News & Updates
Reliability testing and failure analysis of a PCB/PCBA go hand-in-hand; when designs are stressed to the limit, their failure modes need to be determined through thorough inspection and analysis. To get started on this topic, it’s important to understand the qualification aspects that will govern your bare board design and the PCBA. We’ll look at the various dimensions of PCB/PCBA reliability, as well as some of the standard failure analysis techniques used to identify potential design change requirements.
By now, designers should be aware of some important behavior involved in power delivery to components in a PCB, particularly for digital components. All digital components produce and manipulate wideband signals, where the frequency content theoretically extends up to infinite frequency. As such, some radiation may propagate through your PCB, leading to resonant behavior that is not observed on the power rail.
Supply shortages have become and continue to be a common problem, especially when it comes to the world of electronics. It's hard to get all the different components for our boards. Heck! It's even tough to get the board themselves too! When electronic components become obsolete or out of stock, design and production can suffer lengthy delays. With current supply chain delays and with an average of 15 end-of-life notices issued every day, obtaining the parts you need is a challenge.
Once your board passes through the standard PCB fabrication process, the bare copper in your PCB will be ready for the application of a surface finish. PCB plating is applied to protect any copper in your PCB that would be exposed through the solder mask, whether it’s a pad, via, or other conductive element. In this article, I’ll run over the different PCB plating material options and their advantages in your PCB.
The PCB supply chain encompasses multiple components, raw materials, and the PCB itself. PCBs and PCB assemblies are often the most technically complex components that are purchased for electronic assemblies and products. The complexity of modern PCBs leads to several challenges for a supply chain management team that may be significantly different when compared with other commodities the team manages. In this brief guide, we'll look in-depth at the PCB supply chain, and specifically what falls within the purview of a procurement and supply chain management team.
On interconnects, such as board-to-board connections or cascaded transmission line arrangements, you have an important EMC compliance metric that is sometimes overlooked. This is mode conversion, which can be visualized in an S-parameter measurement for differential and common-mode signal transmission. In this article, we’ll look at a short overview of mode conversion in high-speed design with some examples from common differential standards.
There are some aspects of PCB design and layout that seem deceptively simple, and yet they have a complex answer that is related to many important aspects of manufacturing. One of these design aspects is the match between PCB via size and pad size. Obviously, these two points are related; all vias have a landing pad that supports the via and provides a place to route traces into a via pad. However, there are some important sizing guidelines to follow when the matching pad and via sizes, and this match is an important element of DFM and reliability.
When you’re done creating a new board, it’s time to send your design data to the manufacturer. Before releasing your designs, you’ll want to make sure that everything is ready and works as intended. In this informative video, we’ll review some of the must-have checks before sending your output data for fabrication.
Are you looking for a free tool that you can use to calculate the impedance of differential microstrips? We created a simple tool you can use to calculate differential microstrip impedance for a given geometry and dielectric constant. If you’ve been looking for an accurate differential microstrip impedance calculator, then the calculator below is certainly one of the best free tools you’ll find on the internet before you start using field solvers to determine differential pair impedance.
In this article, we’ll discuss the key design features to implement, and steps to take prior to fabrication that will help prevent some common DFM problems. I’ll also provide examples of where I commonly see these PCB DFM problems in signal integrity circuits.
Rigid-flex PCBs help modern devices get smaller, lighter, and more compact by eliminating connectors and fitting into tight 3D spaces. This article explains how to design them properly to avoid common reliability issues.
This webinar walks through the complete post-release workflow, from generating a managed BOM to sourcing components and assembling the first prototype. It demonstrates how integrated tools streamline data enrichment, supplier selection, and guided assembly to reduce delays and errors.
BOM management is no longer just a checklist. It’s becoming a real-time engine for smarter decisions! Discover how AI, automation, and connected systems are transforming BOMs into powerful tools for navigating supply chain uncertainty.
Working across different ECAD tools can make design reviews messy and inefficient. This article shows how a multi-CAD viewer simplifies collaboration by letting teams view, comment, and manage designs in one place.
This article examines how fragmented ECAD-MCAD workflows create costly misalignments, late-stage conflicts, and inefficiencies in multiboard system design. It shows how unified, collaborative platforms enable real-time synchronization, digital twins, and cross-domain visibility to eliminate rework and streamline development.
Choosing the right PCB tool can define your entire design workflow. Discover how Altium Designer empowers professional product development, while Flux.ai keeps things simple for fast experimentation.
Rigid-flex stackups are more complex than they seem and getting them wrong early can lead to costly failures later. This article shows how smart decisions around materials, transitions, and layer structure help ensure a reliable design.
Understand how structured design reviews within Altium Agile Teams enhance visibility, traceability, and cross-team collaboration. This webinar highlights methods to detect issues early and optimize your development workflow.
Parsing long datasheets manually slows down embedded development and introduces errors. This article shows how to use a local LLM pipeline to convert datasheets into structured data that speeds up driver creation.
PCB simulation isn’t one-size-fits-all and that’s where it gets interesting! Discover the wide range of tools available, from quick circuit checks to advanced multiphysics simulations, and how they help you design with confidence.
This article explores the shift from PCB-centric design to complex, system-level development where wiring and harnesses play a critical role in product performance. It highlights how unified electromechanical workflows and bi-directional ECAD–MCAD integration improve accuracy, reduce delays, and ensure reliable, production-ready designs.
Want to catch manufacturability issues before they turn into expensive delays? Discover the essential DFM tools from real-time checks to post-layout analysis that help you get your PCB right the first time.
Design friction from scattered data and disconnected tools slows down PCB development and leads to rework. This webinar shows how Agile Teams streamlines collaboration, aligns domains, and helps teams deliver faster with fewer errors.
Using multiple disconnected tools slows down PCB development and increases the risk of errors. This article shows how an integrated environment keeps all design data connected, enabling faster workflows and fewer late-stage issues.
Not all cloud PCB tools are created equal, especially when design complexity increases. This article breaks down key differences between cloud-native and hybrid solutions, helping engineers choose the right approach for performance and scalability.
This article explores how traditional, manual DFMA workflows lead to costly rework, delays, and poor collaboration across engineering teams. It shows how a connected, digital approach enables better data integrity, faster design cycles, and improved manufacturing outcomes.