-reading skills. Today, I use my smart phone’s map feature and audio capabilities to get where I’m going. Assembly instructions for printed circuits contain the same Read Article

PCB Design Software Upgrades: Progressive Releases Build Confidence

PCB Design Software Upgrades: Progressive Releases Build Confidence There is pain and pleasure when anticipating new technology. All of us have been through steep learning curves that wear down the elation to use technology that’ll do something cool. Soon we abandon newly-adopted technology given its lack of delivery on the promise. There are some gadgets, however, that not only perform but are easy to use. Ease of use with powerful features is a pleasure. When powerful features evolve we’ve got a home run! Each Read Article

Why You Need BOM Management Tools for PCB Design

Why You Need BOM Management Tools for PCB Design Although, I do not drive as much as I once did being on the road is still one of my most favorite activities. Not many things can equal the thrill and freedom that comes from being behind the wheel. Yet, there can be a great deal of difference in the experience depending on the vehicle you are driving. Almost any vehicle will perform the basic function of getting you from point A to point B, but there comes a time when basic is not enough. Moving Read Article

The Fundamentals of Programming a PIC Microcontroller

The Fundamentals of Programming a PIC Microcontroller One thing I’ve learned from parenting: it can be incredibly difficult to teach a child something. While they might be very interested, and they might have all the time and resources in the world, if the child isn’t ready to learn or is missing some crucial building block, they might just not get the skill or lesson. Thankfully, programming a PIC microcontroller unit (MCU) is considerably easier. With the right programming tools, circuit, and Read Article

What’s the Future of WiFi for the Internet of Things?

What’s the Future of WiFi for the Internet of Things? I’ve come to adopt several different modes of communication between the different social circles in my life. Slack, messenger, texting, calling, letter writing and various other messenger services - all of which are unique to particular people or friend groups. Most of the time, I can barely keep track of them all and more often I end up sending the right text to the wrong person. IoT protocols are just as diverse, and new options come out Read Article

Pin Swapping Without Back Annotation Using Straightforward PCB Design Software

Pin Swapping Without Back Annotation Using Straightforward PCB Design Software When working with high pin count, fine pitch components like FPGAs or memories, pin swapping may need to be performed when laying out your PCB. Designing schematics based on these devices that perfectly translate into a sane layout is extremely difficult. But as you start placing components and routing connections, you may find that your initial layout is a tangled, crisscrossed mess. This is where pin swapping becomes invaluable. Once you start Read Article

Creepage and Clearance Design Rules Require More Than Integrated Flow

Creepage and Clearance Design Rules Require More Than Integrated Flow Occasionally, I get to drive through the Pacific Northwest on a clear day. Unencumbered by rain clouds, the mountain ranges are visible. So visible that I feel I could reach out and touch them. If I could fly the line of sight, I could be at the top of any mountain quickly. Since I can’t fly, driving my car along a twisting mountain highway would get me there on a longer route. So it is with PCB creepage and clearance design rules on a printed Read Article

Electronic Product Life Cycle Management Avoids Unpredicted Application Results

Electronic Product Life Cycle Management Avoids Unpredicted Application Results Everyone has a smartphone these days. Well, everyone except my grandparents. They still use clamshell phones and perfectly happy with them. The rest of us have moved on to leaner and meaner communication devices. Eventually, the product life cycle for clamshell phones will end and they will be relegated to the history books. A look back through the history of technology reveals that no piece of technology can thrive forever. Project life cycle Read Article