Target Condition: Are Autorouters Friend or Foe?
Fresh PCB Concepts: Assembly Challenges with Micro Components and Standard Solder Mask Practices
Elementary Mr. Watson: Retro Routers vs. Modern Boards—The Silent Struggle on Your Screen
Top 10 Most-Read Design News Stories of 2019
December 26, 2019 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
As we move into 2020, we took a look back at the most popular Design007 news of the past year. Here for your enjoyment are the Top 10 most-read Design007 news stories of 2019.
New eBook Explores Tips for Executing Complex PCB Designs
Written by Scott Miller, COO of Freedom CAD Services, "The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Executing Complex PCBs" provides a set of guidelines for designing the most complex, high-speed circuit boards. This book is a must-read for anyone designing high-speed, sophisticated PCBs.
Mentor: PCB Shift-Left Forum 2019
Mentor, a Siemens business, will hold PCB Shift-Left Forum 2019 in Oulu, Finland on May 23, 2019 and Herzliya, Israel on Jun 4, 2019. The event will focus on establishing an effective PCB systems design validation process to help reduce design spins and increase product quality.
DownStream Technologies Moves to New Corporate Headquarters
Downstream Technologies, LLC has moved their corporate headquarters. The new, larger location will allow the company more space for future growth and because of the convenient location, the company will continue to be able to attract the best talent in the high-tech industry.
Zuken to Acquire Vitech Corporation
Zuken has inked an agreement to purchase Vitech Corporation for an undisclosed amount. Vitech is a global solutions company based in Blacksburg, Virginia, specializing in systems engineering, with products and services directed at the model-based systems engineering (MBSE) market.
Insulectro Promotes Megan Teta to Design Services Product Manager
“I am pleased today to announce Megan Teta’s promotion to Product Manager,” commented Ken Parent, vice president of sales and product management. “Megan joined Insulectro in 2017 and since that time has continually excelled as a field application engineer. She thoroughly understands the PCB manufacture and will be a major asset to our interest in providing design services.”
EMA Webinar: Don’t Let Your Design Data Manage You
With the mounting pressure engineers face to make everything "better, faster, cheaper, smaller" in less time, managing your design data can seem like the least of your concerns. However, data management issues can sink a project just as fast as any design flaw. Effectively managing your design data is a critical piece to ensuring overall project success.
IPC Designs for Excellence in Conjunction with PCB Carolina
IPC offers a day-long technical education seminar, Design for Excellence (DFX): DFM (design for manufacturing) DFR (design for reliability) DFA (design for assembly), in conjunction with PCB Carolina November 12, Raleigh, N.C., at the McKimmon Conference and Training Center.
DesignCon Presents 2020 Conference Programming
DesignCon, the nation’s largest event for chip, board, and systems design engineers, today announced its 2020 conference schedule presenting 14 newly refined and reorganized tracks covering a broad range of highly technical sessions, boot camps, tutorials, and more to fit the needs of the hardware design engineering community.
Ucamco Launches XNC PCB Drill Data Format
Ucamco, KiCad and Pentalogix have developed XNC, a format for PCB drill data, with the support of Graphicode, Cuprum and ZofzPCB.
SimplifyDA Launches SimplifyPLANR Bundle Route Planning Application
In order to streamline the creation of these bundle routing groups, SimplifyDA has released the SimplifyPLANR application. SimplifyPLANR is currently being offered free of charge.
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DownStream Acquisition Fits Siemens’ ‘Left-Shift’ Model
06/26/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007I recently spoke to DownStream Technologies founder Joe Clark about the company’s acquisition by Siemens. We were later joined by A.J. Incorvaia, Siemens’ senior VP of electronic board systems. Joe discussed how he, Rick Almeida, and Ken Tepper launched the company in the months after 9/11 and how the acquisition came about. A.J. provides some background on the acquisition and explains why the companies’ tools are complementary.
Elementary Mr. Watson: Retro Routers vs. Modern Boards—The Silent Struggle on Your Screen
06/26/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonThere's a story about a young woman preparing a holiday ham. Before putting it in the pan, she cuts off the ends. When asked why, she shrugs and says, "That's how my mom always did it." She asks her mother, who gives the same answer. Eventually, the question reaches Grandma, who laughs and says, "Oh, I only cut the ends off because my pan was too small." This story is a powerful analogy for how many PCB designers approach routing today.
Connect the Dots: The Future of PCB Design and Manufacturing
07/02/2025 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsFor some time, I have been discussing the increasing complexity of PCBs and how designers can address the constantly evolving design requirements associated with them. My book, "The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to… Designing for Reality," details best practices for creating manufacturable boards in a modern production environment.
Siemens Turbocharges Semiconductor and PCB Design Portfolio with Generative and Agentic AI
06/24/2025 | SiemensAt the 2025 Design Automation Conference, Siemens Digital Industries Software today unveiled its AI-enhanced toolset for the EDA design flow.
Cadence AI Autorouter May Transform the Landscape
06/19/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazinePatrick Davis, product management director with Cadence Design Systems, discusses advancements in autorouting technology, including AI. He emphasizes a holistic approach that enhances placement and power distribution before routing. He points out that younger engineers seem more likely to embrace autorouting, while the veteran designers are still wary of giving up too much control. Will AI help autorouters finally gain industry-wide acceptance?