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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...
- Email
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Get the Guide!
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...
- Email
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MakerFaire 2018: Making the Future

A circus of 3D printed robots, articulated metal squid, and giant, walking exoskeletons. Reflections of our time at Maker Faire Bay Area 2018.
- Email
Read Article
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...
- Email
Read Article
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...
- Email
Read Article
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...
- Email
Read Article
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...
- Email
Read Article
OrCAD Free Trial
Try OrCAD Today
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...
- Email
Read Article
SiliconExpert CONNECT BOM Risk: Getting Started

An overview of the Silicon Expert CONNECT BOM Risk app. This video will help you implement BOM Risk Analysis in your designs. NOTE: you need to be connected to the internet for this app to work...
- Email
Read Article
Open Compute Project; A Look Under the Hood with PCB Design Expert Robert Feranec

Have you ever looked a board designed by someone else and wondered, how or why certain decisions were made (good or bad)? Robert Feranec offers an in-depth look into PCB design through a video...
- Email
Read Article
On-Demand Webinar: Serial Link Design - Meeting the Need for Speed

Things aren’t just getting faster; they are getting exponentially faster at a dramatic rate. As such more interfaces are relying on serial communication to meet their speed and data transfer...
- Email
Read Article
Get the Guide!
Real-Time Revision Control

During design the only constant is change. See how OrCAD provides real-time revision control and file management to ensure you are always working on the latest and greatest and always have access...
- Email
Read Article
Quick Tutorial: Real-Time Interactive 3D

This tutorial will show you how to flex your design, measure paths in the x, y, and z directions, and perform collision detection in real-time directly within OrCAD PCB Designer Professional.
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesdays: Best Practices for Schematic Layout

After developing the design specifications from the customer’s requirements, creating a schematic can seem daunting. So where should you begin? This episode of Wednesday will discuss how to create...
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesdays: Best Practices for Routing

There are many different ways to route a board, based on the constraints available in your PCB software. While we know routing is subjective, this episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will review three...
- Email
Read Article
On-Demand Webinar: Optimizing Power Supply Design

Precise and efficient power delivery is more important than ever in our always-on, always connected world. Learn how to design and implement power supplies that will ensure your product is powered...
- Email
Read Article
Quick Tutorial: Real-Time Design for Test (DFT)

Incorporating testing into your design is critical for the success of your project. By setting Design for Test (DFT) constraints, you can check items such as testpoint spacing or testpoints under...
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesday: Designing for Testing, JTAG

A brief overview of why design for test is important with a focus on what JTAG testing is and when it makes sense to utilize it.
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesday: What is Coupling

This episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will review what coupling is and what you can do to combat crosstalk caused by undesirable coupling.
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesday: Uses for Copper Planes and Pours

An overview of common uses for Copper Planes and Pours within your design including: power distribution, electromagnetic interference reduction, EMI shielding, ESD guard bands, and heat sinks.
- Email
Read Article
SiliconExpert CONNECT BOM Risk Overview

Discovering issues with part status and availability late in the design process can be detrimental to your project, causing production delays and costly respins due to bill of materials (BOM)...
- Email
Read Article
Get the Guide!
Whiteboard Wednesday: Best Practices for PCB Part Placement Part 1

PCB Part placement is a very important part of the design process as it will drive the success of the entire project. Part Placement effects everything from manufacturing to electrical...
- Email
Read Article
OrCAD Free Trial
Try OrCAD Today
Quick Tutorial: Real-Time Routing Analysis

Design Rule Checks are usually performed to identify and resolve any features that may be troublesome for your design, including signal quality and manufacturing issues. Easily find route-quality...
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesday: What is Impedance and Why Should You Care

You learned about impedance in school, but how does it relate to PCB design? This episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will discuss impedance and how to implement controlled impedance in your designs.
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesday: Via Selection

This episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will discuss Via Selection. This video will cover: - What is a via - The types of vias, what they are typically used for, and cost considerations - Why...
- Email
Read Article
OrCAD Engineering Data Management: Validation

Automatically generate a report that compares footprints versions placed on the board to the corresponding footprint found in your promoted library- verifying all parts are up to date.
- Email
Read Article
OrCAD Engineering Data Management: Libraries

Reduce errors and save time with approved parts in OrCAD Engineering Data Management. Import schematic symbols, PCB footprints and pad stacks. Once components are approved, parts are promoted and...
- Email
Read Article
Whiteboard Wednesday: Best Practices for PCB Part Placement Part 2

In our last Whiteboard Wednesday episode, Best Practices for PCB Part Placement Part 1, we reviewed the general guidelines for part placement, however there are a few other factors that need to...
- Email
Read Article
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Home

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...

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...

MakerFaire 2018: Making the Future

A circus of 3D printed robots, articulated metal squid, and giant, walking exoskeletons. Reflections of our time at Maker Faire Bay Area 2018.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

SiliconExpert CONNECT BOM Risk: Getting Started

An overview of the Silicon Expert CONNECT BOM Risk app. This video will help you implement BOM Risk Analysis in your designs. NOTE: you need to be connected to the internet for this app to work...

Open Compute Project; A Look Under the Hood with PCB Design Expert Robert Feranec

Have you ever looked a board designed by someone else and wondered, how or why certain decisions were made (good or bad)? Robert Feranec offers an in-depth look into PCB design through a video...

On-Demand Webinar: Serial Link Design - Meeting the Need for Speed

Things aren’t just getting faster; they are getting exponentially faster at a dramatic rate. As such more interfaces are relying on serial communication to meet their speed and data transfer...

Real-Time Revision Control

During design the only constant is change. See how OrCAD provides real-time revision control and file management to ensure you are always working on the latest and greatest and always have access...

Quick Tutorial: Real-Time Interactive 3D

This tutorial will show you how to flex your design, measure paths in the x, y, and z directions, and perform collision detection in real-time directly within OrCAD PCB Designer Professional.

Whiteboard Wednesdays: Best Practices for Schematic Layout

After developing the design specifications from the customer’s requirements, creating a schematic can seem daunting. So where should you begin? This episode of Wednesday will discuss how to create...

Whiteboard Wednesdays: Best Practices for Routing

There are many different ways to route a board, based on the constraints available in your PCB software. While we know routing is subjective, this episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will review three...

On-Demand Webinar: Optimizing Power Supply Design

Precise and efficient power delivery is more important than ever in our always-on, always connected world. Learn how to design and implement power supplies that will ensure your product is powered...

Quick Tutorial: Real-Time Design for Test (DFT)

Incorporating testing into your design is critical for the success of your project. By setting Design for Test (DFT) constraints, you can check items such as testpoint spacing or testpoints under...

Whiteboard Wednesday: Designing for Testing, JTAG

A brief overview of why design for test is important with a focus on what JTAG testing is and when it makes sense to utilize it.

Whiteboard Wednesday: What is Coupling

This episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will review what coupling is and what you can do to combat crosstalk caused by undesirable coupling.

Whiteboard Wednesday: Uses for Copper Planes and Pours

An overview of common uses for Copper Planes and Pours within your design including: power distribution, electromagnetic interference reduction, EMI shielding, ESD guard bands, and heat sinks.

SiliconExpert CONNECT BOM Risk Overview

Discovering issues with part status and availability late in the design process can be detrimental to your project, causing production delays and costly respins due to bill of materials (BOM)...

Whiteboard Wednesday: Best Practices for PCB Part Placement Part 1

PCB Part placement is a very important part of the design process as it will drive the success of the entire project. Part Placement effects everything from manufacturing to electrical...

Quick Tutorial: Real-Time Routing Analysis

Design Rule Checks are usually performed to identify and resolve any features that may be troublesome for your design, including signal quality and manufacturing issues. Easily find route-quality...

Whiteboard Wednesday: What is Impedance and Why Should You Care

You learned about impedance in school, but how does it relate to PCB design? This episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will discuss impedance and how to implement controlled impedance in your designs.

Whiteboard Wednesday: Via Selection

This episode of Whiteboard Wednesday will discuss Via Selection. This video will cover: - What is a via - The types of vias, what they are typically used for, and cost considerations - Why...

OrCAD Engineering Data Management: Validation

Automatically generate a report that compares footprints versions placed on the board to the corresponding footprint found in your promoted library- verifying all parts are up to date.

OrCAD Engineering Data Management: Libraries

Reduce errors and save time with approved parts in OrCAD Engineering Data Management. Import schematic symbols, PCB footprints and pad stacks. Once components are approved, parts are promoted and...

Whiteboard Wednesday: Best Practices for PCB Part Placement Part 2

In our last Whiteboard Wednesday episode, Best Practices for PCB Part Placement Part 1, we reviewed the general guidelines for part placement, however there are a few other factors that need to...