Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1494346
58 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2023 Runner-up Discusses IPC Design Competition that I was most familiar with, that I've been on for 25+ years, so it made it really easy for me. I'm not sure what everybody else was using in the earlier heats. Dack: Designers often have to switch soft- ware in their careers. To participate in a com- petition like this, some of you had to learn the ropes of a new program fairly quickly. Sure. For the competition, the finalists received a 30-day trial license to learn Altium beforehand. Unfortunately, I got my license only 10 days before the show, so it's been a crash course. e tool I'm most familiar with is Allegro (and OrCAD) PCB Designer from Cadence. ey're a little different. I learned Eagle years ago. I've known about Altium for a long time, but I finally got my hands on it about 10 days ago and it's very bewildering. ere Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team PCB designer Adam orvaldson of Innovex was a finalist in this year's IPC Design Compe- tition at IPC APEX EXPO. He came in second place in this final heat, which is quite a feat, considering that the contest started last fall with 49 contestants from around the globe. We asked Adam to share his thoughts on the com- petition, what it means to be one of the win- ners, and any ideas about improving the con- test for 2024 in Anaheim. Kelly Dack: Adam, you've finished up the design competition here at IPC APEX EXPO. What did you think of the experience? is experience has been very eye-opening. e event is great; the competition has been very interesting, and the town is beautiful. Dack: How did you hear about the competi- tion? What were the previous heats like? I learned about the competition on LinkedIn. I like finding ways to better myself and develop new foundations for future growth. I applied, signed up, got the project files, and competed in the first round. My first round took about 49 hours of work, and later I found out I was a finalist. Andy Shaughnessy: That was when we had 49 finalists? Yes, and that was all wrapped up in November. Dack: What about the EDA tools? For the final heat, everyone used Altium Designer. But in the first round we were allowed to use any soware package. I was able to use the tool Adam Thorvaldson 58 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2023