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The PCB Design Podcast features conversations on all facets of PCB Design and Hardware Development
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Component Sense is tackling the e-waste crisis head-on by redistributing excess, unused stock from major companies before it becomes waste.
In this episode of the Altium OnTrack podcast, we talk with Kenny McGee, founder and CEO of Component Sense, about the hidden issues of electronic component disposal. Discover what happens to stockpiled electronics, why companies over-purchase components, and the innovative solutions that companies like Component Sense are implementing to reduce e-waste.
Kenny shares insights from years in the electronics distribution market, the challenges of moving unused inventory, and the environmental impacts of traditional disposal methods. This conversation highlights the importance of responsible component management and the potential to create a sustainable future in electronics. Tune in to learn more about the environmental and ethical implications of e-waste, and see how you can contribute to positive change in the industry.
Tuesday Jul 30, 2024
Tuesday Jul 30, 2024
Join Tech Consultant Zach Peterson in this interview with Kris Moyer, an esteemed IPC instructor and seasoned PCB design expert. The pair cover a wide range of topics including IPC courses, PCB design practices, and advanced materials. Discover how IPC courses can elevate your PCB design skills, learn about best practices in high-speed digital design (as well as a few other types of design), and explore the challenges of working with advanced materials in the PCB industry.
Key Topics Covered:
- The importance of IPC courses for PCB designers
- Best practices in PCB design and signal integrity
- Overcoming challenges with high-speed digital design
- Understanding and utilizing advanced materials in PCB manufacturing
- Kris Moyer's career journey and industry insights
#PCBDesign #IPC #signalintegrity
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
In a captivating 2023 year-end review, Zach Peterson hosts a compelling discussion with Gene Weiner, President of Weiner International Associates, exploring the dynamic landscapes of manufacturing in Mexico, India, and the burgeoning field of Ultra High-Density Interconnects (UHDI). Discover the nuances of electronics manufacturing in China, where resources seamlessly integrate into the supply chain, contrasted with Mexico's DIY approach and India's promising advancements fueled by resolutions and government backing, ultimately surpassing Mexico in certain aspects.
Key Highlights:
- Insights into Trade and Manufacturing in Mexico: Delve into the intricate details of Mexico's manufacturing landscape, exploring the unique challenges and opportunities in this key region.
- Exploring Broader Trends in India: Gain a comprehensive understanding of the evolving trends shaping the electronics manufacturing sector in India, highlighting key developments and advancements.
- Comparing India's Model to Chinese and Mexican Approaches: Analyze the positioning of India in the global manufacturing landscape, drawing parallels and distinctions between the Chinese and Mexican models.
- Unraveling the Challenges Faced by Chinese PCB Countries: Investigate the factors contributing to the challenges faced by Chinese PCB countries and the implications for the broader electronics manufacturing industry.
- Insights into M&A Activity and Future Trends: Explore the dynamics of mergers and acquisitions in the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) sector, with a forward-looking perspective on continued consolidation and vertical integration in the industry.
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Listen to the latest episode of OnTrack to hear a round up of the key PCB design trends from 2023. Explore themes such as evolving manufacturing dynamics, including shifts closer to the United States and Europe, influencing future innovations. Dive into the world of packaging design advancements and emerging trends such as robotic vision and new tools shaping the future of PCB design and the broader electronics market.
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Dive into the future of collaborative PCB design with Altium's latest feature, the PCB CoDesign tool in AD24! In this exciting episode of the Altium OnTrack Podcast, our host, Zach Peterson, sits down with Wojciech Łaś, Product Manager at Altium, to explore the ins and outs of this innovative tool.
Discover how the PCB CoDesign tool allows multiple designers to work on the same PCB layout simultaneously, extending Altium's version control system. Learn about the compare and merge tool, a game-changer for detecting, comparing, and resolving conflicts in PCB layout files. Wojciech shares insights into the challenges of coordinating work among multiple designers and strategies to optimize the collaborative workflow.
Get a sneak peek into the future roadmap, including upcoming features like merge requests and improved conflict prevention. Find out how Altium's approach differs from real-time collaboration tools and the advantages of asynchronous collaboration.
Whether you're a seasoned Altium user or exploring the world of collaborative PCB design, this podcast provides valuable insights and a glimpse into the future of electronic design.
Show highlights:
- PCB CoDesigner Overview
- Unique Features of the PCB CoDesigner Tool
- Strategies for Collaborative Design
- Layer-Stack Locking and Rules System
- Future Developments: Merge Requests and On-Premise Availability
Links and Resources:
- Learn more about PCB CoDesign Coming Soon in Altium Designer 24
Friday Jul 07, 2023
Friday Jul 07, 2023
We have a seasoned favorite guest in the podcast today. John Mitchell the President and CEO of IPC talks about his new book Firing Your Hiring Habits.
This is a very insightful conversation! We tackled acquisition, retaining and upskilling talents in your team. PCB designers, aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders in any company will surely benefit from this discussion. Make sure to watch through the end and check the additional resources below.
Show Highlights:
- Introduction to John Mitchell and his new book, Fire Your Hiring Habits
- John Mitchell shares his inspiration about writing the book and revealed who he wrote it for
- The two fundamental problems in building a team are one, acquiring the right talents, and second retaining them
- The key to retention is helping employees aspire for a career and providing them with a pathway to reach a higher goal
- “Upskilling” is also a significant factor to retaining employees especially now that we have AI’s that manage automated processes
- How is the rise of remote jobs affecting the job industry?
- A lot of people are going “hybrid” appropriate for specific positions, and found it to be very effective. Working from home 75% of the time and face to face for the rest have increased productivity and employee retention
- Human connection like in a team building can strengthen the team and can result to much better working relationships
- Does the challenges in employee turnover related to age? John has a very eye opening answer to this
- The longest chapter in John’s book talks about “company’s culture”. He explains in detail what makes a company’s culture and how sticking to principles can have a great impact to a company
- “There are always going to be limitations, but within the right limitations, there are freedoms you can afford by eliminating some things that it's just a matter of constantly asking yourself the question, "Why are we doing it this way? Why did this come about and does it still apply today?" If it does, great, we're going to keep doing it. That's an aspect we need to keep.” - John Mitchell
- Leadership loves people that brings answers
John encourages everyone to learn from every experience, good and bad - Talents leave, but they’ll come back to a company that matches their culture
- To sum it all up, John stresses the importance of knowing exactly the talents you need, and when you find them create an environment that works for them. Lastly, invest on them through trainings and give them room and path to grow
- “Fire your Hiring Habits” is available at Barnes & Noble. All proceeds goes to IPC Education Foundation
Links and Resources:
- Watch Previous Podcast Episode with John Mitchell
- Read Related Articles:
- Connect with John Mitchell via LinkedIn
- Get the book Fire Your Hiring Habits by John Mitchell
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Tuesday Apr 11, 2023
Pierce Design’s Ethan Pierce will share his insight into reverse engineering with printed circuit assemblies. We will also discuss firmware reverse engineering.
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Show Highlights:
- Introduction to Ethan Pierce and a quick preview of his upcoming webinar with the PCEA regarding reverse-engineering
- How to acquire reverse-engineering skill sets?
- Retrofitting a system versus creating a net new ecosystem of products
- Is reverse engineering cost-effective?
- Ethan advises designers to keep records and documentation as much as possible. “take as many pictures, take as many pictures, photos, notes.”
Links and Resources:
- Connect with Ethan Pierce on LinkedIn
- Visit Pierce Design's website
- Register for Ethan Pierce's Webinar: Reverse Engineering PCBs: How to Recreate a Lost Design
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
IPC continues to develop resources to bring awareness about the electronics industry to the young generation.
In this episode, we are very fortunate to have Charlene Gunther, the Senior Director of the IPC Education Foundation. We will talk about IPC’s efforts to involve students in engaging activities that will introduce the electronic industry to them as early as high school.
Join us and watch through the end. We added some great resources below so be sure to check them out.
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Episode Highlights:
- Charlene Gunther introduction and a brief overview of her role as the Senior Director of the IPC Foundation
- Charlene talks about the IPC three pillars: awareness, engagement, and connections
- The IPC launched the website www.careersinelectronics.com which aims to attract students and job seekers within the electronics industry
- The IPC student chapter plays a big role to attract and involving students in skill development training and networking
- IPC is hosting annual STEM outreach and partners with Title I schools and private institutions to expose high school students to hands-on activities, connecting them with industry, allowing them to solder, to design, to learn about assembly
- Other departments of the IPC that work towards improving accessible education are the Education Department led by Vice President David Hernandez and Chris Mitchell the VP of Advocacy and Government Relations
- The universities’ response to IPC programs has been very positive and they have become more proactive in integrating electronics and manufacturing-related courses into their curriculum
- Be in the loop with the latest IPC Education Foundation announcements, visit www.careersinelectronics.com , subscribe to their newsletter, and follow their social media pages. Students, parents, and employers are encouraged to visit the website
Links and Resources:
- Connect with Charlene Gunter on LinkedIn
- Visit the IPC website
- Visit the Careers in Electronics website
- Learn more about IPC Education Foundation
- Watch related episodes:
- Learn Printed Circuit Board Design
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Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
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.
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
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
Tuesday Dec 27, 2022
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.
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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
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
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.
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 2023
- Multi-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 design
- Altium 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
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
Wednesday Oct 26, 2022
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.
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
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
In this episode, our guest Joe Dickson, tells us about the cutting-edge technology implemented in advanced packaging at Wus Printed Circuit International.
Show Highlights:
- Joe Dickson talks about what they do at Wus, a printed circuit manufacturing company
- He shares about their efforts to bring PCB technologies farther up by introducing advanced packaging options
- He briefly describes what printed circuit-like materials are, also known as the vertical interposers or PCIe
- Zach explains how a pre-packaged chip can be mounted on a board
- What are the reliability and signal integrity challenges that come with assembling different packages on a board
- Off-the-board solutions start to become more and more desirable
- The flexibility of design and components is what driving the market to use more integrated packaging
- Speed is everything! When will the industry move on from copper and go to optical?
- Knowing what's going on in simulations is very important; it opens opportunities to try new things
- Joe explains a way of using Faraday cages with cable connections on the surface
- Examples of the large market using the PCIe method are Xilinx and NVIDIA
- How far is silicon photonics from becoming mainstream as an interconnect technology?
- Standardazion versus innovation
- The future of PCB assembly is hybrid. Some will use the off-shelf, best-in-class products from Intel, AMB, NVIDIA, Xilinx, and get creative with them.
Links and Resources:
- Connect with Joe Dickson on LinkedIn
- Visit Wus Printed Circuit International website
- Watch the related episode:
- Connect with Zach on LinkedIn
- Full OnTrack Podcast Library
- Altium Website
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Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
Wednesday Aug 10, 2022
We are very delighted to have Dr. Min Zhang in this episode. Min is an independent EMC consultant based in the UK. Today, we'll be talking about EMC, both on board and off the board. It will be a very interesting discussion because we will look a little bit deeper at the system level of the board.
Show Highlights:
- Zach met Min at EMCLive 2021
- Let’s hear more about Min’s background and his early exposure to EMI issues
- Earlier in his career, he worked with big companies as a motor drive engineer and power electronics design engineer for 10 years
- He started his engineering consulting business, Mach One Design EMC Consultants 2 years ago
- His first experience dealing with EMI issues was at the university while doing research for his PhD
- The lack of education in the university in regards to EMI issues is one of the reasons that sparked Min’s interest in EMI
- The university he went to specializes in motor and power converter design, but did not offer any solutions in fixing the EMI issues
- Min recalls being fascinated by his first time seeing an EMI diagnosis kit composed of the spectrum analyzer, lots of ferrites, and cable shooting copper tape in a suitcase
- It was his first time seeing a step-by-step diagnosis and troubleshooting EMI issues - checking the grounding, checking the bonding, and applying ferrites at the right place, performed by his friend’s father who was then a principal engineer in the European Space Agency
- Min’s recommendation to design engineers solving EMI issues is to understand the fundamentals – “only when you understand the fundamentals, understand the basics, and the first principle, then you can really design a system” - Min Zhang
- What happens when EMI problems exist off the board and they interfere with the system or create so much noise that the system is never going to pass EMC?
- Min answers by recommending Rick Hartley's famous YouTube video about grounding
- He continues with his answer with an example involving a three-phase brushless DC motor drive
- How to deal with cables connected to another system that is outside of the shielding?
- Shielding is a good solution, but understanding fundamentals are necessary to avoid increased cost, weight, and also the bending ratio would be affected
- Min shares a recent video he did with Robert Feranec which discusses the topic of EMI troubleshooting on immunity
- 70% of the EMI issues are somehow related to resonance
- For high-speed design, PCB designers really need to understand how the wave propagates
- Ferrite is not a 100% inductive component
- Min recommends the book by Douglas Smith – High Frequency Measurements and Noise in Electronic Circuits which focuses on the test and measurements in terms of high-speed design
- Other experts to learn from in terms of EMI troubleshooting and high speed designs are Eric Bogatin, Steve Sandler and Heidi Barnes
Links and Resources:
Learn more about Min Zhang and his company Mach One Design EMC Consultants
Watch Min’s Keynote at EMCLive 2021
Watch How a Few Components Make a Big Difference in EMC/EMI with Min and Robert Feranec
Read Min Zhang’s article on SI Journal
Great book recommendation: High Frequency Measurements and Noise in Electronic Circuits
Watch Rick Hartley's famous YouTube video about grounding
Watch previous episodes with EMI and High-speed experts:
Eric Bogatin Debunks Common Misconceptions About Transmission Lines
Secrets of PCB Optimization with Rick Hartley
Being Right Matters! When, Why and What to Simulate with Steve Sandler
Power Integrity and Simulations with Heidi Barnes
Full OnTrack Podcast Library
Altium Website
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Sunday Aug 07, 2022
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
How to deal with nuances in PCB design and manufacturing? In today’s episode, Dave Young the owner of Young Circuits Design and founder of BlueStamp Engineering, and I will discuss mitigating risk factors early in the stage of electronic design.
Dave will also tell a story about his path to entrepreneurship as an engineer and his inspiration behind founding BlueStamp Engineering, a hands-on engineering program for high school students to design and create technology projects that they get to keep, from scratch!
Listen, watch enjoy, and make sure to check the additional resources below.
Show Highlights:
- Dave’s background, and the early days of his now 12-year designing firm
- He learned most of his skills from his previous position as a Senior Design Engineer at Keithley Instruments
- The world of innovative electronic design and hardware – the software, firmware, and hardware
- Expectations vs. reality in manufacturing
- Designers must know what’s going on in PCB manufacturing, know what’s reasonable to ask your manufacturer
- How to deal with nuances in PCB design and manufacturing? Not only identifying risks but also mitigating all the risks
- How to deal with hardware level risk?
- Dave’s insight on the extent a manufacturer could step up and modify the design to make it manufacturable
- Zach recalls his conversation with Kelly Dack regarding the solder mask being modified by the manufacturer to ensure accurate assembly
- An electrical engineer’s path to entrepreneurship
- Dave shares that he found his happy place working with small teams
- Career challenges for engineers coming from academia
- Zach emphasized the focus on the “value you can create” as an engineer
- Is freelancing the classic route to enter the PCB design industry
- The best path to entrepreneurship – start doing it!
- A risk mitigating tip in PCB design – review all parts and address where you messed up (right away)
- There is no fool-proof footprint
- Challenges of CM (contact manufacturer) overseas
- What should be manufactured domestically?
- Educational programs such as BlueStamp Engineering could help address the workforce shortage in the Electrical Engineer Industry
- How do engage the next generation of engineers to become more involved and interested in innovation and creating new things?
- Firmware vs. software engineering – the good, the bad, and the headaches
Links and Resources:
Connect with Dave Young on LinkedIn
Visit Young Circuit Designs Website
Learn more about the BlueStamp Engineering programs
Related podcast with Kelly Dack: How to Panelize Your PCB Design with EMS Expert Kelly Dack
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Sunday Jul 17, 2022
Sunday Jul 17, 2022
When you hear about 10-ounce copper PCBs, high current and high voltage come to mind. In this episode, we will have a deep dive discussion on designing heavy power boards with Mario Strano. Mario is the senior PCB designer at Nikola and also president of ECAD Central. He will share with us his 16 years of experience in PCB design and the migration services he provides through ECAD Central.
Watch this episode or listen on the go. We’ve touched on many other interesting topics, such as setting up clearance and creepage rules and a 57-ounce copper board.
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
Show Highlights:
- Mario’s background and professional path as PCB Designer and Component Engineer
- He is currently the only PCB designer at Nikola
- His expertise includes but is not limited to designing 10-ounce copper boards, real heavy power boards, HMI boards, human-machine interface boards
- Setting up creepage and clearance rules for heavy copper was a challenge to Mario during his transition from SQL Semiconductor to Avnet
- Mario and Zach discuss more 10-ounce copper PCBs
- Zach was amused to hear about Taiyo Kogyo’s 57-ounce copper
- The Japan-based company developed proprietary processes that allow them to do things like Bus Bar Embedded PCB
- Mario briefly shares his experience as a component engineer at Avnet for six years
- The two discuss the tantalum capacitor shortage in 2018 and compare it to the current semiconductors shortage, which started in 2020
- How is the supply chain shortage affecting PCB designers, and how are they working around it?
- ECAD Central, an Altium 365, Concord Pro, and Altium NEXUS Database service provider – setup and configuration, database migration
- Mario compared migrating data to “like moving mountains”
- Is mirroring parts between two systems possible? Mario explains what can be done. Definitely not a simple drag and drop operation, though!
Links and Resources:
Connect with Mario Strano on Linkedin
Visit the ECAD Central website
Learn More about Taiyo Kogyo and their 57-ounce copper boards
Watch related podcasts:
Easily Find Electronic Components for Your Next PCB Design
The Benefits of Diversifying PCB Industry Supply Chain
Connect with Zach on LinkedIn
Full OnTrack Podcast Library
Altium Website
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Sunday Jul 10, 2022
Sunday Jul 10, 2022
In this OnTrack episode, Zach and Phil of Phil’s Lab Youtube channel exchange ideas on how they can stay on top of their PCB design game or learn new things. Phil Salmony, a successful youtube creator with 64.6K subscribers, shares with us how he was introduced to PCB design, his early career, and what got him to start his own Youtube channel. This is a fun episode. Watch it through the end and check out the additional resources below.
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
Show Highlights:
- Whiteboard – an essential piece for PCB design-related content
- PCB design education from the university, theories, and ideologies versus PCB design for the real world
- Phil shares that DSPs (Digital signal processors) are the coolest thing, and he has a dedicated section of them on his channel
- Zach and Phil exchange opinions about their consultation and PCB design jobs
- How do you go about learning new things? Zach and Phil have their share of different ways to acquire information to help them better their skills
- Learn through well-documented samples or PCB design projects and reverse engineer
- Seminars with experts and attending conferences
- Taking online courses like the IPC - CID (Certified Interconnect Designers) and PCEA CPCD course
- Youtube videos and keynote presentations, e,g, How to Achieve Proper Grounding By Rick Hartley
- One of the most asked questions in PCB design is about grounding. Phil and Zach suggested a couple of books supplement for PCB design
- Phil talks about how he got started with PCB design
- Designs and chip shortages and supply forecast, what to expect in the next few years?
- The value of connecting with your (youtube channel) audience for content ideas
- Altium Academy and Phil’s Lab history on Youtube and future projects
Links and Resources:
Subscribe to Phil’s Lab YT Channel
Connect with Phil on LinkedIn
Visit Phil’s Lab Website
How to Achieve Proper Grounding By Rick Hartley
Watch Podcast Episodes with Rick Hartley
Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineering by Henry Ott
Grounds for Grounding: A Circuit to System Handbook by Kai-Sang Lock
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Tuesday Jun 21, 2022
Tuesday Jun 21, 2022
In this episode, a returning guest Gabriel Goldstein shares the electronics behind the thrills in escape rooms. He also generously gives some valuable advice on finding your niche and starting your own electronics business.
Gabriel was the former owner of Anidea Engineering and Escape Room Tech. Listen to this episode and be inspired by how he married two industries together and become the master of this very unique niche.
- Gabriel’s background, he is the former owner of Anidea Engineering and Escape Room Tech
- The business of producing low-volume products - his first big project is an ARM9 with 16 mb of RAM, a PDA style learning device
- The fascinating technology in the escape room includes off-the-shelf surveillance cameras, keyboards, and maglocks. Gabriel describes the technology behind the “magic doors”
- They use RFID and developed their RS45-based networking system
- A successful escape room requires an extreme collaboration of multiple skill sets that include electronics guys, theater guys, and game theory team just to name the least
- The escape room industry is a marriage of electronics and haunt industry
- Creating a small, showpiece project could be a gateway to a PCB design career
- Software engineers have GitHub, while PCB designers have Arduino and Raspberry Pi
- Gabriel wrote blogs to educate his customers about the business of producing products that sell
- He became Mr. Networker hanging out at the Angel Forum groups and the venture capital groups
- For about 6 years he was out there in the community to help out, give back and help build a business
- He recommends a book from Martin Gerber – Awakening the Entrepreneur Within
- “If you're going to take off the engineering hat and try to turn this into a business, please learn how to run a business because it's a completely different skill set”
- Ending the conversation with a little anecdote from Gabriel, an inspiration to be in the business mindset and going for the American Dream
Resources:
Connect with Gabriel Goldstein on LinkedIn
Visit Escape Room Techs website
Read Martin Gerber’s Awakening the Entrepreneur Within
Watch the previous episode with Gabriel Goldstein - How to Build a New Data Management System
Read Gabriel Goldstein’s Blog Articles on LinkedIn
Connect with Zach on LinkedIn
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Learn by doing is what Bill Kolicoski, the creator of Taste the Code Youtube Channel advises everyone who wants to jump into the electronic design. Bill is a software developer passionate about making electronics design and engineering fun.
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
Show Highlights:
- Bill shares how he got started with his Youtube Channel, Taste the Code
- Bill recognizes that designing and building electronics is a perfect way to understand software or coding – making the code more tangible
- Making electronic design accessible for everyone is one of Bill’s missions in creating his channel
- Jumpstart to electronics design through learning by doing
- Software and hardware coexist–a software engineer should have an understanding of how hardware works
- It’s the eureka moments that help students understand how things work
- Understanding what happens in the code and the chip to make things come to life
- Bill emphasizes improving your design skills by exploring all possibilities how you can improve your finished product
- Reference design for hardware developments and reverse engineering is a great way to make electronics and hardware more understandable
- Bill shares what drove him to pursue software vs. hardware
- Software is a lot easier to outsource
- Location/ country can be a determinant of pursuing a specific career in tech
- Having fun doing electronics
- Getting hands dirty and jumping right into the design process; this and more tips from Bill on how to get into the electronics design and how you can improve your skills
- Search for videos with a specific solution
- Invest time in building projects
- Make your work public and get feedback from the community and professionals
- Rubber Duck Debugging is a software jargon meaning explaining a challenging scenario to yourself to develop a solution
Links and Resources:
Subscribe to Bill’s Channel Taste to Code
Making electronic design easy, visit Upverter website
Register at Altium Education for Free
Altium Designer Free Student License
Connect with Zach on LinkedIn
Full OnTrack Podcast Library
Altium Website
Download your Altium Designer Free Trial
Learn More about Altium Nexus
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
Wednesday May 18, 2022
Wednesday May 18, 2022
This episode will learn how a childhood dream can turn into reality through hard work, determination, and networking. Andrew Hartnett dreamt of working with NASA at a very young age. He will share with us exactly how he landed his Computer Engineer position in this very sought-after agency.
Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics
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Show Highlights:
- Andrew’s background, from his 3rd-grade drawing and high school robotics team to landing a co-op internship program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC)
- He joined The First Robotics Team in high school
- A lot of networking and determination is what helps him land the co-op internship program
- He started working full-time in January 2010
- Briefly discuss Upverter and the benefits of having high-school level educational programs for aspiring PCB designers
- What is NASA’s co-op internship program? Andrew describes the advantages of the co-op program over a typical internship
- Get exposure to things you don’t get at school
- Experience designing and actual assembly of PCB
- Andrew talks about electronic design standards at NASA and shares details about testing, reliability, and the challenges of sending electronic devices to the space
- Addressing devices’ heat, and vibration in space
- Andrew talks more about First Robotic Competition and stresses the importance of hands-on experience for high school kids or younger
Links and Resources:
Visit NASA’s JSC website
Learn more about JSC’s Internship Program
Making electronic design easy, visit Upverter's website
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