An Exclusive Review of the Institute of Circuit Technology’s Annual Symposium

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

After a long crawl through heavy traffic on the M42 motorway, it was a great relief to exit at Junction 6 and arrive at the National Conference Centre for the 2023 Annual Symposium of the Institute of Circuit Technology on June 6.

The conference center is co-located with the historic National Motorcycle Museum and situated in the heart of the UK midlands, a stone’s throw from Birmingham International Airport. The delegates were welcomed by technical director Bill Wilkie. With reference to his grandson’s 5-a-side football team being instructed to “get into shape,” he commented on the changing shape of the UK PCB industry and how the Institute would continue to adapt to its geographical distribution in the choice of symposium and seminar venues. Interesting to see where we might be travelling to next year.

The keynote presentation came from Sue and Andy Critcher, partners in a design consultancy called Total Board Solutions, with a review of the latest design requirements for board fabricators. 

Sue Critcher reflected upon developments in PCB design from the days of her apprenticeship, where she was hand-taping tracks and pads in the drawing office, to now using the latest design, simulation, and analysis tools, often with mixed analogue, digital, and RF technology on a single PCB. Besides the challenges of shrinking component dimensions, signal integrity, and power integrity considerations, and the increasing requirement for thermal management, project timescales are getting shorter, and the pressure is always to deliver the design more quickly at less cost. 

Andy Critcher reviewed some of the implications of mixed signal designs and the importance of correctly defining the stackup, particularly with the increasing complexity of RF structures. 

Documentation is a major concern. What data format to use: RS-274X or ODB++? RS-274X2, or even IPC-2581? He commented that not all versions of ODB++ are the same. Fabrication drawing data was another minefield, especially where the template was “copied from the last job.” Another danger area was specifications when the designer was not necessarily aware of the implications. 

As designers, the Critchers displayed a remarkable awareness of the challenges faced by the PCB fabricator—a consequence of spending time over many years visiting, discussing, and collaborating. Common issues with data sent from designers included drawings and specifications, annular rings too small, minimum copper spacing, clearance to pad, copper distribution and copper balancing, etch compensation, teardrops, mouse and rat bites, slivers, as well as all sorts of solder mask and silk screen issues.  

Andy Critcher spent some time discussing CAD-CAM checks, remarking, “We are checking the same thing, right?” He commented that several of the major CAD systems offer DFM capability, but remarked that although many CAD systems are available—he listed 24—each system is different. 

What did the future hold? As a representative of the “old guard” who had started on the drawing board and come through the ranks, learning their craft from others along the way, Sue Critcher is concerned about the current status of the PCB design industry. The world of PCB design is changing. The average age increases by a year every year and the “old guard” is moving on. A recent survey indicated that 61% of designers are aged 50 plus, only 23% are younger than 35, and 55% of designers plan to leave the profession within the next 10 years, with more than 25% retiring within five years. The “new blood” is electronics engineers from university. CAD systems continue to improve but can only take them so far. Where will these engineers get their layout knowledge and learn good practices as PCB complexity increases? The parting advice from Sue and Andy: “Talk to your fabricators!”

Following the Total Board Solutions keynote, Bill Wilkie took the opportunity to award certificates to new corporate and individual members, and to make a special award to Lawson Lightfoot upon his retirement from the ICT Council. Bill acknowledged the enormous contribution that Lawson had made over many years, particularly in the area of technical training and the sharing of the educational resources of the Northern UK Circuit Group. He was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Institute.

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