Blog
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A Guide to PCB Material Selection
A material selection guide is as good a place as any to start. Your typical PCB consists of one or more layers of copper laminated between sheet layers of a non-conductive substrate.
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Component Placement Strategies in Multi-board PCB Systems
There are definitely limits on how much circuitry can fit on a single board. The board itself has an upper limit around the size...
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How Automation and Autonomous Vehicles May Transform the Transportation Industry
Although a widespread shift to fully autonomous transportation may be a ways off, most vehicles these days are equipped with some type of automation.
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Techniques to Reduce EMI In Your PCB Designs
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is electromagnetic energy that disrupts the signaling and it's all around us.
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3 Thermal Management Approaches for Your Smartphone
Laptop and desktop designers have the luxury of using fans, liquid cooling systems, and large surface area heat sinks to keep their devices cool. But what about smartphones designers?
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Robots to the Rescue: How Robots Can Be Used in Disaster Relief
Whether it’s a wild fire, a flood, or a tornado, rapid rescue efforts after a natural disaster or other emergencies are critical for minimizing casualties, every minute counts.
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Mixed Signal PCB Design Techniques
The analog world in which we live is constantly being captured in one way or another, and the media is being shared globally. In between the creation and consumption of all of this data
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The Case for Stitching Vias on Your PCB
“Circle the wagons.” We can find wisdom in these Pilgrim words. The majority of multi-layer printed circuit boards feature at least one, and often a few or several layers that are a ground pour. The b
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This is a Story About Tape-Out Day
All of the little details were squared up when the check-plots came out for "final" review. Those same preliminary files were shared with the fab and assembly units and, of course, the vendors have c
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Using Patient-Reported IoT Data to Improve Health Outcomes
The world recognizes the American healthcare system for its innovation in precision medicine, surgical techniques, medical devices, and drug development. But they’ve been slow to adopt 21st century t
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Give me an L. Give me a T, Give me an E. What’s that spell? 4G!
The media darling of the season is the hot new 5G protocol. Of course, a large part of that ecosystem is vaporware or pre-5G demonstrations. We will be riding the 4G (LTE) wave at least for a while. I
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Five Reasons to Teach Children Robotics
Parents and educators with an eye to the future are starting to see why teaching robotics can be beneficial for their kids. They’re right to pay attention to robotics — it has a lot to offer for kids.
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Using Machine Learning to Analyze Customer Usage Data for IoT Devices
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a tech buzzword—but what does that actually mean?The definition is simple: the Internet of Things is the concept of connecting any device with an on/off switch to the
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A Tale of Two Currents: AC vs. DC
Ever wonder why you need a wall adapter to charge your phone while your toaster plugs directly into the wall? The answer lies in the difference between alternating current (AC) that’s supplied to yo
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Predictive Maintenance for Automobiles
In most commercial sectors where delivery of goods and services is essential, reliable road transportation is key. For organizations with a large vehicle fleet, staying on top of maintenance schedules
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How Do You Manage Customer Data For Your IOT Devices
In recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) devices have become commonplace in our daily lives. We wear fitness trackers, have smart home thermostats, and even use medical devices that remotely transmit
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Time to go to the Library
The PCB can be no better than the underlying footprints and symbols. A lot of boards end up as scrap or are only partially useful due to improper footprints. Extra design cycles to fix these preventab
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Why Reliability Is Important in Automotive
A vehicle is likely one of the largest purchases that many people will ever make. Such an investment deserves some research to be sure that you are meeting the most important requirements for your veh
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The End Game - Winding Down a Successful Product
The invention launched and took the market by storm. After climbing the mass production ramp and catching up with demand, the object of desire settled into a nice run rate. That is always the plan, bu
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Using Smart Electronic Design in Autonomous Vehicles
In 2016, there was an average of 102 car crashes a day in the U.S. And according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 94% of automobile accidents are caused by
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Sustaining Engineering - What to do After You Hit a Homerun
Success! Oh, the sweet, sweet problems of success. The first problem is that we just cannot build these (insert product) fast enough. The second is that suddenly there is a new cash cow in the room. T
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Recent Developments in the Power Supply World
In the future, we are likely to see even more hybrid approaches to energy innovation where multiple renewable methods are paired together to offer energy solutions that are robust and scalable. One ea
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Machine Learning for Household Chores
In the not-too-distant near future, a robot might be folding your clothes, doing your dishes, or mowing the lawn. In fact, robots exist today with the mechanical capability to perform all these tasks
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Using VR and Flexible Electronics for Innovations in the Operating Room
A round-up of emerging ways that virtual reality is reshaping remote surgery. Using virtual reality technology in surgery sounds like something that’s out of a sci-fi novel, but that reality is a lot
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Why Do Cell Phones Get Hot?
How many times have you noticed your mobile device getting a little warm to the touch? Most of the time, it’s not a big deal. But sometimes it is: A few models of phones have gotten so hot that they h
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How Do I Keep My Data Cool?
In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted that computing power would double every two years at the same cost. This model is known as Moore’s Law. In theory, Moore’s Law is the very definition of rapid progress—
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Steering the PCB from Prototype to Production
Our last topic was about getting off to a good start and touched lightly on placement aspects. We're going to get a little bit of solder paste under our fingernails this time around. Move the scenario
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3 Ways to Train Doctors with VR/AR
Technological innovation and teaching go hand in hand, and medical training isn’t an exception. These days, one of the hottest new tech trends is virtual or augmented reality (VR or AR). It shouldn’t
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Thermal Challenges for Industrial Machinery
A single failure of a machine due to heat can bring down an entire assembly line to halt. At the printed circuit board level, we designers need to provide the most robust solutions to keep the wheels
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First Things First- Getting Your PCB Layout Off to a Good Start
We've all been there, or we will be someday. A new concept has emerged and, the team is given a chance to own that niche. To save time, we're going to leverage an existing design. Yep, the good old d
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Notes from the Board Room - On Concurrent PCB Design
You can't finish the board before the schematic, but you want it done pretty much right away, before marketing changes their minds again!
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Making the Most of a Design Win
It is a wonderful time to be a maker of products. Find an underserved niche and give the world a tangible solution. Famous movie quote, “If you build it, they will come.” The hard part becomes finding
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Developing Your PCB Design Ideas - in the Cloud
Capture your idea instantly and get started on making your dream a reality wherever and whenever inspiration strikes with OrCAD Capture Cloud.
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How To: HDMI
High Definition Media Interface is a beautiful thing. Back when 1080P meant something, the HDMI spec entered the scene as an upgrade on the legacy trio or quintet of RCA cables. The number of...
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Notes from the Board Room: on Signal Integrity
Signal Integrity is a make-or-break chunk of the design effort. Let's say that the last little bit of blue space on the board is right next to the RF receive chain. Let's further assume that at...
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Who Needs a Schedule Anyway?
Right? At the end of a long line of processes, why is it that we're always responsible for the date and why is it always a panic-driven week at the end? To begin with, we've got a team of...
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The Shapes of Things to Come
Once upon a time, the power would have an entire layer devoted to a single voltage domain. That would be the whole solution to making everything turn on. The definition of "everything" has changed...
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Flex Circuit Cheat Sheet
So, you think you might want to do some Flexible Printed Circuit layouts? Pull up a chair; there's a lot to talk about. The first thing to know about FPCs is that they are almost entirely...
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Anywhere but here – Getting the Traces Away from the core
Somewhere along the way, electronics changed. Of course, technology is continuously evolving with incremental improvements. Once in a while, there is a game-changer advancement that opens new...
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So, You Want to be a CAD PCB Layout-er
Knowledge workers are of the variety that knows and does something that their manager probably doesn't. Even the schematic capture experts struggle with the layout software. It has always been a...
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Manufacturing Matters
No two board designs are the same. We could run a thought experiment. Given a token complexity level of a generic board that mixes a bit of digital with a slice of analog, every PCB designer would...
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My Favorite Stackup
We shouldn't play favorites, the best stack for the job is the one we should be using. If a four-layer, through-hole board will cut it, that's the way to go. If the "mother of all devices" demands...
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How Network Latency Affects the Future of Autonomous Vehicles
According to data from the Boston Consulting Group, the market for connected/autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will grow to 42 billion USD by 2025. It is also expected that by 2020, 10 million...
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Know How Your Circuit Works!- Using Sensitivity Analysis In PSpice (Part 1 of 4)
When in college, books tell you everything about your circuit. You already know which components are critical in your designs. But, what about when you enter an industry? Sensitivity Analysis helps yo
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Grab A Coffee And Let Optimizer In PSpice Do The Work For You! (Part 2 of 4)
Anyone who designs complex circuits and claims they don’t use the Optimizer in their circuit design is most likely a super-genius with an IQ of 250. Optimizer is a common feature used by many designer
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Make Reliable Designs That Won’t Fail In The Real World!- Use Smoke Analysis In PSpice (Part 3 of 4)
Heard about the ongoing recalls in the Automotive and Cellphone industry? Let's address the important issue of Circuit Reliability!
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Design Reliability
The sun rises every day. It is reliable. In practical terms, it has always risen and will continue to do so. On a long enough timeline, however, our star will burn out. That's what the...
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Notes from the Board Room - on Checklists
Not just one, there should be a sanity check at every major step in the life of a layout. Some of us fondly remember the Apollo program on the grainy black-and-white TVs of the day. The whole...
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How Do Manufacturing Tolerances Work?
In July 2017, a rollercoaster ride in Ohio failed dramatically, killing one person and injuring seven others. The cause of the accident? Corrosion. Roller coasters must operate and withstand...
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Notes from the Board Room - A day in the life of a Googler
In my quest to become a world famous PCB designer, (stop laughing!) I've taken to putting my own words on the screen and sharing them here. My job is to enable design wins, period. It's a cruel...
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What is the Cost of Field Failures?
We see it in the news frequently; a battery explodes, car brakes malfunction, electronic systems are hacked, a material inexplicably fails. Field failures are costly and unforgiving, necessitating...
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How Do Collision Avoidance Systems Work?
Driving is a lot more complex than we typically consider when we get behind the wheel each day. But chances are you’ve had a moment—a car that suddenly brakes in front of you, an animal darting...
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Design Strategies - WiFi 802.11
Of course, you know what WiFi is. You can get it wherever money changes hands. Being WiFi-enabled is a low-risk strategy when it comes to the number of hot-spots you're likely to pass through on a...
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How (and Why) to Embrace Design Constraints
Design rules are nothing new. Our ability to create specific and concrete rules to govern the results should not be overlooked. From the first placement study to the final result, capturing a...
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Working with Ball Grid Arrays or... Why I see Spots All the Time
The little four-pin FETs (that give everyone fits!) on up to the system on a chip, it is getting harder and harder to find a product without some BGAs on board. So let's jump in with both feet.
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3D Printing’s Impact in the Real World: Medicine, Food Production, and Automotive
Though 3D printing technology was introduced more than three decades ago, it’s only recently gained traction with a wider market. 3D printers were one of Amazon’s most popular holiday gifts for...
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Notes on Impedance - Part 2
If one is good, then two should be even better. That's not really the principle behind differential pairs, but it's a place to start. Each line has resistance/impedance, so two of them would have...
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Notes on Impedance - Part 1
There's scarcely a printed circuit board that doesn't have some form of impedance control. The trend is more and still more because the "Things" part of the Internet of Things all want to talk to...
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What to Watch in Modern 3D Electronics
Today’s 3D electronics manufacturing processes let you create circuitry on 3D surfaces, giving you flexibility and control that flat circuit boards of the past could not. This enables smooth,...
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Notes On Soldermask
The coating you put over the circuit pattern that leaves the metal exposed where you want to join components to the board is another make-or-break aspect of PCB design. While the geometry of the...
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Anatomy of a Solder Joint
Life in Assembly was easier with lead and Freon. Yes, Freon is a greenhouse gas that pollutes the atmosphere. Lead poisons everything else. Life after lead and Freon promises to be better for the...
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5 Steps for First-Time Hardware Entrepreneurs to Make Their Ideas Real
As an engineer, you’ve most likely spent countless hours using other companies’ toolsets. And you've probably got ideas on how you could improve upon them and bring a better solution to market....
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Oh Say Can You C? – Grappling with the USB type-C Connector
I can honestly say that I was working on the USB-C protocol before USB-C was cool. Google was/is part of the specification development consortium. My first encounter was in early 2015 trying to...
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CDNLive Silicon Valley - Cadence User Conference 2018
Cadence Design Systems has kicked off its yearly CDN Live user conference. The first conference will be held in Silicon Valley, CA on April 10-11th, 2018. The conference brings together Cadence...
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On Board, as in Life, Timing is Everything (almost) | PCB Trace Length – Staying in the Sweet Spot
We are lucky to have the technology that helps us manage timing constraints. X-nets, pin-pairs, and match-groups may seem a little daunting at first. Once mastered, these are fantastic tools for...
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Using blockchain to secure the ‘internet of things’
The world is full of connected devices – and more are coming. In 2017, there were an estimated 8.4 billion internet-enabled thermostats, cameras, streetlights and other electronics. By 2020 that...
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Digital Immortality
A long, healthy life. Isn’t this our main goal? From holograms and mind-controlled prosthetics, technology has evolved so much that the fountain of youth and immortality may not be as far off as...
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Wearable technologies help Olympians achieve top performance
As Fitbits and other wearable activity monitors change how regular people exercise and track their activity, they’re having similar effects on how Olympians train and recover between workouts.
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Are autonomous cars really safer than human drivers?
Much of the push toward self-driving cars has been underwritten by the hope that they will save lives by getting involved in fewer crashes with fewer injuries and deaths than human-driven cars....
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Nikola Tesla: The extraordinary life of a modern Prometheus
The 75th anniversary of Tesla’s death on Jan. 7 provides a timely opportunity to review the life of a man who came from nowhere yet became world famous; claimed to be devoted solely to discovery...
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Why don’t electric cars look like the future?
Electric cars were supposed to be the future – or at least look like it. So now they’re here, why do they still look like ordinary petrol and diesel cars and not dazzling props from a science...
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Apple, Android and PC chip problem – why your smartphone and laptop are so at risk
Less than a week into 2018 and we may have already seen the year’s biggest technology story.
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Why Move Up to OrCAD 17.2-2016? So How Does Your Design “Stack-Up”?
We are not talking about how your design compares to the next guys’, we’re talking about the PCB layer structure of your design, be it rigid, flex, rigid-flex, or using inlay technology.
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Building Libraries for OrCAD Just Got a Whole Lot Easier (Hint: We built them for you)
Building libraries are time consuming and error prone. You are busy. Learn how OrCAD and Ultra Librarian have partnered to solve the "library problem" for OrCAD users and provide users a fully...
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Why Move Up to OrCAD 17.2-2016? New Padstack Editor – More Than Just a New GUI
Customer inputs are key to product improvements
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Scalability: Why it is Important to Consider
Scalability is critical for businesses to consider when making purchase decisions. We all know the importance of planning for the future and scalability gives us the opportunity to do so without...
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Why Move Up to OrCAD 17.2-2016? Advanced Flex and Rigid Flex Design
For nearly all applications, customers continue to demand smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective products. Competitive pressures also force designers to bring these new products to market at an...
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Home2net succeeds with OrCAD PCB Design Tools
Home2net, a German enterprise selling easy-to-use smart cloud solutions for use in the Internet of Things (IoT), aims to have success in the industrial automation, cloud, and smart building...
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PSpice Simulated with Arduino-Driven Sensors
Have you ever wanted to simulate a design with existing hardware? Sure you can create a stimulus of what you expect from the hardware then