Browse Topic: Printed circuit boards
As electronic medical device technology progresses, their internal printed circuit boards (PCBs) have undergone a transformative evolution to integrate a diverse array of materials. This evolution is driven by the need to fulfill stringent requirements for enhanced performance, compact size, and heightened reliability. However, the proliferation of materials poses a considerable challenge: finding cleaning solutions capable of efficiently removing contaminants without compromising the integrity of these delicate components
Inverter is the power electronics component that drives the electrical motor of the electrical driven compressor (EDC) and communicates with the car network. The main function of the inverter is to convert the direct current (DC) voltage of the car battery into alternating current (AC) voltage, which is used to drive the three-phase electric motor. In recent days, inverters are present in all automotive products due to electrification. Inverter contains a printed circuit board (PCB) and electronic components, which are mounted inside a mechanical housing and enclosed by a protective cover. The performance of the electrical drive depends upon the functioning of the inverter. There is a strong demand from the customer to withstand the harsh environmental and testing conditions during its lifetime such as leakage, dust, vibration, thermal tests etc. The failure of the inverter leads to malfunction of the product, hence proper sealing and validation is necessary for inverters to protect
As medical devices become more complex, designers must use the available spaces within their devices more efficiently. Several PCBs often have to be connected in the tightest of spaces
Manufacturing electronic medical devices and the complex printed circuit boards (PCBs) within them demands stringent quality control measures to ensure the highest level of performance, reliability, and safety. Process validation is a critical step in the production cycle to verify that manufacturing processes consistently produce products of the highest quality
The data centers and high-performance computers that run artificial intelligence programs, such as large language models, aren’t limited by the computational power of their individual nodes. It’s another problem — the amount of data they can transfer among the nodes — that underlies the “bandwidth bottleneck” that currently limits the performance and scaling of these systems
Medical device technology is continually advancing and helping shape the future of healthcare. It is used in every area of the industry, from simple remote patient monitoring like smart watches to sophisticated implantable equipment like pacemakers and cochlear hearing devices. Its importance is evident with the global medical electronics market size evaluated at USD $101.06 billion in 2022 with growth projections anticipating $248.43 billion by 2032.1
RF filters are critical components in aerospace and defense electronic systems. In high-frequency transmissions, they channel desired signals and reject unwanted signals, enabling reliable signal processing across the RF, microwave, and millimeter wave (mmWave) electromagnetic spectrum. In operating environments with many such signals, including from jammers trying to disrupt the operation of some systems, RF filters are employed in progressively higher frequencies. At the same time, systems engineers are requesting smaller filters that fit within drop-in surface mount technology (SMT) packages mounted within compact printed circuit board (PCB) assemblies. Selecting a filter for an A&D application requires an understanding of available RF filter responses, physical formats, and technologies, with a good idea of necessary functional goals, such as separating channels or rejecting interference. The optimum filter for an aerospace and defense (A&D) system need not take up much space but
Today the light-duty commercial market is dominated by internal combustion engine powered vehicles, primarily diesel-powered delivery vans, which contribute to urban air quality issues. Global concerns regarding climate change have prompted zero emission vehicles to be mandatory in many markets as soon as 2035. For the light-duty commercial vehicle sector there is significant interest in pure electric vehicles. However, for some markets, or usage cases, electric vehicles may not be the best solution due to practical limitations of battery energy storage capacity or recharging times. For such applications there is growing interest in hydrogen fuel cells as a zero emissions alternative. Bramble Energy’s patented printed circuit board (PCB) fuel cell technology (PCBFC™) enables the use of cost-effective production methods and materials from the PCB industry to reduce the cost and complexity of manufacturing hydrogen fuel cell stacks. This paper will describe the integration of a water
The need for long-range, high-resolution and accuracy all-weather sensor is critical for a higher level of vehicular autonomy. Unlike cameras and lidars, radars offer these capabilities when designed well. Key target criteria for automotive radar are multimode operation with a large Field of View, high frame rates, and the ability to detect and resolve weaker targets in the presence of stronger ones. Existing radar providers and automotive Tier 1s can work with startups to eliminate the arduous steps to streamline the front-end antennas and ICs integration avoiding the complex and costly multi-layers Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) designs. The next big step in automotive radar is considering this “Lego” pieces building blocks for flexible and scalable modular architectures for multi-mode operation for high accuracy and precision targeting broad applications without the heavy time, resources, and cost to develop automotive radars for mass markets. Metawave is building the first front-end
Due to the complex reaction mechanism and closed structure of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), on-line measurement and detection are challenging. Also, the uneven distribution of reactants and products in all directions within the PEMFC, so it is essential to measure and predict the local current density distribution. In order to measure and identify the operating parameters accurately, timely, and quickly, it is necessary to improve the detection means of the fuel cell system. Based on the distributed (printed circuit board) PCB measurement technology, an integrated monitoring current distribution sensor system is designed. Combined with the structural parameters of the fuel cell, the selection scheme and layout scheme of measurement components are proposed. With the help of Altium Designer software, the PCB measuring circuit board is designed and made. Special design for the PCB structure is achieved to direct contact measurement with the plane of the bipolar board. NI
A raise of efficiency is the strongest selling point concerning the total cost of ownership (TCO), especially for commercial vehicles (CV). Accompanied by legislations, with contradictive development demands, satisfying solutions have to be found. The analysis of energy losses in modern engines shows three influencing parameters. Wall heat transfer (WHT) losses are awarded with the highest optimization potential. Critical for the occurrence of these losses is the WHT, which can be described by representing coefficients. To reduce WHT accompanying losses a decrease of energy transfer between combustion gas and combustion chamber wall is necessary. A measurement of heat fluxes is necessary to determine the WHT relations of the combustion chamber in an engine. As this has not been done for a Heavy-Duty (HD) engine, with peak pressures up to 250 bar, an increased in-cylinder turbulence and high exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)-rates before, it is presented in the following. Different
The use of modern laser technology has become standard in industrial manufacturing thanks to its speed, accuracy and effectiveness. Lasers are used to engrave parts, electronic printed circuit boards or chip cards. They perforate packaging; structure semiconductor wafers; drill, cut and weld plastics or metals; and create highly complex structures via 3D printing
In this study, we are presenting design considerations for the development of a LED (Light-Emitting Diode) bi-function headlight module to replace conventional HID (High-Intensity Discharge) projector modules for retrofitting or first installation purposes. The objective was to develop a projector-type module to outperform current 35 W HID light sources in both low beam and high beam, but with far less installation space. Essential features like multichip LED usage and the optical system design will be described in detail. Special care was taken for the heat management of the high-power LEDs, with optimization of the heat dissipation thermal path via printed circuit board, heatsink and active cooling by extensive Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation work (CFD). The achieved projector lumen output of greater 1300 lm in low beam and 2000 lm in high beam enables a projector module of very compact size (<1,200 cm3) to easily replace HID modules
Today’s automobiles include more electronics features and functions than at any time in history. From engine controller to crash sensing and passenger protection, all the way to automated driving, a complex network of electronic sensors and controls is being integrated into most of the vehicles. While many of these are necessary for increased comfort, convenience and safety, they must also be designed for the stringent quality requirements compared to standard consumer electronics. The business driven need for miniaturization with increased functionality but at reduced cost necessitates use of high density interconnection with advanced electronics components like Ball Grid Array (BGA) instead of many chip scale packages, which are potentially susceptible to failure while handling and shipping of the components. With the reduced mass of the component, accidental drop from the hand level would experience higher impact loading on the component to create significant damage. The usage of
Evolution in Radio Frequency (RF) semiconductor technology has led to highly power efficient devices. A typical automobile key fob for remote lock-unlock operations operates on 3V lithium coin cell battery having 200 mAh capacity and can last up to 75,000 key press events or two to three years. The typical transmission currents are less than 10 mA while sleep currents are less than 0.1 uA. As the lithium coin cell batteries are not rechargeable, they need to be replaced and safely disposed. Improper disposal of lithium batteries impose risk to the environment as lithium is highly poisonous and reactive. This paper proposes to replace the coin cell battery with a RF energy harvesting circuit involving voltage multiplier circuit consisting of zero bias schottky detector diodes and a hybrid energy storage capacitor. Authors have conducted experiments as well as simulation to evaluate the feasibility of the RF energy harvester replacing conventional coin cell battery. RF energy harvesting
Advanced driver assistance features like Advanced Emergency Brake Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Stop and Go, Pedestrian Detection, Obstacle Detection and Collision Detection are becoming mandatory in many countries. This is because of the promising results received in reducing 75% of fatalities related to road accidents. All these features use RADAR in detecting the range, speed and even direction of multiple targets using complex signal processing algorithm. Testing such ECUs is becoming too difficult considering the fact that the RADAR is integrated in the PCB of ECU. Hence the simulation of RADAR sensor for emulation of various real world scenarios is not a preferred solution for OEMs. Furthermore, Tier ones are not interested in a testing solution where the real RADAR sensor is bypassed. This paper discusses such issues which include the validation of the most modern Electronic Scanning RADARs. These instruments could detect even up to 64 dynamic targets
LED in automotive rear combination lighting (RCL) is becoming widely used in high end to mid class segment car. This is mainly fuelled by the strong influence of styling and requirement of a compact design. With OEMs competing to provide higher value to the customers such as longer warranty and advanced diagnostic features, the topic of semiconductor integration is becoming significant. Integration is a key to enable small form factor, high robustness and implementation of advanced technical functionality in the LED driver. However, the cost of implementing an integrated driver, if not partitioned effectively, will be much higher than the discrete solution. Therefore, it is important to implement the cost optimization strategy right from the conceptualization of the LED driver integrated device. In the beginning of this paper, the LED driving concept that is commonly used in the RCL lighting such as linear current sources and switching supply is discussed. The cost-performance trade
Manufacturers of medical devices must seek every way possible to eliminate failures of those devices. Many major failures result from a weakness in the solder joint that connects the wire bond to the printed circuit board (PCB) or the solder connecting the device or package to the board. Using nitrogen is not an absolute requirement. However, among other things, nitrogen can help to strengthen the bond and improve solder adhesion in the soldering process. This article explores the use of nitrogen and ways to minimize device failure
This work applies to remediation and restoration of soil contaminated by fuel, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) wastes, etc. While there can be a beneficial effect of microbial communities, individual plant-fungus combinations can vary in their efficacy in removing pollutants from the environment. Having a set of enzymes from fungi specifically adapted to conditions in contaminated soil is a huge advantage
For many years, stencil printing has been the standard method of depositing solder paste on surface mount assembly printed circuit boards (PCBs). It has provided a durable method of applying solder paste, but there were always difficulties that significantly slowed down a change from one product to another in the assembly operation, and added cost. A significant challenge in newer, smaller electronics assembly is the huge difference in size among components. Therefore, trying to apply the right amount of solder paste for each component with one stencil is difficult. The biggest problem is how to produce quick-turn prototypes without disrupting series production that is already running in the line. Product changeover requires time-consuming tweaks to the stencil printing process, while unnecessarily shutting down an expensive assembly line to change the product. The inability of the stencil’s technology to vary solder paste volume by part, on the run, remains the biggest impact on the
Thermally conductive adhesives are uniquely qualified to meet the increasingly diverse requirements of advanced electronics systems. From their traditional use as fastening materials, adhesives find wide application in bonding and encapsulation in nearly every application segment, including military/aerospace, medical, automotive, and industrial, among others. In their traditional application in computer and communications systems, thermally conductive adhesives have long played a vital role at the chip level for die attach, at the PCB level for heat sink bonding, and at both the chip and board levels for all types of thermal management methods
The increasing use of embedded electronics in aerospace and automotive vehicles increases the designers' concern regarding the reliability of the components as well as the reliability of their interconnections. The discussion about the most appropriate method for assessing the reliability of solder joints for a given application is an ever-present theme in the literature. Several methods of prediction have been developed for assessing the reliability of solder joints. The standard method established by the industries for assessing reliability of solder joints is the thermal cycling. However, when the thermal distributions in real applications are studied, particularly in some electronic components used in on-board electronics of space systems, the thermal cycling does not represent what actually happens in practice in the packaging. The aim of this article is to discuss the methods of thermal cycling; and power cycling for reliability prediction of solder joints of electronic
In small car segment, as far as hybridization is concerned, the space and safety constraint demands use of lower voltage viz., 48 V as compared to >100-volt-systems used for vehicles in other segments. These systems also have advantage of reduced copper weight due to reduced current. As 12 V systems are replaced by the 48 V systems, the auxiliary 12 V loads would necessitate implementation of a DC-DC converter. Considering the requirements of auxiliary loads that are fed from 12 V battery, the power rating of the DC-DC converter can get considerably high resulting in increased size. Hence, it is advisable to re-design at least some of the 12 V auxiliary systems to 48 V such as the radiator fan motor. This, along with the issues faced in the existing PMDC Motor with regard to efficiency and sizing have generated interest to investigate better alternatives for the motor. To this end, this paper describes the design, development and control of a Brushless DC Motor to be used as a radiator
Bond wires are used in automotive electronic modules to carry current from external harness to components where flexibility under thermal cyclic loading is very essential between PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and connectors. They are very thin wires (few μm) made up of gold, aluminum or copper and have to undergo mechanical reliability to withstand extreme mechanical and thermal loads during different vehicle operation scenarios. Thermal reliability of bond wire is to make sure that it can withstand prescribed electric current under given boundary conditions without fusing thereby retaining electronic module's functionality. While carrying current, bond wire by virtue of its nature resists electric current flow and generates heat also called as joule heating. Joule heating is proportional to current flow and electrical resistance and if not handled properly can lead to thermal run away conditions. In the present scenario the goal is to examine thermal reliability for bond wire when
The Performance of Electric Hybrid Transmission system is controlled by Electronic control unit (ECU). ECU Casing, which packages Printed circuit board (PCB) with components soldered on both sides, have to protect the PCB and components from Thermal Damage Dust and Water ingress Vibrations in the vehicle Air-Pressure fluctuations Paper enlightens Product development Architecture of ECU Casing explaining all Phases of product cultivation from processing of inputs till validation of the product. Requirement Analysis being first phase, analyses all PCB requirements, mechanical requirements related to product certification. Architecture Conceptualization being second phase, analyses layout optimization, Material Category, Manufacturing Category, Production Process, Material Grade. Design being third phase, analyses all aspects of Engineering Design, Manufacturing Design, and Feasibility Design. Engineering Design elaborates cross functional study between Thermal aspects, Structural
Nowadays, the passenger cars are employing more and more electronic devices for controlling various mechanisms. This has increased the demand for such equipments in the passenger car. The electronic devices for controlling the mechanisms such as keyless entry, window, wiper controllers, mirror controls, engine performance monitors, security systems, lighting control are mounted on Printed Circuit board (PCB) which is enclosed inside the plastic cover assembly called Body Control Module (BCM). The BCM is attached inside the dashboard assembly which is subjected to various loading conditions. In addition, space and height constraints should also be taken into consideration. In present work, dynamic analysis of existing design of BCM is carried out. It has been observed that, the existing design fails under impact loading condition. To overcome the failure, modifications in design are proposed. The modified design of BCM has been tested through both, numerical simulations and experiments
PCB manufacturing is a very competitive market, and manufacturers must be able to confidently ship accurate printed circuit board (PCB) products. Delivery of incorrect boards may have a significant, negative impact on the company reputation, which can directly result in lost business. Inspection of the boards before shipment is required
This method of interconnecting ceramic integrated circuits to organic printed circuit boards (PCBs) is designed to substantially increase the life of the interconnections. This is accomplished by providing a means of compensating for the shear stresses produced by thermal excursions as a result of the large mismatch of coefficients of thermal expansion between the integrated circuit and the printed circuit board
Today’s PCB plug-in connectors must accommodate many trends, including increasing miniaturization, rising levels of performance of electronic components, and growing complexity in machine and system engineering
Most of today’s automotive electronic systems are composed of two major mechanical elements: an equipment chassis or enclosure, and a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly. The PCB is composed of laminated copper and FR-4 glass epoxy. These systems often operate in severe vibration environments for extended periods without failing. The vibrations transmitted throughout the PCB induce strains in the connectors, components, and most importantly, the solder joints attaching the components to it
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