Buddy the Board Takes a Trip

All of our assembly work for Screaming Circuits takes place right here in Canby, Oregon and most of our blank PCBs are built by Sunstone Circuits, ten miles away, in Mulino, Oregon. But that doesn't mean that we aren't a... Read more

The taxes, they are a-changin'

What's that? Sales tax on the Internet, you say? Unfortunately, very soon we will have to say that. Due to a recent Supreme Court ruling, the internet is no longer a sales tax-free zone. Actually, it never was. It's just... Read more

Halloween Time on the Assembly Floor

It's not about what happens late at night after all the workers have gone home, because they don't go home at night. At Screaming Circuits, our lines run 24 hours a day, six or seven days a week. The robots... Read more

All Done and Ready to Go! Or is It?

Most of what I write about here on the Screaming Circuits blog relates to DFM (design for manufacturing) and PCB layout best practices. Being in the business of prototype and on demand manufacturing (POD), we are frequently exposed to the... Read more

PCB TIP OF THE DAY - AVOID COSTLY CONNECTOR MISTAKES WITH PROPER MECHANICAL DRAWINGS

Almost every PCB needs to interface with the outside world in some way or another, or interface with other PCB’s within the internal structure. This means that power and I/O connectors are very common, and unfortunately requirements are commonly overlooked.... Read more

PCB DESIGN TIP OF THE DAY: CLEARLY DEFINE YOUR "KEEP OUT" ZONES

Similar to the connector issue, it’s vital that you clearly define any “keep out” zones intended for aspects such as mounting holes or sensitive circuitry. While you are defining those zones, remember that solder mask isn’t considered a reliable insulator,... Read more

150 Years of Predicting the Elements of Electronics: Part 4 - Palladium

A Few Words from Sara Shepherd, Screaming Circuits Contributing Blogger... Welcome back to our fourth installment celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table and the elements in it that make circuitry possible. Today we take a closer look at... Read more

PCB Design Tip of the Day: Connectors - Which Side is Up?

PCB Design Tip of the Day: Ensure Connector Locations & Orientations are Correct Connectors, especially thru-hole connectors, present opportunities for error in both layout and in assembly. First, it's not always obvious to the PCB layout specialist which side of... Read more

Those Who Remember Gray Code

Most people in the electronics world are familiar with the now quite old and trite pun: "There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't." If you never had the privilege of... Read more

PCB Design Tip of the Day

There’s nothing like a good synonym roll, just like Grammar used to make. AKA Semantics do matter in schematics, especially when dealing with multi-page schematic diagrams, reusing schematic sections or working on a team project. Tip of the day: Use... Read more