And we’re back!

After a (too long) break, PCEA meetups have restarted with a bang, with two local chapter meetings, plus the first national event in PCEA history.

Professional development was the focus of both chapter meetings. This can be looked at two ways: one in terms of technology advancements and the other tied to learning the basics of placement and routing.

The pandemic is driving change, not just to the way we work, but what we work on. Per John Watson of Altium, who spoke at both meetings, “Advancements in technology are partially a result of the pandemic.” The industry “forced us into redoing the way we do things.”

As reported by PCEA chief content officer Chelsey Drysdale, Watson says designs for IoT, drones and nanotechnology, among others, were “science fiction” just a decade ago. Today, they are commonplace, and others (additive manufacturing?) are right behind them.

Yet, while today’s designs are typified by higher frequencies, smaller boards, and bigger, heavier stackups, the industry is losing experience. A survey shared by Watson suggests more than half of designers plan to retire in the next 12 months.

While I don’t buy that, there’s no question the profession is in transition. EEs are taking over more PCB design responsibilities, but when layout is only a small component of their overall job, developing proficiency is challenging. “A lot of EEs don’t want to do PCB layout. They think it’s someone else’s responsibility,” said Watson.

Let it be said colleges aren’t trade schools. We could debate the role of higher education for months, but changing the current model is not going to happen overnight, if ever. PCEA, of course, supports the efforts of companies like EMA Design Automation, which has partnered with Rochester Institute of Technology to develop a college course on PCB design (and has plans to expand that to other universities).

Meanwhile, collaborations between community colleges like Palomar in San Diego and high schools offer the infrastructure to rebuild the entry-level segment of the profession from the ground up, “starting,” as Watson says, “at step one for new designers with no experience.” Palomar also has two advanced courses for seasoned designers and plans to offer degree programs. Ultimately, the college plans to scale its program statewide.

These are the types of programs that will set the stage for replacing drafting in vocational schools, from which generations of PCB designers matriculated, with targeted college classes that prepare tomorrow’s engineers.

Supplementing this is the PCE-EDU program. We can’t say enough about this curriculum. There are, at my count, three privately developed curricula available for PCB design. Only one, however, is both current and written by a group of experienced design professionals. PCE-EDU was developed by Mike Creeden, Susy Webb, Rick Hartley, Gary Ferrari and Steph Chavez. That’s more than 180 years of design engineering experience right there. Creeden, Ferrari and Hartley have chaired IPC standards task groups for board design and high-speed, and Ferrari was coauthor of the original IPC CID program. Among them, they have trained thousands of design engineers worldwide. No one knows more about training designers than this group.

Launched last year, PCE-EDU has now certified 100 designers. Explains Creeden, who also spoke at both chapter meetings, “CPCD is crafted to create a layout engineer/designer. The curriculum is technically up to date. I need to know why I push a button before I know which button to push.” Learn more at pcea.net/pce-edu-design-engineer-curriculum.

Supplementing the chapter meetings, PCB East proved a successful return to the East coast of the US after a 13-year absence. More than 600 industry professionals registered for the event. Highlights included Gene Weiner’s keynote, which traversed a host of new technologies ranging from laminates to algorithmic engineering, which converts labor-intensive engineering processes into algorithms, permitting physical objects and entire machinery to be designed automatically. He cited Continuous Laser Assisted Deposition Technology (CLAD), a nozzle-free laser-jetting technology said to deposit material of any viscosity. The materials that can be jetted range from solder masks and pastes (Types 5 to 7), polyimides, epoxy and silicone, Weiner said.

Weiner also noted the gains made in additive manufacturing. Nano Dimension supplemented that with a special AME Academy presentation, revealing the vast potential for printed electronics. While not a panacea, AM gives every engineer the potential for quick design proof of concept. That alone makes it worth further investigation.

• Prev
• Next