What is a Raspberry Pi Expansion Board? A Raspberry Pi expansion board, also known as a “hat” or “shield”, is a printed circuit board (PCB) that plugs directly into the GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) pins on the Raspberry Pi. These boards can add a wide range of features, such as Read more…
Introduction to SMD Pads and Their Importance in PCB Design Surface Mount Device (SMD) pads are an essential component in modern Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design. These pads provide the connection points for surface-mounted components, such as resistors, capacitors, and integrated circuits, to be soldered onto the PCB. Accurately determining Read more…
What is AD-to-Gerber Conversion? AD-to-Gerber is the process of converting circuit board design files created in Altium Designer (AD) into the industry-standard Gerber format. Gerber files contain all the necessary information for manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCBs), including copper layers, solder mask, silk screen, and drill data. Converting AD files Read more…
What are CPLDs? Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs) are integrated circuits that consist of multiple programmable logic blocks interconnected by a global interconnect matrix. CPLDs are designed to implement simple to moderately complex digital logic functions and are characterized by their fast pin-to-pin speeds, low power consumption, and ease of Read more…
What are Digital Circuits? Digital circuits are electronic circuits that operate on discrete, binary signals. Unlike analog circuits, which work with continuous signals, digital circuits deal with signals that have only two possible states: high (1) or low (0), also known as true or false, respectively. These binary signals are Read more…
Understanding Microwave PCB Fundamentals What is a Microwave PCB? A microwave PCB is a specialized printed circuit board designed to handle high-frequency signals, typically in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. These PCBs are used in various applications, such as wireless communication systems, radar, and satellite communications. Key Read more…
Introduction to PCB fabrication Printed Circuit Board (PCB) fabrication is a complex process that involves several steps to turn a circuit design into a functional physical board. Understanding the PCB fabrication process is essential for anyone involved in electronics design and manufacturing. In this comprehensive guide, we will demystify the Read more…
What is a PCB Controller? A PCB (Printed Circuit Board) controller is the core control circuit that manages and regulates the various components and functions on a printed circuit board. It acts as the “brain” of the PCB, coordinating and controlling the different elements to ensure they operate correctly and Read more…
What is Heavy Copper and Why is it Used in PCBs? Heavy copper refers to printed circuit boards (PCBs) that use thicker copper layers than standard PCBs. While typical PCBs have copper layers ranging from 0.5 oz to 2 oz in thickness, heavy copper PCBs can have copper weights of Read more…
What are Gerber Files and Why Panelize Them? Gerber files are the standard file format used to describe the printed circuit board (PCB) layers and drilling information needed for manufacturing. A separate Gerber file is generated for each layer of the PCB, including the copper traces, solder mask, silkscreen, and Read more…