AUGUST 2025 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 61
10
9
8
7
6
Target Condition: The 5 Ws
of PCB Design Constraints
Have you ever sat down to define PCB design
constraints and found yourself staring at
a settings window with more checkboxes
than a tax form? You're not alone. For many
designers—especially those newer to the
layout world—the task of setting up design
constraints can feel like trying to write a novel
in a language you just started learning.
ESD Alliance: Electronic System
Design Industry Posts $5.1
Billion Revenue in Q1 2025
Electronic
System Design
(ESD) industry
revenue
increased 12.8%
to $5.09 billion
in the first
quarter of 2025
from the $4.5
billion registered in the first quarter of 2024, the ESD
Alliance, a SEMI Technology Community, announced
in its latest Electronic Design Market Data (EDMD)
report. The four-quarter moving average rose 12.6%,
based on a comparison of the most recent four
quarters to the prior four.
Fresh PCB Concepts: More Than Compliance—
A Human-centered Sustainability Approach
This isn't a fairy tale with a "happily ever after." It's a journey. Every
PCB ordered becomes a brush-stroke in a story about responsible
manufacturing, collective impact, and ethical engagement. Here's where
you come in: Choose a factory with a recent sustainability audit. Ask about
the energy mix, water reuse, and logistics emissions.
Designers Notebook: Basic PCB
Planning Criteria—Establishing
Design Constraints
Printed circuit board
development flows
more smoothly when
all critical issues
are predefined and
understood from
the start. As a basic
planning strategy,
the designer must
first consider the product performance criteria,
then determine the specific industry standards or
specifications that the product must meet.
Elementary Mr. Watson:
Closing the Gap Between
Design and Manufacturing
I believe that PCB
design, at its core, is an
art form, and modern
PCB designers should
be considered artists.
Beyond the technical
calculations and
engineering rules lies a creative process that
involves vision, balance, and a passion for
what we do. Like any artist who works with
brush and canvas or chisel and stone, a PCB
designer shapes invisible pathways that bring
ideas to life.
