How is Controlled Impedance Guaranteed in PCB Manufacturing?
What’s the issue? Transmission of high frequency signals on PCBs requires skilled design techniques that determine impedance (characteristic) on PCBs. Transmission will not be effective – or fail – if this isn’t done. There is a design element to this not covered here: it is assumed that the design is good. Manufacturing problems can follow […]
EMC Testing: Needed? What is it?
What’s the issue? Harking back to pre-Brexit days (and now in the UK – nothing has essentially changed other than labelling), standards were introduced via the EU that mandated testing for electronics devices to ensure that products neither suffered because noisy electromagnetic conditions, nor that they caused such conditions in the first place. Some of […]
Is AI the future or Marketing Hype?
AI Explained
What’s the issue? AI (artificial intelligence) is the current hot topic (2020s), but is it a future we must all embrace, and if so what does it involve and deliver? The trouble with such technological evolutions is that promotional marketing of a deep technology inevitably involves misunderstanding and misinterpretation. The levels vary: Y2K was little […]
One Page Guide: Designing ultrasonic flow metering systems
What’s the issue? There are two types of flow measurement with which the EM has extensive experience: gas for anaesthesia systems; water in pipes and mains. Commercial and domestic meters must sometimes be developed to measure these flows. This article examines the rules and challenges encountered in developing such systems. How is flow measured? […]
One Page Guide: Electronics in enclosure heat: rules of thumb
What’s the issue? Different Thermal modelling software abounds these days, but it is often very helpful to have simple calculations to hand that indicate whether or not heat will be a factor in the design of electronics. This article presents some very simple formulas from which it may ascertained whether convection (natural or otherwise) will […]
One Page Guide: Managing interface between electronics and product design
What’s the issue? Different resources have different traits, and few could contrast more than product designers and engineers. Both have critical attributes that ease the development of a product, but if the differences aren’t appreciated conflict rather than cooperation can result. This article covers the strengths, weaknesses and complements of the two types of resource. […]
One Page Guide: Relationship management within the Development Team
What’s the issue? Relationship management in Electronics Product Development is critical. It is an incredibly fractious union because all concerned know there are risks and even a whiff of an entity not acting in the best interests of another can disrupt the dynamics of a team. Trust is critical. The four parties usually involved are […]
One Page Guide: Does reverse engineering electronics make sense?
What’s the issue? Many electronics product developers find themselves with an electronic product (PCBA – assembled printed circuit board) for which they have limited or no support documentation, and they wish to manufacture and/or evolve its design somewhere other than where it was originally developed. This unfortunate predicament usually comes about because of a […]
One Page Guide: Choosing Enclosures for Electronics
What’s the issue? There is rarely a requirement for electronics with no enclosure, but the choice of materials, types, and performances must be properly linked to client needs. The scope can vary from a bespoke and complex form of enclosure with demanding engineering requirements to one that can be supplied off the shelf – […]
One Page Guide: Design criteria for PCB capacitive touch pad or button
What’s the issue? It is sometimes necessary to implement a capacitive pad on a PCB. There are some very basic rules to clarify the design route – miss them and life can get painful. What follows is only semi-rigorous, but it does give the right rules of thumb for error avoidance. How do I […]
