PCB Requirements for Medical Devices What Makes Medical Different A medical device is regulated, and the regulation reaches the board through the documentation and through the requirements it has to meet. The product may be in contact with a patient, it may be connected to a patient while powered, and…

Automotive Electronics and PCB Requirements What Makes Automotive Different An automotive electronic module operates in a harsh environment, is expected to last the life of the vehicle and, where it affects safety or emissions, is subject to a formal qualification and traceability regime. The temperature range is wide, the vibration…

PCB Copper Trace Ground Plane: The Wide Return Buyers and engineers often focus on the finished product and forget the production line behind it. In practice, most field failures can be traced back to process decisions made during assembly. Understanding PCB copper trace ground plane gives you a practical advantage…

PCB Design for IoT Devices The Constraints of an IoT Board An IoT device usually has three constraints at once: it must be small, it must run for a long time on a limited energy source, and it must be cheap. The three conflict. A small board makes the radio’s…

Bluetooth Module PCB Design Guidelines Why a Module Still Needs Layout Care A radio module integrates the radio, the matching and often the antenna, and it comes with a certification that applies when the module is used as the manufacturer specifies. That specification includes a keep-out area, a ground plane…

SMT Reflow Solder Joint Creep: The Slow Deformation Electronics manufacturing has become a discipline of small details. Solder paste volumes, placement accuracy, temperature profiles and inspection limits all add up to the final result. This guide looks at SMT reflow solder joint creep from the perspective of a PCBA factory…

Test Coupons and Impedance Verification What a Coupon Is For A test coupon is a structure on the production panel that has no function in the product, and that exists to be measured. It carries the same traces, the same stackup and the same process as the product, so that…

PCB Surface Finish Thermal Stability: How the Finish Handles Heat Electronics manufacturing has become a discipline of small details. Solder paste volumes, placement accuracy, temperature profiles and inspection limits all add up to the final result. This guide looks at PCB surface finish thermal stability from the perspective of a…

High Frequency Laminate Selection Why the Material Matters at Frequency At low frequencies the laminate is nearly an ideal insulator and its properties are almost irrelevant. As the frequency rises, the dielectric’s losses become significant, the conductor’s losses grow with the frequency, and the material’s dielectric constant decides the impedance…

SMT Component Placement Inspection: Checking Where the Part Lands Electronics manufacturing has become a discipline of small details. Solder paste volumes, placement accuracy, temperature profiles and inspection limits all add up to the final result. This guide looks at SMT component placement inspection from the perspective of a PCBA factory…