Fresh PCB Concepts: Key Considerations for Reliability, Performance, and Compliance in PCBs
Elementary Mr. Watson: Navigating RF—A Glide Path Approach to Design Success
Designers Notebook: Layer Stackup Planning for RF Circuit Boards
Most-Read PCB Design News Stories of 2015
December 30, 2015 | Andy Shaughnessy, PCBDesign007Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Each December, we like to look back at the year in PCB design news. January seems like yesterday, doesn't it? Since then, we've seen plenty of innovative new tools and a variety of partnerships, and we've said goodbye to a couple of longtime friends. As we approach 2016, enjoy this list of the 10 most-read news items on PCBDesign007 in 2015.
Engineer Steve Weir Has Passed Away
Steve was a power and signal integrity guru with a variety of patents to his name. A fixture of DesignCon and a constant presence on the SI-List signal integrity forum, Steve wrote over a dozen papers on power integrity. He also had a crazy, irreverent sense of humor that you don’t find among most engineers. He will be missed.
Mentor Graphics Launches New HyperLynx SI/PI Product
Mentor Graphics Corporation has announced its newest version of the HyperLynx Signal Integrity/Power Integrity (SI/PI) tool for high-speed printed circuit board (PCB) designs. HyperLynx addresses high-speed systems design problems throughout the design flow—starting at the earliest architectural stages through post-layout verification.
EMA and Arena Solutions Form Strategic Alliance
The OrCAD and Arena integration provides a number of benefits for organizations using both systems. Components from the enterprise PLM system are available directly within the OrCAD Capture CIS design environment making search, selection, and placement very simple. Parts listed as obsolete in the PLM system can be easily identified and swapped out in an OrCAD design.
Sunstone Circuits Chooses InSight PCB Software for Pre-CAM and Sales
Sunstone Circuits has purchased Orbotech’s InSight PCB pre-sales and pre-engineering software. InSight PCB is a web-based tool for managing and assessing incoming customer PCB data for salespeople and engineers who are not CAM experts. From automatically retrieving comprehensive product information to generating precise summary reports, InSight PCB empowers sales and engineering people to work more independently, efficiently and profitably.
Improving PCB Design with Advanced Circuits' PCB Artist
Advanced Circuits' free PCB layout software PCB Artist has become a favorite not only with engineering students but also advanced engineers due to its easy schematic-to-PCB layout, Gerber format, autorouter, and extensive library of over 500,000 parts.
Pulsonix 8.5 Build 5902 is Released
WestDev Ltd. has released the latest version of Pulsonix 8.5, Build 5902. This maintenance update is issued as part of our on-going process of product improvement and response to customer feedback. In addition to bug fixes, the latest release contains several additions to the Report Maker function.
Exception PCB Solutions Design Service Boosts CID+ Qualifications
Heading up the design service is Neil Day, who has completed the IPC PCB Designer Certification Program and became qualified as an Advanced Certified Interconnect Designer (CID+). In addition, Technical Support Manager Paul Beech has completed the IPC CID training course and attained CID certification.
Polar Instruments Launches New Language Versions of The Speedstack PCB Layer Stackup Design System
Polar Instruments has launched new language versions of Speedstack, the industry’s best-selling PCB layer stackup design system. In addition to English, Speedstack is now available in German, Japanese, simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese versions. Speedstack allows PCB fabricators to fine-tune the stackup design by assessing the impact of different PCB materials on cost, performance and manufacturing yield.
EDA Analyst Gary Smith Dead at 74
Longtime EDA analyst Gary Smith died July 3 in Flagstaff, Arizona at the age of 74. Gary worked at Dataquest from 1994 to 2006, and later founded Gary Smith EDA. He knew more about the EDA market than anyone I’ve ever known. I once asked Gary, “How many PCB design seats do you think are in China?” He sent me numbers for all of Asia and broke them down by country. He loved EDA.
ICD Releases 2015 Version of the ICD Stackup and PDN Planner
In-Circuit Design Pty Ltd (ICD) has released the 2015 version of its popular software. Impedance plots have been incorporated into this new release. “The impedance plots are simulated by multiple passes of the field solver (in the background) to create heads-up graphs of how to adjust the particular variables to achieve the target impedance,” said Barry Olney, CEO.
Share on:
Suggested Items
New Issue of Design007 Magazine: Are Your Data Packages Less Than Ideal?
05/09/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamWhy is it so difficult to create the ideal data package? Many of these simple errors can be alleviated by paying attention to detail—and knowing what issues to look out for. So, this month, our experts weigh in on the best practices for creating the ideal data package for your design.
RF PCB Design Tips and Tricks
05/08/2025 | Cherie Litson, EPTAC MIT CID/CID+There are many great books, videos, and information online about designing PCBs for RF circuits. A few of my favorite RF sources are Hans Rosenberg, Stephen Chavez, and Rick Hartley, but there are many more. These PCB design engineers have a very good perspective on what it takes to take an RF design from schematic concept to PCB layout.
Cadence Unveils Millennium M2000 Supercomputer with NVIDIA Blackwell Systems
05/08/2025 | Cadence Design SystemsAt its annual flagship user event, CadenceLIVE Silicon Valley 2025, Cadence announced a major expansion of its Cadence® Millennium™ Enterprise Platform with the introduction of the new Millennium M2000 Supercomputer featuring NVIDIA Blackwell systems, which delivers AI-accelerated simulation at unprecedented speed and scale across engineering and drug design workloads.
The Right Blend: Mixed Wireless Technologies
05/08/2025 | Kirsten Zima, Siemens EDAA common trend recently is to employ as many radios as possible on a single PCB. With the increase of wireless standards and the downscaling of PCB size, it can be difficult to know what the most critical design parameters are to focus on. In this article, we’ll discuss the most important considerations to make when designing with mixed wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi, on a single PCB. These considerations include antennas, frequencies, FCC compliance, shielding, and layout with and without transition vias.
ZESTRON Announces New Reliability and Solutions Service for Risk Assessment & Mitigation of Electronic Assemblies
05/06/2025 | ZESTRONZESTRON, the leading global provider of high-precision cleaning products, services, and training solutions, is thrilled to introduce its new Reliability and Solutions (R&S) service.