OnTrack: The PCB Design Podcast

Having Steve Sandler in this episode is such a treat! He talks about his presentations at the upcoming DesignCon 2023 in Santa Clara. He gives us a deep dive into some very complex engineering topics, including measuring the PDN Flatness and the state space model. Download this episode Show Highlights: Steve Sandler is in the running for Engineering of the Year along with Ken Wyatt Steve is doing a two-and-a-half-hour tutorial on PSMR, PSOR, and PSMR testing at the DesignCon. Molex and Tektronix are both participating in the live demonstration He s also doing a presentation with Heidi Barnes, Bandanin, and Ben Denon A lot of conferences are going virtual. The reach is undeniably great, however, what are the pros and the cons? What is valuable to who? Steve talks about the conception of Picotest in the US Picotest made the very first water-cooled probe which he will be showing at the DesignCon Innovative solutions can take decades from conception to fruition, Steve shares his PdD thesis from 2011 that got him ahead of the curve Steve deeps dive into the water-cooled probe, how it works, and the problems it eliminates 21:34 Power supply stability is critical in space,  23:28 What does it mean to quantify the flatness of the PDN? Steve co-authored a paper with Scott Witcher which will be presented at the DesignCon 26:25 Steve Sandler wrote a paper in 2015: Target Impedance Limitations and Rogue Wave Assessments on PDN Performance 31:29 FACTS! Computers in Space Station are being reset every 40 minutes 33:13 Steve stresses the importance of simulation and gives engineers a tip: “Start out with proven models and you'll get there. Get enough confidence.“ 34:39 Steve explains why it is necessary to find the “Q” to measure PDN Flatness 43:19 Innovation could have happened earlier, Steve talks about the typical economic problems that could be hindering technological advancements 47:51 Steve gives us a brief deep dive into the “state space model” and what it’s attempting to quantify Links and Resources: Connect with Steve Sandler on LinkedIn Visit Picotest website Check out Steve Sandler's Books Register to DesignCon 2023

One of PCEA’s (Printed Circuit Engineering Association) goals is to provide accessible education, affordable to everyone in the electronics industry. In this episode, we are fortunate to have two passionate educators in the industry, Mike Buetow and Mike Creeden. We will talk about the PCEA’s efforts to use all possible platforms to promote educational programs for design engineers. PCEA, it's an international network of engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers…anyone who is involved in printed circuit development. And we promote Printed Circuit Engineering as a profession. We're looking at trying to take information, new design concepts, get them down into the manufacturing side, and then also to communicate those manufacturing constraints and make sure that they are communicated back to the design side. -Mike Buetow Watch the episode here Show Highlights: Introduction to PCEA and updates on its acquisition of key assets of UP Media Group Mike Buetow talks about the PCB East conference reboot Who can benefit from PCEA’s educational initiatives? Mike Creeden emphasizes the importance of in-person learning. “Online is good, but it lacks some retention…but in-person learning, you retain more,” he explains. To collaborate, educate and inspire is what’s behind PCEA educational efforts PCEA is a volunteer-driven organization Mike Creeden will be at the https://www.ipcapexexpo.org/in San Diego Mike Creeden debunks misconceptions about PCB manufacturing facilities, the skills involved, the compensation, and more There are some issues in design education around packaging, the Insulectro booth at IPC Apex 2023 will offer valuable knowledge about packaging PCEA membership is free, you can register here Mentorship programs are something to look forward to Currently, PCEA has chapters in Europe, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and across the United States Links and Resources: Visit PCEA’s website Connect with Mike Creeden on LinkedIn Connect with Mike Buetow on LinkedIn Watch Previous Related Episodes: New Printed Circuit Engineering Course: PCE EDU Mike Buetow on PCB West   Get Your First Month of Altium Designer® for FREE  

Expedite your transition from prototype to scale with the help of an experienced PCB broker! In this episode, a returning guest joins us to discuss everything that involves cost-effective PCB manufacturing. Greg Papandrew, a PCB buying and selling expert, gives us a comprehensive understanding of PCB cost drivers and tips on a good supply chain strategy. Watch this episode here Show Highlights: The process of buying and selling, Greg Papandrew is a PCB broker with 30 years of experience in the industry Greg emphasizes the importance of quoting smartly, learning when, where, and how to save money without sacrificing the PCB quality What is a good supply chain strategy? Greg dives deep into his role as a PCB broker, and his involvement in the decision making involving specs, materials, cost, and more Sending too much information can be problematic, and it involves the vulnerability of intellectual property Good communication with the PCB manufacturer and fabricator can go a long way; asking the right questions can help with the production of high-quality products with a fair pricing What is the anatomy of a complete data package? What's in a File list and a README file  Greg answers, at what stage of the process does a PCB designer or manufacturer approach a PCB broker? Links and Resources: Connect with Greg Papandrew on LinkedIn Watch a previous episode with Greg Panandrew: How to Buy PC Boards From a Board Shop Watch Greg’s video: How to Avoid Self-inflicted PCB Costs Visit DirectPCB - Better Board Buying website Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Visit Nexar website Visit Octopart website Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only!

If you look at the way people have used FPGAs, they are a miracle product in many ways. -Mark Oliver Our guest Mark Oliver, VP of marketing at Efinix talks about the evolving role of FPGAs in the industry beyond prototyping. Mark will give us a very insightful use of FPGA as an efficient custom silicon solution and will go deep on the importance of RISC-V for processor designs. Watch this episode here Show Highlights: Introduction to Efinix, an FPGA company Mark starts off by addressing the inefficient ways designers use FPGAs and how this has helped them develop a product that can be utilized from prototyping and straight to high-volume manufacturing Efinix FPGAs are cost-effective, low-power, and small-form efficient for custom silicon solution The common FPGAs integration including the SIP (Session Initial Protocol) implementation FPGA market is set to explode because it is going in the same direction as the current industry growth they  are designed as mid-volume production solutions with the potential for scalability Given that the industry is dominated by software engineers Efinix moves its course to RISC-V processor integration What is RISC-V and why it is so important for processor design, specifically for FPGAs? FPGAs already offer great benefits and there will be more to come Links and Resources: Connect with Mark Oliver on LinkedIn Visit Efinix website Read Related Articles: How to Start an FPGA PCB Layout For Your Embedded System Designing for the FPGA Pin Mapper SoC FPGA Boasts RISC-V Processor Watch Related Altium Academy Videos: FPGA Pins Explained! FPGA and BGA PCB Power Delivery Best Practices Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Full OnTrack Podcast Library Altium Website Get Your First Month of Altium Designer® for FREE  

Join us as we reflect on the best moments and the coolest guests we've had on the OnTrack podcast this year. 2012 has been a whirlwind year for the electronics industry–chip shortages, and a supply chain crunch. Altium has passed several milestones, as well as releasing an education program. And there have been some groundbreaking reports from industry groups highlighting the need for workforce training and development, and workforce shortages coming on the horizon. Watch the episode here Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only Show Highlights: One of Altium’s Milestone is the Altium Education Program In most of the episodes, the issue of automotive chips shortage comes up coupled with the passing of the PCB Act PCB Packaging, and production of integrated circuit substrates  Most requested repeat guests and new faces Links and Resources: Watch all the OnTrack Podcast Episode Register at Altium Education for Free Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Visit Nexar website Visit Octopart website Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only

Young blood in the PCB industry, Christopher Bonsell talks about process engineering–the chemical involved in the PCB, etching and encouraging the young generation to the “cool-tech” aspects of PCB design and manufacturing. Watch this episode through the end, and check the show notes and additional below. Watch this episode here Show Highlights: Chris Bonsell published articles on i-Connect007 What kind of services does Chemcut offer related to PCB manufacturing and the role of a process engineer Chris talks about his career journey and how he landed his position in Chemcut Misconception about the circuit board industry, does it belong to tech industry? The grand challenge – the Moorse Law What is the Peri Etch Process? The lack of interest in the chemistry of circuit boards might be what’s blocking the PCB industry from moving to the next level of processing capability The US is 20 years behind in the PCB industry Is fully additive circuit board could be the big game changer in the industry? Workforce shortage industry – how to involve students and the younger generation to become interested in the PCB industry? Chris explains etching uniformity Links and Resources: Connect with Christoper Bonsell on LinkedIn Visit Chemcut website Read Chris’s articles on i-Connect007 Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Visit Nexar website Visit Octopart website Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only

Let’s take a glimpse into a life of a young process engineer. In this episode, our guest Paige Fiet talks about her career path in the world of PCB manufacturing. She will also share how she landed her role as the Student Liaison in the IPC. Watch this episode through the end or listen on the go. We hope to inspire young engineers to become more motivated to jump into the PCB industry. Show Highlights: Paige shares her story and her exciting career path before she landed her role as a process engineer at TTM Technologies Zach and Paige exchange college experiences, they talk about the courses and curriculum then and now Paige briefly talks about her experience in getting the role of the IPC Student Liaison She also talks about how interested engineers can become involved in the IPC and encourage them to invest in a membership and attend other industry-related trade shows and conferences Participating in committees can be a rewarding and fun experience Paige had her eyes on TTM from the very beginning. She summed up her role as a process engineer as working on improving processes' efficiency and quality on a daily basis Preventing mistakes before they happen is one of the challenging but exciting parts of the job There are so many opportunities in the industry and the next generation’s industry expert has a huge room to fill Manufacturing misconceptions, Zach and Paige emphasize the exciting opportunities in the PCB manufacturing Industry and encourage young engineers to explore this space Links and Resources: Connect with Paige on LinkedIn Visit TTM Technologies website Watch Paige Interview: IPC Student Board Member Liaison Watch a related episode: IPC CEO John Mitchell on the Supporting American Printed Circuit Boards Act Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Visit Nexar website Visit Octopart website Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only

It’s that time again to have Altium’s VP of Marketing, Lawrence Romine, the bearer of good news when it comes to Altium Designer’s latest features. We will discuss what’s coming in Altium Designer 23 which includes multi-board and harness design capabilities. You don’t want to miss this one. Watch through the end and be sure to check the show notes and additional resources below. Watch this episode here Show Highlights Altium Designer®’s regular and reliable updates are incomparable in the industry, stay on top of the monthly updates through the OnTrack newsletter There are 3 major themes to come in Altium Designer 2023Multi-board systems and harness design – empower PCB designers and electrical engineers to design harnesses Collaboration and teamwork Make Altium Designer a necessity for every PCB designer – the world's greatest and most elegant design experience Code Designer, coming soon – the ability to work natively in Altium Designer and in Mcad tool of choice Multi-board and harness design capability, Altium Designer is fully supported through Altium 365 It's never too soon to involve the other stakeholders in your PCB designAltium 365 releases commenting capability to both bombs and draftsman documents New power analysis capability powered by Keysight, anybody that can design a printed circuit board can now do some power analysis Altium Designer users are encouraged to check out all of the extensions, especially the new power analyzer Links and Resources: Connect with Lawrence Romine on LinkedIn Stay on top of Altium Designer versions updates What’s new in Altium 365 Read: Come See the New Power Analyzer by Keysight in Altium Designer 22.9 Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Visit Nexar website Visit Octopart website Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only 

Materials Science and how this can level up your PCB manufacturability. In this episode, our guest Geoffrey Leeds the product manager at Insulectro talks about how material science can help solve the unique manufacturing challenges fabricators are dealing with HDI designs. Listen through the end and check the additional resources below. Watch this episode here Show Highlights:   Geoffrey Leed’s role as a product manager at Insulectro, a material science distributor What is material science and how does it relates to PCB manufacturing Ultra HDI designs present unique manufacturing challenges to PCB fabricators How are your material choices impacting your design performance? Geoffrey explains why having lower CTE materials could be a double-edged sword Perfect is the enemy of good enough! You must accept some level of tolerance when your product moves into production and goes out into the real world, It can be the material tolerance or the electrical performance The PCB industry has been walking in the packaging industry's footsteps for quite some time and the CHIPS act has become one of the drivers of this movement Would a set of alphanumerical rules help designers with HDI designs? Geoffrey answered with the phrase “curse of the easy button” Geoffrey recognizes IPC’s effort as the governing body in the standardization of PCB design and manufacturability- heterogeneous Links and Resources:   Connect with Geoffrey Leeds on LinkedIn Follow Insulectro on LinkedIn Visit Insulectro’s website here Watch Related Episode: Mike Creeden on Empowering PCB Engineers through PCE-A   Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Visit Nexar website Visit Octopart website Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only 

This is a very interesting episode, especially for hardware engineers. Duncan Haldane, the CEO, and co-founder of JITX joins us to share a very interesting approach to PCB design. JITX is a way for hardware engineers to write code to design circuit boards. I know you are excited to hear more! Watch this episode or listen on the go. Be sure to check out the show notes and additional resources below. Watch this episode here Show Highlights: Duncan talks about the Series A funding from Sequoia Capital and the general availability of JITX as an actual product. Duncan's path to engineering started in robotics How can an electrical engineer benefit from JITX? Duncan explained in detail JITX is very well integrated with Altium, it works natively with the existing designs and libraries  Hardware-generated code transforms the job of an engineer a little bit so that they don't have to manually look through all of the different specs for every component that they need JITX is a Nexar partner and uses Octoparts data, in addition, they built a different type of database that's meant for part optimization. Reusable expert hardware engineering knowledge is one of JITX’s ultimate goals They are building full automation for boards, new kinds of routing algorithms, new kinds of placement algorithms, and checks for physical geometry The future is optimization Zach and Duncan excitedly talked about AI, and how it can be used to drive some parameters to create new designs Electrical engineers’ job is secure, automation can help with the shortage, but will not replace electrical engineers’ jobs What the future looks like for JITX Links and Resources: Connect with Duncan Haldane on LinkedIn Visit JITX website Read JITX Launches General Availability And Announces $12M Series A From Sequoia Capital Connect with Zach on LinkedIn Visit Nexar website Visit Octopart website   Claim the special offer for Podcast listeners only