Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1245291
MAY 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 11 tion between designers and fabricators. Albert Gaines of HiGain Design explains why some fabricators are nearly shocked to receive a per- fect data package and why fabrication and as- sembly providers should provide designers feedback when there is a problem. We also bring you columns from our regu- lar contributors Kelly Dack, Vern Solberg, Phil Kinner, Barry Olney, Bob Tise and Matt Ste- venson, and Joe Fjelstad. Plus, we introduce a new column—"Design Circuit"—written by Patrick Crawford of IPC. Patrick offers an up- date on the new organization IPC Design, as well as plans for an international design com- petition next year. Ah, next year. Will 2021 mark a return to normal? I'm glad to see so many of the com- panies in our industry building ventilators and doing everything they can to help beat this thing while keeping their employees safe and healthy. We'll continue to bring you COVID-19 updates from the electronics industry. See you next month! DESIGN007 Andy Shaughnessy is managing editor of Design007 Magazine. He has been covering PCB design for 19 years. He can be reached by clicking here. • Do more with less—better performance for less cost and time, with more parts on smaller boards • We're not just connecting the dots anymore Yes, you're not just connecting the dots any- more. Designers have to know more about en- gineering than ever before while doing more with less board real estate, educating the cus- tomer about PCB design, and keeping an eye on cost. That sounds like a daunting task, doesn't it? We asked our expert contributors to discuss meeting expectations at every level of the de- sign cycle. We start with an interview with Dana Korf of Korf Consulting, the former chief PCB technologist for Huawei. He describes what every fabricator expects from a design- er—a complete data package that can be used to build a board right the first time. Mentor's Todd Westerhoff describes a variety of reasons that expectations are often not met, starting with a poor definition of requirements. Tim Haag explains why designers should not let "negative expectations" affect their thought process, and why expectations must be reason- able and unambiguous. Next, Martyn Gaudion outlines the need for bidirectional communica- Realtime Robotics, the inventor of responsive motion planning for industrial robots and autonomous vehicles, has launched its Realtime Controller. The solution dramat- ically reduces and simplifies the programming required to safely integrate robotic workcells, speeding up the time to deployment. As the pressure intensifies to improve margins, it will accelerate the adoption of robotic automation. However, integrating robotic operating sys- tems currently is complex, time- consuming, and cost-prohibitive, which has limited where and how the technology is deployed. With the Realtime Controller, multi-ro- bot cells are much more flexible, as it automates many core processes and can dynamical- ly adjust to variable production conditions. Using Realtime's Controller, manufacturers can now quickly and easily plan, simulate, and validate automation through the entire deployment. The Realtime Controller con- nects with the customer's PLC and robot controller so that they can autonomously calculate, communicate, and ex- ecute collision-free motions. Both development time and cycle time are significantly reduced with automated interlocks and inter- ference zone-free multi-robot work- cells enabling robots to be deployed more quickly and expand into new areas that were previously cost- prohibitive. (Source: Business Wire) Realtime Robotics Unveils Realtime Controller