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Thought Leadership
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
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Overview of PCB Development Process
I have a friend who forgets that the rest of us can’t read his mind. He often starts a conversation without any sort of introduction or context. There have been many times where after several minutes of dialog I have had to hold up my hands and simply ask; “what are you talking about?” Once he backs up and gives me an overview, then I am ready for the details. Although this had made for some amusing moments, it isn’t nearly so funny when it
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PCB Trace Corrosion: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It
When most people drop their cell phone in water, they hurriedly dry off the outside of the phone, remove the battery, and toss the phone in a bag of rice. The myth goes that the rice draws water out from the inside of the phone, thus saving your phone’s the precious electronic circuitry, your wallet’s money, and your own sanity. What people don’t realize is that simply drying out your phone is not a solution. Water ingress can cause the device to
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Laser-drilled Via-in-pad Technology in Your PCB
If you’re my age, you probably grew up playing Super Mario Brothers. Whether it’s diving through those green copper pipes, or jumping up through the clouds, moving between worlds in Super Mario is like moving between layers in a multi-layer PCB. Your vias are that critical feature that allows signals to move between different layers. Okay, maybe you there’s less copper and plating involved in Super Mario world, but it’s the same idea. Via-in-pad
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Design Reuse: Methodologies and Best Practices for Re-Applying Previous Boards
It’s to reuse items related to our work. Chefs reuse recipes, seamstresses reuse patterns, and engineers reuse circuitry. The problem is that our design tools aren’t always on the same page with us when it comes to re-applying previous boards and circuitry. The benefits are obvious; reusing work will save time and money. Additionally, there’s the benefit of using circuitry that has already been through the debug process and is known to work. I
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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
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How to Design a Printed Circuit Board in 10 Easy Steps
Learn how to design a printed circuit board (PCB) and the standard workflow used in the industry. We'll cover schematic capture, PCB layout, and generating printed circuit board design outputs in Altium Designer. Read on to learn the universal PCB design steps.
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Transmission Line Delay Calculators in PCB Design
Transmission lines are one of those deceptively complex things that make modern life possible. What seems like a simple metal cable is, in fact, a precisely engineered system. Traces on PCBs are no different, and they are like the blood vessels that power your electronic devices. So what is a transmission line anyway? This term was initially adopted to create the analogy between traces on a PCB and civilian power lines. The term “transmission
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DDR3 Memory Interfaces and Topologies in PCB Design
In the World Memory Championships, individuals compete in memory sports by memorizing as much information as possible within a specific timeframe. The championships include ten different disciplines that cover numbers, binary digits, playing cards, random lists of words, names and faces, historic dates, abstract images, and speed cards. No one has tested the World Memory Champion against DDR3 memory and no one really knows how the World Memory
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Get into the Zone of PCB Parts Information from Your BOM Application
“Picture if you will,” “Imagine a world where,” and “Submitted for your approval” are all quotes from Rod Serling, the creator of shows like “The Night Gallery” and, of course, “The Twilight Zone”. Maybe it’s because these phrases were popularized by those shows, but I often find myself using them, especially when it comes to designing printed circuit boards. Imagine a world where you could actually work with your component data in a separate
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Choosing CAD Software: Privileging the Circuit over the System
Choosing the right CAD tools for your next PCB is all about selecting a software package that gives you the adaptability you need to build your device. Different electronics applications will require different routing strategies and tolerances, as well as customized electronic circuitry. You’ll need CAD tools that give you the capabilities to satisfy any device requirements. Your CAD tools are critical to building a device that can meet your
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PCB Layout and Polygon Pour: How to Utilize Copper Regions in Your Design
For someone new starting out in PCB layout, there is a lot of confusing terminology to puzzle through. For instance, what is the difference between a positive plane, an area fill, a polygon pour, or pouring copper? The answer is that they are all the same. These phrases may sound different, and somewhere out there there’s probably some PCB design software that will actually make a liar out of me, but for the most part they are all describing
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Comparator Propagation Delay in High Speed Mixed-Signal Design
When I began my journey into the wonderful depths of electronics so long ago as a student, I wondered how so many interesting and important functions are built into everyday electronic devices. Input signal and voltages were fresh in my head and I was worrying more about a power supply than inverting inputs. It wasn’t until later that I started to fully understand the versatility of op-amps and how they could be used to build comparators
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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
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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
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Tips for Connecting Hidden Pins with Altium Designer
By far, the greatest form of entertainment is magic and even a century after his death Harry Houdini is still hailed as the magician ever. Although, acclaimed for his various escapes, Houdini was the first to perform the often duplicated “Vanishing Elephant” magic trick. Of course, the elephant, named Jennie, did not vanish but was only hidden from the vast majority of the spectators. When designing a highly congested printed circuit board (PCB)
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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
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