Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1498723
MAY 2023 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 9 Andy Shaughnessy is managing editor of Design007 Magazine. He has been covering PCB design for 23 years. To read past columns, click here. many designers say, "I like vendor X for my aerospace boards and vendor Y for medical." As you'll see in this month's issue of Design007 Magazine, slash sheets such as IPC- 4101/126 were never meant to be used by designers when comparing PCB laminates. ese documents were created to facilitate communication between purchasing and cus- tomer service departments. I guess you could say that slash sheets are made for administra- tive purposes, not engineering. As the captain said in "Cool Hand Luke," "What we've got here is a failure to communi- cate." IPC does offer several design guidelines, created specifically for PCB designers, includ- ing one just for flexible circuits. But there isn't such a guideline for high-speed designs. Perhaps it's time for a new set of design guidelines—a new materials paradigm. e ideal design guidelines would contain all the information designers would need to consider when choosing a laminate. ese guidelines could also rank the materials by sector, such as aerospace, medical, or industrial. is month, we include a conversation with Doug Sober, IPC's director of materials and IEC engage- ment. Doug was instrumental in the devel- opment of the first slash sheets over 40 years ago, and he details IPC's original intent for these documents, which were not targeted at designers. We have more features from Barry Olney, Kelly Dack, Geoffrey Hazelett, Tim Haag, and our newest contributor Michael Morando of PFC Flexible Circuits. We also have columns by Istvan Novak and Martyn Gaudion, as well as articles by Anaya Vardya and Mark Gallant. W hat's your mater ial selection process? DESIGN007 PRINCIPAL ENGINEER Ever been to a mountain climbing adventure where you, along with the team, follow an experienced lead? You can think of the team lead as the principal engi- neer who leads a group of new and experienced engineers throughout the project. They are the sci- ence people who practice the art of managing their team and projects and complete them within provided resources. So many engineers pursue a master's in management sciences to polish their administrative skills, but that's not a must; instead, most principal engineers earn higher degrees in their relevant field. What Else Does a Principal Engineer Do? • Principal engineers are responsible for monitoring the overall design phase of the construction process • Inspects materials and resources used to ensure projects stay within budget and on time • Uses their excellent communication and organizational skills • Works with engineering teams to discuss new ideas, issues, etc. • Evaluates existing engineering processes and recommends improvements • Recommends new technologies to improve system performance and reliability • Provides technical guidance • Participates in project analysis, design, implementations and commissioning phases • Provides support in system acceptance testing and validation activities • Prepares user requirements, technical specifications, design specifications and commissioning plans. Learn More