Unconventional Geometry Design Techniques
December 14, 2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 1 minute
We survey our readers from time to time, and a number of respondents have mentioned that designing boards with odd geometries can be a real challenge. We asked design instructors Kris Moyer and Kelly Dack to discuss the challenges related to designing odd-shaped PCBs, as well as some solutions for designing today’s boards that are anything but rectangles. What’s the craziest-shaped board you’ve ever worked with?
Andy Shaughnessy: Kris and Kelly, thanks for joining us. Let’s start with Kris. You talk about the challenges of designing odd-shaped geometries in your design classes? Tell me about those challenges.
Kris Moyer: One thing that comes to my mind regarding oddball geometries: To fit in all the parts, you have to learn how to place your parts at oddball rotations, not just 90 or 45 degrees. I don’t want to give away any classified stuff, but I was working on the design of a circular board that goes in one direction really, really fast and doesn't come back, ever. The parts were laid out, and all the circuits were laid out like pizza wedges, radially out from the center. This board had very large stacked ceramic caps, the SMPS type, which ended up being over an inch long, but they needed to be normal to the radius—but not on a standard 90- or 45-degree radius angle—with all these different angles.
We had to start rotating the parts so they would follow the curve of the circular board around the diameter without hanging over. We had these parts placed at, say, 12.7 degrees and 33.9 degrees—all these weird angles and rotations. But the pads were no longer where you could route cleanly into them at the 90- or 45-degrees with standard interactive routing or autorouting because we were doing all these oddball route angles.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the December 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
Europlacer Announces Introductory Promotions for 2024 IPC APEX EXPO
03/27/2024 | EuroplacerEuroplacer, a leading provider of SMT assembly solutions, is excited to announce special introductory promotions for its latest products at the upcoming 2024 IPC APEX EXPO, scheduled to take place April 9-11, 2024 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
Connect the Dots: Are You Ready for 2024?
03/07/2024 | Matt Stevenson -- Column: Connect the DotsAfter an eventful 2023, we are excited to begin 2024 with new partners, challenges, and opportunities. I see 2023 as one of the most exciting and significant years at Sunstone Circuits since I began my career with the organization. We joined forces with American Standard Circuits (ASC), an organization that excels in producing ultra HDI, metal-backed/core, RF/microwave, flex, and rigid-flex PCBs for diverse industries.
ICAPE Group Announces Its Full-Year Revenue for 2023
02/14/2024 | ICAPE GroupThe ICAPE Group, a global technology distributor of printed circuit boards (PCB) and custom-made electromechanical parts, announced its revenue for the 2023 financial year, ending December 31.
Maggie Benson’s Journey: A Lesson From Elon Musk’s Playbook
01/30/2024 | Ronald C. Lasky -- Column: Maggie Benson's JourneyEditor’s note: Indium Corporation’s Ron Lasky continues this series of columns about Maggie Benson, a fictional character, to demonstrate continuous improvement and education in SMT assembly. In this installment, Ivy University Professor Patty Coleman was seated next to John Archer on her flight home, It had been a rough start to her day. Patty had been having trouble charging her phone and laptop, but her seatmate had come to her rescue. Now, they were both talking about Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk, and Patty became so engrossed in the conversation that she was able to forget about some of her earlier troubles.
Book Excerpt: 'The Printed Circuit Designer’s Guide to... Designing for Reality,' Chapter 4
01/25/2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamWith an understanding of the overall manufacturing process, we can dive into the most important design-for-reality areas. Most front-end CAM tooling departments can do a great deal to help turn a marginal design into a manufacturable product, but even these superheroes have limitations to their powers.