Week 1- Basic Electronics and Components
In this week,
- Basic electronic components such as capacitors, resistors, inductors, diodes, and transistors are covered.
- We will see how PCBs use the above-mentioned devices.
Week 2- Circuit Analysis
In this week,
- Circuit analysis to determine the currents and voltages in an electronic circuit with connected electronic components is studied.
- We will learn how a simple circuit works, by analyzing it.
Week 3- Basics of Altium
- Altium software is used in the electronic schematic design of PCBs.
- It provides a platform for engineers to develop and visualize PCBs in 3D.
- Engineers can design and edit the most complex PCBs using the Altium platform.
Week 4- Symbols Creation and Parameters
- In Altium Designer, users can create electronic component symbols with their parameters when designing a circuit.
- Each electronic component has its own symbol in a circuit, as well as an associated electrical parameter.
- It is important to know how to create a symbol when designing a PCB to ensure proper schematic representation.
Week 5- Footprint Creation and Standards
- In the design of any PCB is a footprint that provides a standard layout design for components in the circuit.
- While Altium has standardized footprints, it can also be used to design your own footprint with the help of CAD tools.
Week 6- Schematic Drafting using Altium
- Schematic drawings are at the base of circuit diagrams and PCB designs.
- They provide information about the components and flow of current in the circuit.
- Altium Designer gives users schematic drafting tools needed to design schematic diagrams.
Week 7- PCB Design Overview
- Before designing a PCB, it is important to understand the basic concepts behind it.
- This overview also strengthens the understanding needed to carry out PCB design using Altium Designer.
Week 8- Steps in PCB Designing
- PCB designing involves a series of sequential steps with feedback loops.
- It is important to design the PCB in this order of steps to prevent errors in the overall design.
Week 9- PCB Design using Altium
- Altium offers many tools and widgets to design and develop PCBs.
- It is important to understand how to use Altium Designer in the creation of a PCB.
Week 10- Placement of Components
- Electrical components have specific placements in PCBs to ensure that electrical interconnections are created between them.
- By properly placing components, the functional efficiency of the overall design can be improved.
- A good understanding of component placement is vital because of this.
Week 11- Rules for PCB Design
- In order to design an efficient PCB, there are a certain set of guidelines to follow.
- These provide information on the layout, placement, and schematic rules to be followed in order to optimize efficiency.
Week 12- Stackup and Vias
- PCB designs have a series of layers, and vias are essential in forming the electrical connections between these layers.
- For instance, stackup design has many layers of copper and insulation which need to be connected with vias.
- It is important to know how to design stackups and vias into a PCB for proper conduction of electricity through the components.
Week 13- Stackup Design using Altium
- Before a board layout design can be formed, a PCB’s stackup design has to be developed.
- This refers to the way the layers of copper and insulation are arranged.
- Altium Designer can be used for designing the stackup of a PCB.
Week 14- Post-Processing of PCB Design
- Post-processing a PCB design involves design rule checking, design for manufacturability, and other procedures ensuring that all the details are in place.
Week 15- Design Rule Checking
- Design rule checking studies the physical and logical soundness of a PCB design.
- This makes sure that there are no errors in the design of the PCB.
- Altium Designer can perform this in real-time with reference to a set of design rules.
- By identifying errors in the initial design phase, scrapping products, later on, will be limited.
Week 16- Gerber Review
- Information regarding each layer of the PCB is in an open ASCII vector file called Gerber files.
- It provides a universal format that can be understood by engineers everywhere.
- These files are created, reviewed, and viewed using Altium Designer.
Week 17- EMI/EMC
- As PCBs have electronic components, they emit electromagnetic waves.
- It is important to manage EMI when designing a PCB to ensure it is within the acceptable range of EMI/EMC standards.
- Circuit and PCB layout design, as well as component selection, contribute to the EMI/EMC factors of PCBs.
Week 18- Communication in Automotive Industry
- There are different communication protocols that transimt information.
- It is important to know the types of communication used in automotive products like CAN, LIN, and LAN.
Week 19- PCB Manufacturing Techniques
- The PCB manufacturing process has certain techniques which ensure the proper performance of the product.
- Different PCBs require a different set of manufacturing techniques depending on their operation.
- The more complex the PCB, the more steps and techniques are involved.
Week 20- PCB Assembly Process
- PCBs are designed with a series of components that are assembled to achieve an intended outcome.
- The process of assembly has a series of interrelated steps. Each step of the process has to be in tune with the next through feedback loops from output to input.
Week 21- Circuit Protection
- In any electrical and electronic system is the possibility of voltage fluctuations that may damage or cause failure in a circuit.
- In such a case, it is important that circuit protection is in place to protect the circuit and those in direct contact with it.
- It is important to know how to integrate circuit protection into a PCB design.
Week 22- Circuit Protection Selection Methods
- There are many sources of potential damage to circuits, due to which there are different methods of circuit methods for each one.
- It is important for PCB design engineers to be aware of the different methods and integrate them into their designs as needed.
Week 23- Saturn PCB Design Software Discussion
- Saturn PCB Design provides engineers with PCB design, manufacturing, and assembly services for use in electronic engineering projects.
Week 24- Multilayer PCB Design Overview in Altium
- Multilayer PCBs are more complex in design because they generally have more components.
- As a result of this, they have more routing required.
- Although there are multiple layers, they are compressed down into one.
- By using Altium Designer, multilayer stackups can be integrated into PCB designs.
Week 25- CAN Example with Altium
- The CAN communication protocol is useful for short messages that do not target a specific node.
- Altium Designer is used in the development of a CAN condition.
Week 26- Ground
- Ground planes are important in PCB designs as they minimize the electrical noise and interaction between two layers with active signals.
- This can be done for the different layers using Altium Designer.
Week 27- Component Selection
- When creating a PCB, component selection is one of the first steps as it sets the base for the following steps.
- Selecting the right components is important to reduce the chance of inconsistencies through the PCB design process.
- It is therefore important to understand the process of component selection.