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Most-Read PCB Design Articles of 2015
December 23, 2015 | Andy Shaughnessy, PCBDesign007Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

EchoStar’s Les Beller Shares the PCB Design-to-Fab Process
Recently, Barry Matties had the opportunity to meet and interview Les Beller of EchoStar Technologies. In this interview, Beller focuses on the many challenges circuit board designers face, strategies for bridging the gap between circuit design and fabrication, and the future of circuit designers.
Beyond Design: The Plain Truth About Plane Jumpers
Moats, islands, cut-outs in the ground plane, isolated power planes, floating ground regions, and a host of other intricate layout techniques are often used by PCB designers to reduce crosstalk, EMI, and to otherwise improve overall system performance. But a high-speed signal crossing a split in the plane causes problems along at least three dimensions, including signal quality, crosstalk, and EMI. Barry Olney explains.
Cadence’s Brad Griffin Digs Deep Into DDR
Guest Editor Kelly Dack stopped by the Cadence Design Systems booth at DesignCon 2015, where he sat down with Product Marketing Manager Brad Griffin to discuss Cadence’s advanced PCB design and signal integrity tools, and the company’s focus on DDR.
Trending at Freedom CAD: New Crop of Next‐Gen Designers
Scott McCurdy, director of sales and marketing at Freedom CAD Services, expresses his vision for what North America is bringing to the table in the world of circuit design. I‐Connect007 Publisher Barry Matties and McCurdy also discuss China, trends in product design, tools, and more.
Material Witness: Low-Flow Prepregs–Defining the Process
Let’s try to define “low flow” in terms that will make sense to both suppliers and users of the products. A low-flow prepreg is a prepreg that flows sufficiently to wet out and adhere to bonding surfaces and to fill inner layer copper details, but does not flow so much as to fill in cut-out areas in a heat sink or run unevenly out of the interface between rigid and flexible elements of a rigid-flex PWB.
Make the Right Decisions at the Right Time in the PCB Design Process
Martin Cotton of Ventec explains why the right decisions are not always the easiest decisions, but making them well and as early as possible often avoids errors and addition costs. This is certainly the case in PCB design and a key decision influencing the design process and the eventual outcome is the selection of material and of the materials vendor.
Nick Barbin: From Designer to EMS Company Owner
Many PCB designers would rather do just about anything than pore over a P&L spreadsheet. But Nick Barbin isn’t a typical designer. He co-founded the design bureau Optimum Design Associates over two decades ago, and the company later expanded into contract manufacturing and Lean processes. I caught up with Nick recently and asked him how he wound up leading an EMS company on the Inc. 5000 list.
Broadcom PCB Design: Miniaturization on the Cutting Edge
Andy Shaughnessy recently attended the Orange County Designer's Council “Lunch and Learn” meeting, held at the Broadcom offices on the campus of the University of California, Irvine. Afterward, he sat down with Scott Davis, CID, the senior manager of PC board design at Broadcom, to discuss the company’s savvy PCB design department and their approach to PCB design.
Max Maxfield Looks at the Future of Electronics
Clive "Max" Maxfield has worked for decades in this industry, and in a variety of capacities: Engineer, author, editor, columnist, blogger, and keynote speaker. Editor Andy Shaughnessy caught up with his former columnist recently and asked him what he'd been doing to stay out of trouble, and what sort of technology and futuristic electronic gadgets were piquing his interest now.
Ten Considerations for Outsourcing PCB Designs
Outsourcing your design work is a big deal. How do you know that the end-result will be as you envisaged? Will you have full control of your design? Will it be done to the quality you expect and within the time frame required? Outsourcing can pose some fairly scary questions, so what are the key things to consider and what are the pitfalls to avoid?
Suggested Items
The Evolution of Picosecond Laser Drilling
06/19/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIs it hard to imagine a single laser pulse reduced not only from nanoseconds to picoseconds in its pulse duration, but even to femtoseconds? Well, buckle up because it seems we are there. In this interview, Dr. Stefan Rung, technical director of laser machines at Schmoll Maschinen GmbH, traces the technology trajectory of the laser drill from the CO2 laser to cutting-edge picosecond and hybrid laser drilling systems, highlighting the benefits and limitations of each method, and demonstrating how laser innovations are shaping the future of PCB fabrication.
Day 2: More Cutting-edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/18/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) summer conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the third of three articles on the conference. The other two cover Day 1’s sessions and the opening keynote speech. Below is a recap of the second day’s sessions.
Day 1: Cutting Edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/17/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) Summer Conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the second of three articles on the conference. The other two cover the keynote speeches and Day 2 of the technical conference. Below is a recap of the first day’s sessions.
Preventing Surface Prep Defects and Ensuring Reliability
06/10/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIn printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication, surface preparation is a critical process that ensures strong adhesion, reliable plating, and long-term product performance. Without proper surface treatment, manufacturers may encounter defects such as delamination, poor solder mask adhesion, and plating failures. This article examines key surface preparation techniques, common defects resulting from improper processes, and real-world case studies that illustrate best practices.
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.