PCB Design, Bringing It All Together

Joe Gorse, EE editor.

For anyone who has ever turned a PCB it is an obvious thing to ask for but we have all just stopped asking because one might die before it ever occurred: Integration between part manufacturer, distributor, PCB house, and PCB design tools into a development environment for the engineer. The esoteric electronic design automation (EDA) tools for the printed circuit boards of today could use some help. And that is putting it nicely.

In 2007, Sunstone Circuits resolved to pursue higher levels of integration within EDA to better serve their customers. But to do so would require collaboration within the traditionally fractious and competitive world of electronics. They invited the then-unlikely cast of characters to the table and made the pitch to integrate their tools and services for the engineer. 4 years later, in 2011, on my way to ESC Boston I attended a press briefing with Sunstone and partners on their collaborative Circuit Design ECOsystem (CDE), the integrated environment for the PCB developer.

The members of this fellowship are currently Digi-Key, NXP, National Instruments, Screaming Circuits, and Sunstone Circuits.

Roles of each member of the CDE are as follows.

Digi-Key provides real-time pricing and availability for components of the design.

NXP provides access to manufacturer-verified library definitions, datasheets, and simulation models, with the goal that the parts are fully specified within the design before it leaves the CAD tool.

National Instruments provides circuit simulation through NI Multisim while the engineers who use NI’s circuit development environment will benefit from the integration of the PCB development cycle.

Screaming Circuits provides quick-turn PCB fabrication and assembly.

Sunstone provides PCB fabrication, 24/7/365 live support, and the founding leadership behind the CDE.

Throughout the press briefing each member described the company performance, role in the ECOsystem, and next steps. Everyone indicated that business was going well, profits were healthy, and interest in the CDE remained firm. As the meeting progressed, the ramifications emerged and I asked: How can we get this to work?

We discussed the challenges that come with integration of engineering tools, particularly communication, standardization, and scaling.

I could see the Circuit Design ECOsystem approach mature into an intuitive process so that engineers can focus more on what they want to do as opposed to how they need to do it. For instance, “I want to have a switch to control this indicator” as opposed to “wondering whether or not the 3-pin FET package I chose has the right pinout for the 3-pin FETs I ordered in bulk, did I lay this part out on the top or the bottom, am I looking at the top or bottom layer, from which direction am I looking at what layer, which pin is the gate again?” It should not be possible to layout the wrong part after choosing what you wanted in the schematic, which should then guarantee its availability and cost through a distributor such as Digi-Key. This requires communication between the EDA tools and the manufacturer to mine the metadata of the part, which may be accomplished through a distributor that aggregates the data or through all the manufacturers that want their parts to get used in 21st+ century designs. Either way, it behooves everyone to build and agree upon a set of standards before running in N directions and never quite solving any problem better than the pencil and paper equivalent.

As it is now, Sunstone Circuits’ PCB123 is fairly well integrated with Digi-Key. You may select parts that exist in Digi-Key’s inventory, refresh live pricing, build the BOM, and actually place the order from within the program. The Circuit Design ECOsystem website is a bit bare, though it contains some useful links to the partner sites for the relevant step in the design process. For instance, under Part Research you will see NXP with a link to their product selector and Digi-Key with a link to buy parts; Circuit Design you will see PCB123 and NI MultiSim; Fabrication & Assembly you will see Sunstone Circuits for board quotes and Screaming Circuits for prototype assembly; and so on. Walking through the design and order process on CDE, it does not yet automatically populate the Digi-Key order page from your BOM or design files.

Exciting but difficult work ahead for the prototype ECOsystem crew as they look ahead to future-proof the system and prepare for scaling up when they engage more partners into the ECOsystem. I am looking forward to what they do next.

Circuit Design ECOsystem
http://www.circuitdesignecosystem.com/

Digi-Key
http://www.digikey.com/

NXP
http://www.nxp.com/

Screaming Circuits
http://www.screamingcircuits.com/

National Instruments
http://www.ni.com/

Sunstone Circuits
http://www.sunstone.com/

3-in-1 Sensor from OSRAM Combines IR LED to Detect Proximity and Ambient Light

SFH 7773 is a combined proximity and ambient light sensor with IR LED emitter in one package for unprecented design versatility and ease of use.

The new “3 in 1” SFH 7773 digital sensor from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors makes it easier than ever to install both proximity and ambient light sensing in smart phones and similar devices by combining the functions of a digital ambient light sensor and a digital proximity sensor in a single compact unit. It also simplifies the elimination of crosstalk by combining the emitter and detector chips together – 3 devices in all – eliminating the design requirements that are usually necessary to suppress crosstalk. Now designers no longer have to install a separate IR emitter to enable the proximity sensor function.

The SFH 7773 detects objects up to a distance of 15 cm (5.9 in.) while simultaneously measuring the intensity of the ambient light. Its black package, measuring only 5.3 x 2.5 x 1.2 mm, is barely noticeable behind the transparent covers of smart phones. Thanks to highly efficient OSRAM chip technologies, its power consumption is low – a maximum of 5 μA flows in stand-by mode, 300 μA in operational mode – making it ideally suited for portable devices.

For many designs, the SFH 7773’s combined proximity and ambient light sensor with IR LED emitter makes crosstalk suppression redundant.

Anti-Reflective Design

Proximity sensors detect objects by receiving the reflection of an emitted light signal. But the cover of a smart phone, e.g., also reflects light back to the sensor. This so-called crosstalk is usually intercepted by installing an optical barrier or placing the emitter at a sufficient distance from the cover to prevent the cover reflections from reaching the detector. However, both methods are rather complex and cumbersome. With the SFH 7773, designers do not have to worry about crosstalk because, inside the device, the emitter and the detector chip are located sufficiently far apart from each other and apertures are integrated into the package to prevent crosstalk or, at minimum, significantly reduce it.

User-definable sensitivity

Now, to a large extent, designers are free to select the integration time of the detector and, thus, the detection range of the proximity sensor via the I²C interface. That way, they can also adjust the ambient light sensor to the transparency of the smart phone cover. A variety of sensitivity levels is available, ranging from 3 to approximately 65.500 lux and 0.03 to 655 lux.

“This means that now, for the first time, our customers can optimize the device for their respective application – from the operating distance to the sensitivity of the ambient light sensor,” noted Bianka Schnabel, Product Marketing Manager for the SFH 7773 sensor. “Due to this considerably simplified design and flexibility of use, combined ambient light and proximity functions become more attractive for the mid-price segment of smart phones and other portable devices.”

For more information on the use of SFH 7773 and the topic of crosstalk, check out the application note.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH
www.osram-os.com

Spectris to acquire Omega Engineering for $475 million

Spectris plc, the productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Omega Engineering business. Omega is a leading supplier of process measurement and control instrumentation across a broad range of categories, including automation, wireless, test and measurement, process control, power monitoring, environmental and lab equipment.

Founded in 1962, Omega has grown steadily and is now an established global leader in the technical marketplace. The company offers over 100,000 state-of-the-art solutions for measurement of temperature, pressure, flow, level, strain, humidity, pH and conductivity, as well as a comprehensive line of data acquisition, electric heating and custom engineered products.

“We are delighted to have reached agreement to acquire the Omega Engineering business, which will bring a significant strategic growth platform to Spectris,” said John O’Higgins, Chief Executive of Spectris. “Omega will continue to serve its customers with innovative products and outstanding service. With its focus on control of temperature, pressure, flow and other common industrial process measurements, Omega is a natural fit for our industrial controls segment and enables us to expand our product offering to customers globally.”

Spectris plc is a leading supplier of productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls. The company’s products and technologies help customers to improve product quality and performance, improve core manufacturing processes, reduce downtime and wastage, and reduce time to market. Its global customer base spans a diverse range of end user markets.

Spectris operates across four business segments, which reflect the applications and industries it serves: Materials Analysis, Test and Measurement, In-line Instrumentation and Industrial Controls. Headquartered in Egham, Surrey, England, the company employs over 6,400 people, with offices in more than 30 countries.

Spectris plc.
www.spectris.com

Omega Engineering
www.omega.com