Guard Trace PCB: Reducing Crosstalk and Leakage Two Problems, One Name A guard trace is a conductor placed alongside a sensitive net to protect it. The name covers two quite different techniques, and confusing them leads to designs that cost area without delivering the intended benefit. The first is the…

Ground Stitching in PCB Design: Planes, Returns and Resonance What Stitching Actually Solves Ground stitching is the practice of connecting ground copper on different layers with an array of vias. It is often described as a way to make the ground solid, which is true but not useful. The specific…

Via Fence PCB: Shielding RF Traces and Board Edges What a Via Fence Does A via fence is a row of ground vias placed along a trace, around a circuit block or along the edge of a board, connecting the ground planes on the layers above and below. It is…

Trace Skew in Differential Pairs: Causes and Fixes Why a Pair Has to Arrive Together A differential pair works because the two traces carry equal and opposite signals, and the receiver responds to the difference between them. That mechanism depends on the two signals arriving at the same time. Any…

Press Fit PCB: Solderless Connector Assembly Explained What a Press Fit Joint Is A press fit connector is installed by pushing a pin into a plated through hole rather than by soldering it. The pin is deliberately larger than the hole and compliant, meaning it deforms elastically as it enters,…

One Stop PCB Manufacturing: A Capability Checklist for OEMs What One Stop Actually Means The phrase is used loosely, so it is worth defining. A one stop PCB supplier covers the product lifecycle from prototype through volume production, including fabrication, assembly, testing and the engineering support that connects them, under…

Washing Machine PCB: Design and Manufacturing for Appliances A Harsher Environment Than It Looks An appliance board is often treated as a consumer product, which understates the environment it works in. A washing machine board sits in a cabinet with moisture, detergent vapour, condensation and vibration, and it switches mains…

Impedance Control PCB: Structures, Tolerances and Testing What Impedance Control Means in Practice Impedance control is the discipline of making a trace behave as a transmission line of a defined characteristic impedance rather than as a wire. On a controlled impedance board, a signal trace of a given type presents…

Defence System PCB Manufacturing: Prototype to Volume Reliability as a Precondition In commercial electronics, reliability is a competitive advantage. In defence electronics it is the entry requirement. Radar, encrypted communications, guidance and fire control, and intelligence and surveillance platforms all depend on electronics that work the first time and continue…

Aircraft Landing Gear PCB: Aerospace Control Electronics Where the Electronics Sit Landing gear carries the aircraft on the ground, retracts and extends in flight, and stops the aircraft on the runway. Each of those functions has an electronic control unit behind it, and each of those control units is built…