-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueLevel Up Your Design Skills
This month, our contributors discuss the PCB design classes available at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. As they explain, these courses cover everything from the basics of design through avoiding over-constraining high-speed boards, and so much more!
Opportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Rainer Beerhalter Discusses His AltiumLive Munich Presentation
January 11, 2019 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Rainer Beerhalter is a physicist, and according to his design bureau’s website, “founder, owner, and mastermind” of B GMBH. He specializes in designing large LED displays such as those used in outdoor advertising, which often contain millions of LEDs.
Rainer attended the first AltiumLive in Munich in 2017, and he’s returning to this year’s event in Munich January 15–17. I asked him to tell us about the class he’ll be teaching in Munich, and why he decided to come back for the sophomore AltiumLive show.
Andy Shaughnessy: You attended the first AltiumLive show in Munich in 2017. What made you decide to come back again?
Rainer Beerhalter: The event last year was great fun. There were so many enthusiastic attendees working in many different domains, and it was easy to talk and share experiences and information. The sessions and presenters covered a wide range of PCB design aspects and topics, so even choosing the right tracks for me was an interesting challenge. And again, I have to mention the fun we had at the main evening event.
Shaughnessy: This year, you’re giving a technical talk. What topic are you going to discuss?
Beerhalter: Altium is a powerful tool. In my daily business, I often create systems that contain similar function blocks with slight variations. Is there a way beyond cut and paste for replicating functions or blocks? The answer is yes. Altium’s answer is called multichannel design. Perhaps most of the attendees do not know this feature very well. My approach is to give a feature overview and pump it with many tips and tricks, showing how designers can benefit from time and cost savings with this powerful Altium feature.
Shaughnessy: How is the PCB business doing in Germany? It looks like the automotive sector is doing really well.
Beerhalter: From my perspective running a design service, the business is running at much more than 100% capacity. You could not get free capacity short-term in the market. Experienced designers are booked for months in advance. Automotive and upcoming EV and mobility concepts are some of the key drivers; vision systems and AI for autonomous driving follow that. These markets create a demand for experienced PCB designers (or they help educate them) and PCB products to stand for quality, reliability, and cost efficiency. Standard PCBs are produced in Far East countries, but special products like (semi-)flex, 3D, and high-temperature PCBs will still be the domain of the big EU- and U.S.-based manufacturers.
Shaughnessy: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Beerhalter: In my core domain, LED large format display design, PCB trends will be improving mechanical properties (CTE) by using new materials and processes, and creating better surface flatness and stability. The trend includes chip-on-board (COB) designs where the LED dies are glued and bonded directly to the PCB surface and conductors—not using housed LEDs (like SMD LEDs) or soldered any more. This creates many challenges when you think about how to realize 0.9-mm LED pitch and precision while building up screens of 10–20 m² at such fine resolutions. Market trends and my customers’ product ranges are going in the direction of COB; it is very exciting and will change the way I design a lot. I hope to share my ideas and positive motivation with the audience at AltiumLive. I look forward to seeing new and returning attendees.
Shaughnessy: Thanks for your time, Rainer.
Beerhalter: Thank you for the opportunity.
Visit I-007eBooks to download your copy of Altium micro eBook today:
The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to...Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
Suggested Items
iNEMI Packaging Tech Topic Series: Role of EDA in Advanced Semiconductor Packaging
04/26/2024 | iNEMIAdvanced semiconductor packaging with heterogenous integration has made on-package integration of multiple chips a crucial part of finding alternatives to transistor scaling. Historically, EDA tools for front-end and back-end design have evolved separately; however, design complexity and the increased number of die-to-die or die-to-substrate interconnections has led to the need for EDA tools that can support integration of overall design planning, implementation, and system analysis in a single cockpit.
Cadence, TSMC Collaborate on Wide-Ranging Innovations to Transform System and Semiconductor Design
04/25/2024 | Cadence Design SystemsCadence Design Systems, Inc. and TSMC have extended their longstanding collaboration by announcing a broad range of innovative technology advancements to accelerate design, including developments ranging from 3D-IC and advanced process nodes to design IP and photonics.
Ansys, TSMC Enable a Multiphysics Platform for Optics and Photonics, Addressing Needs of AI, HPC Silicon Systems
04/25/2024 | PRNewswireAnsys announced a collaboration with TSMC on multiphysics software for TSMC's Compact Universal Photonic Engines (COUPE). COUPE is a cutting-edge Silicon Photonics (SiPh) integration system and Co-Packaged Optics platform that mitigates coupling loss while significantly accelerating chip-to-chip and machine-to-machine communication.
Siemens’ Breakthrough Veloce CS Transforms Emulation and Prototyping with Three Novel Products
04/24/2024 | Siemens Digital Industries SoftwareSiemens Digital Industries Software launched the Veloce™ CS hardware-assisted verification and validation system. In a first for the EDA (Electronic Design Automation) industry, Veloce CS incorporates hardware emulation, enterprise prototyping and software prototyping and is built on two highly advanced integrated circuits (ICs) – Siemens’ new, purpose-built Crystal accelerator chip for emulation and the AMD Versal™ Premium VP1902 FPGA adaptive SoC (System-on-a-chip) for enterprise and software prototyping.
Listen Up! The Intricacies of PCB Drilling Detailed in New Podcast Episode
04/25/2024 | I-Connect007In episode 5 of the podcast series, On the Line With: Designing for Reality, Nolan Johnson and Matt Stevenson continue down the manufacturing process, this time focusing on the post-lamination drilling process for PCBs. Matt and Nolan delve into the intricacies of the PCB drilling process, highlighting the importance of hole quality, drill parameters, and design optimization to ensure smooth manufacturing. The conversation covers topics such as drill bit sizes, aspect ratios, vias, challenges in drilling, and ways to enhance efficiency in the drilling department.