The Shaughnessy Report: Showing Some Constraint
Elementary, Mr. Watson: Rein in Your Design Constraints
Target Condition: Are Autorouters Friend or Foe?
Orange Co. Designers Council Meeting June 28 in Irvine
June 13, 2018 | Scott McCurdy, Freedom CAD ServicesEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
For the monthly Lunch ‘n Learn meeting on June 28, the Orange County chapter of the IPC Designers Council features two guest speakers with informative presentations on multiboard design and material solutions to address skew.
Presentation 1: Addressing the Challenges of Multiboard Design: Taking the “Big Picture” Approach to System Design
Speaker: Chris Carlson, CID, Senior Field Applications Engineer with Altium
As technology becomes more complex and miniaturized, the need for more complex multiboard systems arise. Clear lines between layout, mechanical and performance concerns begin to blur, which creates the need for PCB designers to take a more holistic view of the system.
In this presentation, Chris Carlson will discuss the unique and varied challenges that arise when doing multiboard system designs. He will review the considerations relative to partitioning the PCB, connection management, connector libraries and planning the layout. He will also discuss mechanical features, managing signals, thermal management, reliability, and power and signal integrity. Finally, Carlson will show how to ensure good mechanical fit by making the most of your 3D CAD functionality.
Presentation 2: Design and Manufacturing Developments to Lower Insertion Loss and Digital Pair Skew: What a Designer Needs to Know About Meeting 56Gb/S Speed Challenges
Speaker: Norm Berry, Director of Laminate and OEM Marketing, Insulectro
As frequency increases, differential pair skew and insertion loss become critical considerations for PCB design and manufacture. Add the ever-increasing complexity of reliable designs, while balancing value/cost performance, and the manufacturing options become more challenging. The designer needs to be aware of advancements in the base material manufacture and the options available to the fabricator.
Whether we are concerned with the demands of HDI designs with stacked, laser-drilled microvias or insertion loss on high-speed digital backplanes, the base material composite, with low-profile copper and a mechanically spread glass reinforcement, has a direct impact. Backplanes operating at 56Gb/s require the integration all these factors and the newly developed manufacturing technologies.
The cost is $10 at the door. Altium is sponsoring the event by helping with the cost of the lunches.
There are two ways to RSVP:
- Click here to RSVP online
- Email your RSVP to Scott McCurdy
Please RSVP no later than noon on Wednesday, June 27. Reserve a spot on your calendar on Thursday, June 28 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm for this educational Lunch ‘n Learn event.
Location
Harvard Athletic Park (The multi-purpose room is at the SOUTH end of the athletic fields)
14701 Harvard Ave.
Irvine, California
92606
Share on:
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
07/11/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineThis week, we have quite a variety of news items and articles for you. News continues to stream out of Washington, D.C., with tariffs rearing their controversial head again. Because these tariffs are targeted at overseas copper manufacturers, this news has a direct effect on our industry.I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
Digital Twin Concept in Copper Electroplating Process Performance
07/11/2025 | Aga Franczak, Robrecht Belis, Elsyca N.V.PCB manufacturing involves transforming a design into a physical board while meeting specific requirements. Understanding these design specifications is crucial, as they directly impact the PCB's fabrication process, performance, and yield rate. One key design specification is copper thieving—the addition of “dummy” pads across the surface that are plated along with the features designed on the outer layers. The purpose of the process is to provide a uniform distribution of copper across the outer layers to make the plating current density and plating in the holes more uniform.
Trump Copper Tariffs Spark Concern
07/10/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamPresident Donald Trump stated on July 8 that he plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, sparking concern in a global industry whose output is critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, semiconductors, and a wide range of consumer goods. According to Yahoo Finance, copper futures climbed over 2% following tariff confirmation.
Happy’s Tech Talk #40: Factors in PTH Reliability—Hole Voids
07/09/2025 | Happy Holden -- Column: Happy’s Tech TalkWhen we consider via reliability, the major contributing factors are typically processing deviations. These can be subtle and not always visible. One particularly insightful column was by Mike Carano, “Causes of Plating Voids, Pre-electroless Copper,” where he outlined some of the possible causes of hole defects for both plated through-hole (PTH) and blind vias.
Trouble in Your Tank: Can You Drill the Perfect Hole?
07/07/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn the movie “Friday Night Lights,” the head football coach (played by Billy Bob Thornton) addresses his high school football team on a hot day in August in West Texas. He asks his players one question: “Can you be perfect?” That is an interesting question, in football and the printed circuit board fabrication world, where being perfect is somewhat elusive. When it comes to mechanical drilling and via formation, can you drill the perfect hole time after time?