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The Shaughnessy Report: Mechatronics—Designers Need to Know It All

When I was growing up, the term “know it all” was considered an insult. But PCB designers and design engineers of the future will need to know almost everything about the board, the system, and the final product. Tomorrow’s designers will need to have a solid understanding of not just electronic design, but mechanical design and software development as well.

This is where mechatronics comes in. What exactly is mechatronics, anyway? According to Oregon State University, which offers a mechatronics curriculum, “Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary engineering discipline with foundations in electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering. Mechatronics skills are commonly utilized in robotics, and more broadly in advanced automated manufacturing.”

What does all of this have to do with PCB design? More and more PCB design jobs require that applicants have some experience in mechatronics. Gone are the days of ECAD and MCAD experts operating in separate silos, and mechatronics is playing a key role in bridging the gaps between these silos.

In the July 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, our expert contributors discuss the advent of mechatronics in PCB design, the challenges and opportunities this creates for PCB designers, and the benefits—to the employee and the company—of becoming a mechatronics engineer.

We start off with an interview with Professor John Watson, CID, who explains the value of mechatronics in PCB design and why he covers electrical and mechanical properties in his PCB design class at Palomar College. We have an interview with Dylan Nguyen, a first-year engineering student at Oregon State University, who discusses the takeaways from his mechatronics class. Next, Stephen Chavez brings us an article on ECAD/MCAD collaboration, and how EDA tools help PCB designers work across multiple disciplines. Columnist Vern Solberg explains how IPC-CFX allows designers to optimize their DFA techniques, and columnist Joe Fjelstad walks us through uses and potential uses of mechatronics in the world of flex and rigid-flex circuit boards.

We also have columns by Barry Olney, Kelly Dack, and Matt Stevenson, as well as articles by IPC’s Kelly Allen and ASC/Sunstone’s Anaya Vardya. Finally, we have a pair of interviews: Charlene McCauley and Terrie Duffy discuss their work on the DDR5 CAMM2 module that will replace the SO-DIMM standard, and Alex Burt updates us on his career since we last spoke with him five years ago as he was graduating college.

The only thing certain in this industry is change. Check back for more coverage of mechatronics.

This column originally appears in the July 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine.