Resistance soldering is an alternative to conventional “pencil” soldering iron which offers some unique capabilities. The image of the electrical engineer or hacker bent over and using a soldering iron on a circuit board is a classic visual cliché of TV and movies (Figure 1). In most of these soldering images, the engineer is using […]
PCB design
PCB development trends for 2022 and beyond
By Suresh Patel, Sales Engineer, Mer-Mar Electronics With recent technologies like 5G, IoT, and AI impacting the electronics world tremendously, there are a lot of developments in the PCB manufacturing industry now. New trends are catching up swiftly in the PCB development process. The estimated global PCB market in 2023 is around 70-75 billion dollars. […]
Breadboards evolve to meet 21st-century design needs, Part 3: The present and near future
The classic wooden breadboard is obsolete, but its name refers to a vital engineering tool that has changed to meet today’s component and design realities. Wooden breadboards are obsolete as platforms for circuits using modern components, of course, and so-called solderless breadboards are also of very limited usefulness. At the same time, the way designers […]
Breadboards evolve to meet 21st-century design needs, Part 2: Recent past and present
The classic wooden breadboard is obsolete, but its name continues to refer to a vital engineering tool that has changed to meet today’s component and design realities. As leaded components such as discrete transistors and low-pin-count ICs in DIP packages came into use in the late 1960s and 1970s, breadboarding technology evolved as well. Among […]
Breadboards evolve to meet 21st-century design needs, Part 1: The “Ancient” Past
The classic wooden breadboard is obsolete, but its name continues to refer to a vital engineering tool that has changed to meet today’s component and design realities. Breadboards have a special place and multiple meanings in the engineering lexicon. So, what is a breadboard? It can be a crude try-out version of a subcircuit to […]
Five considerations for mixed-signal PCB layouts
Printed circuit board (PCB) layout is an important activity when developing mixed-signal applications. A lot can go wrong, and everything needs to be correct for a successful design. Impedance control is an obvious consideration, but it needs to include trace resistance as well as parasitic inductances and capacitances. Maintaining signal integrity can be challenging. This […]
Medical PCB assembly: Know these regulations and standards
by Ken Ghadia, Sales Engineer, TechnoTronix The reliability and safety of Medical PCB assembly are of utmost importance as they directly impact human healthcare. It is one of the most critical applications that demand the best PCB performance. Setting stringent regulatory standards is compulsory in medical device manufacturing. The standards also apply to the printed circuit […]
CAD models now available for all TSC electronic components
Taiwan Semiconductor is announcing the availability of a comprehensive library of CAD models for all TSC components. The library includes 3D mechanical models, schematic symbols, and PCB footprints. By creating a one-stop, comprehensive library of CAD models for the entire catalog of Taiwan Semiconductor components, printed circuit board designers will be able to complete projects […]
Software helps predict PCB performance
Altair has launched a special edition of Altair PollEx, an electronic system design (ESD) software tool, for Altium users to empower printed circuit board (PCB) designers to predict and maximize overall PCB performance and verify manufacturability. ltair PollEx for Altium is a free version of PollEx designed to support various electrical computer-aided design (ECAD) software products, […]
10 straightforward ways to reduce PCB assembly costs without compromising PCB quality
by Ken Ghadia, Sales Engineer, TechnoTronix It is difficult to build a quality product at the lowest cost. The quality of a PCB depends on the competence of its design for assembly, testing, repair, reliability, manufacturing, and yield. Several factors impact the cost of a PCB assembly. However, the designers can consider certain factors that […]
