Project Management

How to Optimize HDI Design in Electronics

How to Optimize HDI Design in Electronics Neutron stars seem like the stuff of science fiction. Imagine stars as large as the sun exploding in a blinding supernova. Better yet, consider how the spectacular explosion peels the outer layers of the star away and leaves a small, continually collapsing dense core. Gravity pushes the dense matter together to the point of protons and electrons combining into neutrons. As the star’s gravity becomes 200 billion times stronger than the Earth’s Read Article

Multi-Directional Communication for Easy Mechanical and Electrical Collaboration

Multi-Directional Communication for Easy Mechanical and Electrical Collaboration My neighbor and I were sitting on the patio one summer dreaming up a Christmas display that would span both our yards. Engineers, right? Ambitious project, for sure, but we had fun visualizing Santa and his reindeer flying across our two roofs. We’d use LED light strings to span the rooflines and we’d incorporate controllers to synchronize Christmas music. Several months later after summer had turned to Fall, in comes the neighbor with a CAD Read Article

18:44 Exploring Altium Designer's Project Releaser Webinar What is the Altium Project Releaser? The Project Releaser is a single-click automation of manufacturing output generation built on top Watch Video

Leave Translation Magic in the Hands of Altium Import Wizard

Leave Translation Magic in the Hands of Altium Import Wizard Having a wizard do your bidding is great when convoluted tasks need some hocus pocus. Removing tortuous steps to get a solution is the goal. A wizard moves pesky tasks to forgotten trials by doing the heavy lifting. Need your PCB files translated? Call the wizard. PCB design toolsets would benefit from well-placed wizards able to perform intricate tasks like file translation. File translation is needed when importing document containers Read Article

Exploring Altium Designer's Project Releaser

Exploring Altium Designer's Project Releaser What is the Altium Product Releaser? The Project Releaser is a single-click automation of manufacturing output generation built on top of Altium Designer^® ’s Output Job functionality to render complete release packages to a file folder structure, zip file or Altium Vault^®/ Altium NEXUS^® managed server. If you were unable to attend the August 9th live Project Releaser webinar, you can view the video above or the presentation slides at your Read Article

No Last Calls Here: PCI Express Routing and Layout

No Last Calls Here: PCI Express Routing and Layout Schematics The mere mention of the “Orient Express” conjures up images shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Spies often conducted their business during the 80-hour trip from Paris to Constantinople. Kings rode living and sleeping cars rivaled Europe’s finest hotels with wooden paneling, silk sheets, and deluxe leather armchairs. PCI Express does not have the same aura as the “Orient Express” but does allow the high bandwidth communication between devices Read Article

Prioritize Precision Querying in Circuit Board Design Software

Prioritize Precision Querying in Circuit Board Design Software There is nothing worse than losing your car keys when running late to an important meeting. Car keys are small and remembering where you put them becomes impossible given the projects taken on in the interim. They could be anywhere. These days it is possible to use RF devices to locate your keys. Having user-friendly technology keeps stress levels low. Working with a complex circuit design within EDA tools can pose the same problem. With Read Article

How Bill of Material Software Can Protect You from Unintended Errors

How Bill of Material Software Can Protect You from Unintended Errors Editorial credit: Willrow Hood / Shutterstock.com OK, I’ll admit it; I like the original Star Trek just as much as the next guy. Even with its laughable science, cheesy effects, and starships constructed with painted plywood for bulkheads, it still had relatable characters and compelling stories. But one thing that always bugged me was how our heroes could be all the way across the galaxy and jump into an alien spaceship and drive it like a pro Read Article

Start Your Schematic Right with the Best Electronics Parts Management

Start Your Schematic Right with the Best Way to Organize Electronics Components and Management Software I loved building models when I was a kid. Whether it was airplanes, cars, ships, or tanks, it didn’t matter as long as I was gluing pieces together. You can imagine my disappointment then when none of my sons shared the same interest. In fact we just discovered a couple of old models tossed in a box that they had started and then given up on. The really sad thing is that the instructions for these kits are missing, and I have no idea now what Read Article

PCB layout tips unroutable circuit board

Practical PCB Tips and Tricks for an Unroutable Board I grew up in the era before PlayStation ever existed. Back then, generic consoles reigned alongside premium counterparts like Super Nintendo and Sega. I first discovered my stubborn streak while playing Super Mario, a game where a funny looking character starts shooting fireballs after getting power-ups from mushrooms. I lost count of how many times I repeated the entire game even though I was always ultimately defeated at the last level. As Read Article

PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance

PCB Material Selection: How Substrate Properties Impact PCB Performance From the early 15th century until the 17th century, artists used the Flemish masters’ method to create life-like paintings. This process begins with a pencil, charcoal, or ink pen drawing and continues with the imprimatura—or the first transparent, olive-tinged stain of color. Then, the method moves to the first umber underpainting, sanding, second umber underpainting, sanding, and a monochromatic underpainting. Each underpainting layer focuses Read Article

Escape the Pain of a Gerber Files Viewer and Invest in a 3D PCB Editor

Escape the Pain of a Gerber Files Viewer and Invest in a 3D PCB Editor As the design of printed circuit boards grows more challenging with flex, rigid-flex, RF, and other technologies, it is becoming more important than ever to be able to see exactly what it is that you are designing. Then compounded by shorter design cycles and fewer prototype builds the need for full verification of the design before manufacturing has become a necessity. Thankfully PCB design tools have kept pace with different ways to view and Read Article

Your Advanced BOM Can Integrate PCB Design With Vacation Time

Your Advanced BOM Can Integrate PCB Design With Vacation Time Anyone who has ever put together a gift for their children knows the importance of quality instructions. The experience that stands out most in my mind is when I assembled a Foosball table for my children late one Christmas Eve. The pieces didn’t fit as they should, I was tired, and most frustratingly of all; some of them in the instructions didn’t match up with what came in the box. I was so angry at the Foosball table manufacturers and their Read Article

Digital Library Management for Circuit Boards: More Than a Few Shelves

PCB Creator's Digital Library Management for Circuit Boards: More Than a Few Shelves When you hear the word “components”, it’s natural to think about ICs, LEDs, resistors, and all the other electronic hardware that goes into building a PCB. But in terms of PCB design software, there is a lot of information that goes into any component. Every component has an associated symbol, footprint, pin arrangement, and other properties that are used by your PCB design software. With so many components available on the market and with Read Article

Choosing PCB Design Software Which Priortizes PCB Design

PCB Design Software: Choosing A Unified Platform for PCB Design Priority Having the right tool for complicated and intricate tasks facilitates success. Having the wrong tool invites frustration. Rummaging through my tool chest the other day found me selecting the only tool available. Hours into the job with each step a struggle, I considered my hasty choice. It would have been better to spend a little money and order the superior tool. Spending the money for a superior EDA tool facilitates progressive and intelligent Read Article

Editing Multiple Components Anywhere in Footprint

Editing Multiple Components Anywhere in Footprint Circuit board design has changed a lot over the years, and the way we work with library components has shifted as well. Originally, PCB designers created library components by laying down a sticker or “dolly” on a sheet of mylar on a drafting board. Later on, as designers migrated to CAD tools, the components were built using those same CAD tools. Those first tools didn’t offer much assistance to designers and you had to be really good at Read Article

Compare PCB Design Software Features For Your Device to Move to Manufacturing

Compare PCB Design Software Features For Your Device to Move to Manufacturing So you’ve just devised your new device that will revolutionize the world on the back of a cocktail napkin. Maybe your new medical device will have diseases running for the hills. Maybe you’ve got a great sensor for high-moisture environments. But how do you breathe life into your new product and finally implement your master plan for success? Those of us who have had such grand ideas are familiar with this dilemma. A PCB designer might know Read Article