Should folks building small numbers of circuit boards use surface-mount parts, or should they stick with through-hole components that are so much easier to handle and solder (not to mention see)? I spend my days and nights surrounded by printed... Read more
In designing my YouDoYou lapel pin for the upcoming Open Source Hardware Summit (March 13, 2020 in New York city), I had a couple of firsts. This was my first design using a lot of 0201 passives and this was... Read more
Some parts just look cooler than others. I really like the super tiny WLCSP (wafer level chip scale package) BGAs that some newer ARM microcontroller and power components come in. They not only fit the "smaller is cooler" mantra, but... Read more
Yes. If you want us to install it, it must go in the bill of materials. For the most part, we solder thru-hole and surface mount components on the PC boards. As pretty much everyone knows, all of those parts... Read more
I really need to get back to writing about techniques and technology, but today, it's parts again. Parts pricing, specifically. We have some tariffs coming up on parts imported from China, starting on July 6th. Specifically, a 25% tariff will... Read more
I recently participated in the Altium pod cast where I discussed the origins of Screaming Circuits, some DFM hints and a few other topics. I was discussing some of the challenges everyone is having these days in procuring components and... Read more
Have you purchased any electronics components lately? Have you tried and failed to do so lately? Allocation is the word of the day and substitutions are your friend. Many, many parts are in short supply, or unavailable with extraordinarily long... Read more
The QFN (quad flat pack, no leads) package can no longer be considered exotic. It was when I first wrote about it a decade ago, but not any more. In fact, with the wafer scale BGA, it's one of the... Read more
Our all-things-about-electronics manufacturing standards body, the IPC, specifies the proper numbering order for most components. That's a pretty nice thing that they do there, but it's not always enough to prevent layout mishaps. Case in point a line of small... Read more
There are a lot of components that require special handling. Some days, "special" requirements seem more the norm than the exception. But, every now and then, we see something that puts even those special components to shame. Not long ago,... Read more
