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Zuken’s 2014 Webinar Series is a Hit!

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A couple of weeks ago we had our first live webinar of the 2014 Technical Webinar series, featuring Hans-Peter Bleher talking about component tolerance detection in cable and harness design.  A topic that resonated with the audience based on the number of attendees.

If your to do list was too much that day to prevent you from attending, fear not, Hans-Peter did a recording. Because the way people map out electrical diagrams in the USA and Europe is different, he created a couple of versions to make it a bit easier for our viewers.  Thanks Hans-Peter.

You can view the webinar here.

Power Integrity Essentials webinar this week

Griff Derryberry is next on the stage, with his webinar on Power Integrity Essentials for the PCB Design Process.

Eye DiagramWorried about your Power Distribution System – then you don’t want to miss this one.  The webinar, like all the others, is being run on two days. On Tuesday at the earlier time of 2pm GMT for people located in Europe and Wednesday 11am PDT for people in the Americas.

The webinar will be available on-demand afterwards, but I’d recommend attending live where you can ask questions and get immediate replies from the presenter.

–        Tuesday March 11 2pm GMT

–        Wednesday March 12 11am PDT

See you in the next few days.

 

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PCB West 2014 – It has been a year already!

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As you may remember about a year ago, Zuken announced an investment and commitment to the US market. The announcement was made at PCB West 2013 with Zuken’s COO and CTO attending. An important part of the announcement was the opening of an R&D facility in Silicon Valley to be closer to our users. The event was marked by a poolside celebration with customers, partners, prospects and friends. It was an exciting step for Zuken USA.

A lot has changed in a year – we have been busy:

The list goes on. You should be seeing and hearing more about Zuken these days. And we hope you like what you hear. We are excited about the future.

Zuken Americas attended PCB West 2014 in a big way. With two booths and a large staff, Zuken’s presence was felt. The two booths focused on CR-8000 and CADSTAR respectively. CR-8000 is the only product-centric design flow in the market. If you want to learn more about CR-8000, a recent article in EDN about next generation product-centric design and how it differs from PCB-centric design is a great resource. Zuken also presented a couple of technical papers on Power Integrity and Tackling Single and Multi-board Design Challenges. We will be making those presentations available so look for the notification. And let’s not forget the Zuken Chill Zone sponsorship – who can resist ice cream?

PCB West 2014 was a huge success for Zuken USA. We had the opportunity to meet with old friends and make some new ones. If you couldn’t make it, we hope to see you at an upcoming event.

Get to Know Zuken!

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NASA Partner Stone Aerospace Saves $20,000 and 12 Weeks Thanks to E3.series

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Stone AerospaceStone Aerospace, a partner in NASA’s Europa Clipper mission concept, was under a tight deadline when NASA tasked the Texas-based company with designing a one-of-a-kind underwater autonomous vehicle (AUV). The AUV was built to perform deep under Antarctic ice – the most Jupiter-like condition on Earth – and serve as a prototype for a future mission to Europa.

E3.series Deployment Highlights:

  • Eliminated $20,000 of cable rework and expedited delivery costs
  • Reduced design cycle by 12 weeks
  • Viewed the electrical and physical design of the entire craft in one hierarchal view
  •  Improved design team collaboration
  • Ensured correct connector selections with automated checks

Read the full success story.

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I wish I could use PCB design software to pack my suitcase

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CR-8000 2015.1Weren’t the summer holidays great?

Perhaps you had long warm days outside…time on your hands to spend with friends and family. Maybe even some rejuvenating sun, sea and sand.

But before all that there’s usually some hard work you need to put in before you get the relaxation payback. Planning, travel logistics and – unfortunately – packing.

With the event season now upon us, which started for me with PCB West, the travel ‘s about to begin again…

As we were preparing for PCB West, the idea of packing my suitcase connected with some of the cool new features in our product design software. Packing a suitcase isn’t that different than packing a product enclosure with electronics, battery, wires, connectors, etc. And one of our recent enhancements made packing the enclosure a lot easier. Designers can get a much more accurate product enclosure fit check earlier in the design process. The point is to avoid the heart-sinking (embarrassing and costly) moment that up to half of designers’ experience when they reach the prototype stage and realize something changed in the specification, and they now have a clearance problem in a hard-to-see corner of the enclosure.

The awkward shape problem

Thinking back to packing. I’d like you to cast your mind back to the last suitcase you packed. You probably have a default suitcase for your trip length. You laid out most of the things you wanted to take and tried to fit them in taking account of anything fragile, which maybe you wrapped in clothes. Then you grouped a few important items together in a bag like toiletries, glasses and medical kit. And you leave those shirts you’re hoping not to have to iron again until last – unless you’re a fan of the roll-it-all-up approach.

PCB layout designers have similar restrictions on where components can fit. They need to safeguard components with fragile connectors, for example, by avoiding touching the case or bending in areas with height restrictions, which could create a failure. They also don’t want to put sensitive components near heat sources.

There are always those component placements that have to take into account the shape of the enclosure – a bit like those annoying ingresses you get on the bottom of roller suitcases where the extending handles go. Then there’s PCB placement groups such as USB ports, which need to be easily accessible, and HDMI ports and power connectors, which generally go at the back of a product out of the way.

Accurate 3D vision

Of course when you’re packing your suitcase you have the benefit of a complete 3D view and you can see the exact size and shape of all the items. Closing the lid is not a problem.

Which is a little like what you get with the latest update of CR-8000 Design Force. Instead of using stylized shapes defined by boundary boxes, CR-8000 Design Force now uses a true 3D component model with a precisely-matched 3D shape, making enclosure collision checks and 3D clearance checks much more accurate. And making fastening the enclosure lid straightforward.

If only I could use it to pack for Siemens Solid Edge University!

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To find out more about getting clearance analysis to a true component shape, check out this movie:

Click here to view the embedded video.

or see www.zuken.com/design-force

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How do you take your coffee?

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coffeeThe Zuken team likes its coffee, a lot! I don’t want to exclude the tea drinkers, but yesterday was National Coffee Day 2015 (September 29th) so we are going to talk about coffee.

At PCB West this year, Zuken sponsored the coffee cart – this was a first for Zuken and PCB West – and it generated quite a buzz on the show floor! Attendees could enjoy a cup of coffee or event their choice of a latte, cappuccino, iced coffee, etc. from Peet’s Coffee. There was only one catch…to get the free coffee coupon they had to answer a couple of questions.

In honor of National Coffee Day, we asked “How do you take your coffee? Now this is typically a caffeinated bunch so I was a bit surprised to find the majority like it with cream and sugar (44%). A little disappointing to us coffee purists who like it black (29%) and want to enjoy that full robust taste. Next came cream only (21%) and then the sugar only preference (2%). Some interesting data to think about next time you visit the coffee machine!

Coffee statsZuken’s goal at PCB West was to change the conversation from 2D PCB-centric design methodology to 3D product-centric design methodology. In support of that new conversation, Zuken delivered four technical papers all related to 3D product-centric design ranging from IC packaging to product-level architectural validation. If you want learn more about product-centric design, take a cloud-based CR-8000 Test Drive.

Congratulations to the PCB West organizers for putting on another successful event. Attendance was record-setting and exhibitor participation was exceptional. We look forward to participating next year. Don’t forget to stop by our booth, grab a cup of coffee and “Get to Know Zuken.”

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NASA Partner Stone Aerospace Saves $20,000 and 12 Weeks Thanks to E3.series

I wish I could use PCB design software to pack my suitcase

How do you take your coffee?

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The Zuken team likes its coffee, a lot! I don’t want to exclude the tea drinkers, but yesterday was National Coffee Day 2015 (September 29th) so we are going to talk about coffee. At PCB...

The post How do you take your coffee? appeared first on Zuken Blog.


Predictive Failure Analysis Can Improve Product Quality – Part 1 of 2

Predictive Failure Analysis Can Improve Product Quality: The Reality – Part 2 of 2

Hardware Architecture Design Becomes the Next Competitive Requirement

Translating New Product Requirements into Hardware Architecture

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Defining initial hardware architecture requires many decisions, most of which impact a variety of different stakeholders and requirements – including multiple design tools – circuit design, PCB layout, mechanical design, spreadsheets, etc. that are used to track different elements of the design.

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Design Discipline Convergence Continues with the CR-8000 2017 Release

3 Simple Steps to Improving Product Quality with a Connected Device

A System of Systems Design Approach

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The traditional PCB-centric design process is being replaced by a system-centric process. The system can be defined as the final product (e.g., camera) or one of the many components that comprise a product (e.g., 1 of 80 electronic control units in a car). Product complexity is driving this profound shift away from a focus on detailed design toward a systems engineering approach.

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Zuken’s Most Watched Webinars of 2017

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As the year winds down, we invite you to check out our most viewed webinars of 2017. The Technical Webinar Series is a blend of forward looking topics like Model Based Systems Engineering and every day design challenges. We hope you find the webinar format useful and engaging.

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E/E Design Process Evolution with MBSE

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This is an exciting time in the product development world. Increasing product complexity is driving the need for a design process evolution. Not long ago the detailed design process was the centerpiece of product development. But the need for functional and physical design accuracy is forcing the product development process to evolve. In response, the product development process is both converging and expanding.

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Use Better DFM Checks to Improve Flex PCB Manufacturing Productivity

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Flex designs pose unique challenges for most PCB tools because traditional object checks don't account for Flex checks nuances. They present a new set of objects that are best accounted for during the design phase. 

This forces designers to incorporate changes after the design data is off to manufacturing for build. The manufacturer must then perform the Flex-based checks on the design and relay the issues back to the designer. This leads to a frustrating loop that delays product releases and wastes money. 

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Lower Manufacturing Costs with XJTAG’s New Design Gateway Plugin

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XJTAG has partnered with Zuken create a new plugin for Design Gateway and is offering it free of charge. The plugin, called XJTAG DFT Assistant, helps to validate correct JTAG chain connectivity, while displaying boundary scan access and coverage onto the schematic diagram through full integration with Design Gateway. So if you are using boundary scan today or want to incorporate it in your next design, the XJTAG DFT Assistant plugin is a tool you should be using

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A Record-setting Zuken Innovation World Americas

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Zuken Innovation World Americas 2018 took place recently in San Diego and was record-setting! This was by far the largest ZIW event held in the Americas based on registrations, partners and international visitor attendance. Customer participation also set a record with over 25% of the sessions being delivered by customers. But, breaking records is only part of the story.

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