At the core of most electronic devices is a printed circuit board. Whether they are controlling the activities of the device, regulating power, or providing computing power, these boards are typically the heart of the system that they are installed in. They come in
At the core of most electronic devices is a printed circuit board. Whether they are controlling the activities of the device, regulating power, or providing computing power, these boards are typically the heart of the system that they are installed in. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and their complexity will vary depending on the needs of the device. No matter what they look like and what they do though, they typically all share some common attributes. Electronic components are soldered in place on the board, and metal traces electrically connect these components together within the different layers of the circuit board.
For years PCB designers have used a variety of tools to create the trace routing needed on the circuit boards that they are designing. Some have used automated routers that are either part of their tools or have come from third party software, while others have used automated assisted routers that work together with the regular interactive routing tools built into the design system. Most designers however, if not all, are very accustomed to manually routing the connections on the printed circuit board designs using the interactive routing tools in their PCB design systems. This is a tried and true process that has been in place for a very long time, and has done the job admirably through the years.
Like everything else in life though, there is always change on the horizon. Circuit board technology is evolving in order to meet the challenges presented by new emerging technologies, and PCB designers need to be ready to face those challenges as their board designs grow in complexity. Especially in the area of routing traces, designers need to be ready to respond to these new design requirements. How will PCB designers work with these new PCB routers and routing methods? Fortunately there are advanced circuit routing techniques already available to help, and we will take a look at some of those here.
Advanced Circuit Routing Techniques for Emerging Technologies
Just because a new product isn’t being obviously introduced to the public on a regular basis doesn’t mean that electronic development is standing still. On the contrary, electronic innovations are always pushing ahead in leaps and bounds. There are advancements being made everyday in how electronics are being used in different fields such as computing, telecommunications, aerospace, and medical. Each of these advancements require new levels of electronics technology, which 