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10.02.2021

What is Product Realization?
The short answer is that product realization is a term used in ISO 9001:2008, referring to the basic design and realization of... READ MORE

23.04.2019

Embedded Microstrip Transmission Lines in RF PCB Design
Embedded Microstrip Strictly speaking, the application of soldermask, conformal coating or other surface treatments will change a... READ MORE

05.04.2019

Microstrip Transmission Lines in RF PCB Design
Microstrip is still by far the most commonly used transmission line structure in RF and microwave designs. This is becoming less... READ MORE

25.01.2018

RF PCB Transmission Line Width
Typically, all connections in a digital circuit board are impedance controlled. This is by virtue of the fact that most layout... READ MORE

18.01.2018

Transmission Lines in RF PCB Design
Transmission Line Fundamentals Over the last ten to twenty years, advances in IC fabrication technology have led to huge... READ MORE

28.01.2016

Toward A More Rational Silkscreen
Today’s complex PCBs are being packed with a boatload of tiny components and are designed to run at ever-increasing speeds. So it... READ MORE

22.04.2015

How to Place Breakaway Rails in a PCB Design
Designers must be aware that the customer-supplied board outline shape isn’t always necessarily the shape that is to be delivered... READ MORE

14.11.2014

Pin Vs. Gate Swapping in PCB Design
In order to have a clean route, occasionally the designer may have to swap pins or gates on some devices. Usually the devices... READ MORE

25.09.2014

Switching Power Supply PCB Layout Seminar
Optimum Design Associates Senior Designer Scott Nance presents a 45 minute seminar on PCB design best practices for... READ MORE

02.09.2014

What Is A PCB?
Unless you are in an industry in which Printed Circuit Boards (PCB's) are used on a regular basis, you might not know exactly... READ MORE

02.09.2014

How to Use a Silkscreen to Identify PCB Components
The silkscreen is a helpful tool in identifying components on the board. During PCB layout it should be designed for a... READ MORE

22.07.2014

PCB Layout Prices Are Hard To Compare
Engineering managers tasked with outourcing PCB layout face a daunting challenge: comparing the total cost of multiple layout... READ MORE

22.07.2014

How Are PCB Layout Jobs Priced?
Determining a price for PCB layout services is conceptually simple: Estimated number of hours times an hourly rate. The trick is... READ MORE

10.07.2014

PCB Design Tips: 5 Need-to-Know Component Assembly Methods
Part of a designer's professional developments should be to learn as much as possible about the activities that go before and... READ MORE

10.07.2014

Schematic vs. Netlist: A Guide to PCB Design Integration
Integration is the process of adding intelligence to the PCB database by means of a netlist or schematic. This can only occur... READ MORE

10.07.2014

How to Place a PCB Bypass Capacitor: 6 Tips
The placement of bypass capacitors is one of the most critical phases of the design process. Failure to place them correctly can... READ MORE

10.07.2014

How to Bypass BGA Packages
Knowing how to place a bypass capacitor is a crucial step in PCB design. In most cases, we recommend that the bypass capacitor is... READ MORE

10.07.2014

Outsourcing PCB Design: A Primer
Deciding to outsource a PCB design can be a daunting task. Between choosing a design firm to handle the design, knowing what to... READ MORE

26.06.2014

How to Read a PCB Fabrication Drawing
A fabrication drawing specifies how the PCB is to be manufactured. There are four major sections to a fabrication drawing—Board... READ MORE

07.05.2014

What is ODB++?
Originally developed by Valor, ODB++ is an electronic database for printed circuit board manufacturing. Created in 1995, it was... READ MORE

31.03.2014

Lean NPI at ODA Part One: Where Are We Now?
For more than twenty years, Optimum Design Associates (Optimum) has offered their customers PCB design and layout services, and... READ MORE

31.03.2014

HDI Layer Stackups for Large Dense PCBs
A few days into a recent project for one of our customers, the lead engineer called me to tell me that the PCB design would have... READ MORE

31.03.2014

DDR Memory Layout Design: Rules, Factors, Considerations
Jump rope is a popular childhood activity involving two people swinging the ends of a long rope, with a third person in the... READ MORE

31.03.2014

Switching Power Supply PCB Layout Considerations – Towards a Better Switcher
Have you ever started a switching power supply layout, only to realize that it is impossible to match the datasheet’s suggested... READ MORE

31.03.2014

Clearance and Creepage Rules for PCB Assembly
Electrical spacing rules become significant from a product safety perspective when the normal operating voltage is greater than... READ MORE
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