IPC-7351 Land Patterns

Like most trades, there are organizations that publish standards and processes that help govern and provide guidance. Electronics is no different. The IPC (Institute for Printed Circuits) (http://ipc.prg/) produces a series of standards documents. Here, we’ll focus on IPC-7351 – Generic Requirements for Surface Mount Design and Land Pattern Standard. It can be purchased from […]

Cheatsheet: Trace Width and Mils to Metric Conversion

I’m partial to printable quick-references. This one breaks down the mil-to-metric conversions and their associated current capacities at 1-oz and 2-oz copper at both internal and external copper layers. The current capacity values are formula driven based on the IPC-2221 standard. So the tables can be easily reduced, extended, or reformatted as needed. Click on […]

GrabCAD: Component Models

I’m a big stickler for accurate 3D models in layouts. With today’s tighter mechanical integration it’s always useful to ensure clearances and if the exported model from ECAD is accurate as possible then there isn’t a chance that something could be placed wrong when added in MCAD. Plus, it adds an additional check with new […]

Preventing Start-Up Issues Due to Output Inrush in Switching Converters

Fil Paulo Balat, Jefferson Eco, and James Macasaet wrote a blog post about output filter design to mitigate output inrush: Switching converters on applications demanding reduced output noise may encounter delayed startup, or may not startup at all, due to excessive output inrush. Output inrush current, attributed to inappropriate design of output filters and its […]