Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1400005
14 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2021 I started doing basics design classes in 2004. I've been doing this for 17 years. My basics class has changed dramatically over those years; in the beginning, it was, "is is a com- ponent symbol, and this is a PCB symbol." It was to teach people who were green to the business about how to do it. But now, so many of the people coming in not only want to know the basics, but they also want to know how everything else works in the design, and so my classes have changed to cover that kind of information as well. Shaughnessy: Right. It does seem like we're asking designers to do a lot more of what used to be in the electrical engineers' domain. Webb: And vice versa. I was brought in by the friend who just recognized that I had some ability to do something like this, and we did it on Mylar with black tape. But then EDA com- puter soware came along, and it required a whole new set of skills. Time has also brought in the need to understand and implement many more engineering needs like how to work with impedance control, signal and power integrity, and EMI control. Shaughnessy: What are some of the other changes that you've noticed in your classes? When the attendees come in, they're dealing with a whole different skill set than 15 years ago, right? Webb: Fieen years ago, the classes were filled with technicians or others who wanted to try their hand at design but didn't really under- stand the ins and outs of the profession. Or it was somebody who had an idea that they would like to learn about it all but didn't really know where to start. But now, I stand in front of the class and ask, "Who is an engineer?" And most of them are. A few are mechanical, assembly, or some other discipline along those lines, but most are electrical engineers, and their com- panies are asking them to design boards. When that started being a trend, the engi- neers really didn't have any place to learn about the ins and outs of the job and who you had to please, which is a really important part of the job. You have to please the DFM people, the testing people, the people who may use the board in the field, and you have to please the other electrical engineers on your team. It's very important that as many of their issues as possible are addressed for design so that the design is easy to build, test, and use. We can't always please all of them, because sometimes things conflict, but the more you can design to good standards and meet as many of the other people's needs as possible, the better the board or project will turn out. Unfortunately, it is very easy to design a board that is not manufactur- able, with an exorbitant cost, and that does not work properly. Since we don't want to waste our time, it is important to understand the physics and electrical needs of the project and implement them into the board as we design it. Shaughnessy: Years ago, speeds were slower, so you could be close and it would still work. Webb: Right. ings were so much slower back then. You could wander a signal all over the Susy Webb