Schematics can be linked together using a hierarchical schematic editor that is uniquely tailored to printed circuit design. This gives you a head start on designing each PCB schematic and gives you a useful reference once you start designing each circuit. When it comes to modular design, you can get a head start on schematic design when you design connections between components within each functional block in your block diagram. Using Schematics for Modular DesignĬreating schematics is your first step to taking your board off the back of a napkin and into your design software. In other words, you want to take a hierarchical approach to designing your board’s key features. Once you are ready to drill down to a more granular level of your board’s functionality, you may want to create finer block diagrams that show how each portion of your device functions. Many designers will start immediately laying out their board around some central component without thinking about the relationships between functional blocks in the system. This is about more than just creating a block diagram you may need to make changes to your design later when you start laying out your board if you do not consider this early. In cases where your device will contain some central processing, you’ll need to consider this as part of the overall design process. You’ll need to consider inputs and the desired outputs in your functional block diagram. You want to start with a high-level view of how different portions of your device work together to produce the key features you need. This is by far the easiest when you start with a functional block diagram of your device. Thinking about modular design requires looking at your device in terms of its separate functionality. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the modular PCB design process and how you can take a hierarchical approach to designing complex systems. This allows you to define a rigorous hierarchy for your system and quickly implement it in your next device.
ALTIUM DESIGNER PCB WITHOUT SCHEMATIC SOFTWARE
Modular PCB design is one design approach that takes a hierarchical view of an electronic system, whether it be a rigid-flex, multi-board, mixed-signal, or another system.ĭesign software that operates with a consistent, unified interface and a single data model is uniquely capable of being adapted to modular PCB design. PCB designers need to think in new ways in order to integrate all this functionality into a single device. Now that electronics in all sectors of the market are becoming smarter and connected, consumers are demanding greater functionality from electronic products. Some examples include computer architecture and peripherals, embedded systems for military and aerospace, and other complex multi-board systems. The links between different portions of the system were seldom considered except by designers creating the most complex boards. In the past, PCB design treated each portion of an overall electronic system individually. Design software is finally catching up to the demands of modular design, and PCB designers can finally access design platforms packages that are uniquely adaptable to modular PCB design.Ī unified PCB design package with the most adaptable set of design tools in the industry. When you take your first dive into modular PCB design, you’ll quickly find that your design tools may not be able to keep up due to a lack of unification, inconsistent data formats across design tools, and unnecessary repetition of basic design steps in different tools. New designers would do well to learn anything they can about modular PCB design. Embedded systems, multi-board systems, mixed-signal systems, and other boards with diverse functionality can all benefit from this design methodology. Modular PCB design is one design methodology that is implicitly used when designing PCBs for a variety of applications. With more complex designs, you’ll need to consider more than just the high-level overview of your board when you are designing a complex system. Simple designs can usually be designed without considering how your PCB layout affects the operation and interaction between multiple functional blocks in your board. PCB design is rarely discussed in terms of designing functional blocks or as connecting modules with different functionality.
0 kommentar(er)
