84 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2019
1
The Shaughnessy Report:
Get Smart!
E
It sounds so perfect—"smart" manufacturing.
That must be what we've needed all along!
We've had enough of this "average intelligence"
manufacturing. Yes, we've heard quite a bit of
chatter about smart manufacturing over the past
few years. Whatever "smart" means to you, ev
-
eryone involved in designing, fabricating, and
assembling PCBs wants to get on board.
2
Automation and the Smart Factory:
Introduction to Industry 4.0
E
There's a lot of talk about au-
tomation, but I find that there
is very little available on au-
tomation planning. This is
one of my specialties. I start-
ed by studying for an MSEE
in control theory, which went
well with my bachelor's degree in chemical en-
gineering because I specialized in process con-
trol and IC manufacturing.
3
Lightning Speed Laminates: How
Copper Properties Impact PCB RF
and High-speed Digital Performance
E
The circuit is a microstrip
with a signal conductor on
the top copper plane and
a ground plane on the bot-
tom of the circuit. Addi-
tionally, the concept of skin
depth and wave propagation
should be considered. Skin depth is the depth
within the cross-sectional area of the copper
where the majority of the RF current resides
and is dependent on frequency.
4
iCD Releases Impedance
Goal-seeking Functionality
E
In-Circuit Design Pty Ltd (iCD), Australia has
released a new target Impedance Goal Seeking
Algorithm to add to the Stackup Planner func-
tionality. This release will be rolled out to all
iCD support customers as an update to their
current software.
Editor Picks from PCBDesign007
John Coonrod
Happy Holden
