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December 2011

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Subject:
From:
Ahne Oosterhof <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
TechNet E-Mail Forum <[log in to unmask]>, Ahne Oosterhof <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:36:10 -0800
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Thanks Inge.

I was one of the lucky ones, to work for a large company where the president
knew a lot! And he was willing to ask questions to find out what you knew
and why you did things a certain way, without putting anyone down.
And we had a design process where everyone was involved and could speak up.
Unfortunately, not everyone did at the right time, so some problems still
leaked out into manufacturing. But before they got to the customers three
sets of products were built to get the kinks out. And the end product always
was gorgeous and most engineers still admire the products from that time,
both for their performance and for their appearance. 
I guess that generation of designers was and still is proud of their work,
which is why they are (with hardly any help of the company) putting together
a museum of those products. (see VintageTek.org) 

Happy New Year, without burnt fingers and let's hope for a lot more DFM and
DFU (design for usability).
Ahne.

-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Inge
Sent: 25 December, 2011 13:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] PCB Design Rant

Not only in the PWB world..,.some of you had a seat in whole day meeting
with chairs designed with 90 degrees support for the back. Instead of a
chair, one got a torture tool. Or when you are going to mount a 110 V plug
on a outdoor cable. Your unscrew the plug's cover and open it and then you
realize, too late, that the little screw fell to the muddy ground and
disappeared. Or the high speed hand held grinding machine that did not start
again, because the springs that press the carbons against the collector were
too weak. Or some cigarette lightners that are so idiotic done,  that you
get the hot flame on your thumb instead of on the cigarett. Or the laptops
that have not distances to stand on, so there will come no input cooling air
and the poor circulation fan is running to death when trying to get air. As
you said, the list could be long. Now I come to what makes me groan: when
you point at the bad design (which is  NOT solely about the outer shape) you
get the answer ' man, what can you expect from a piece that costs you only
one geen. What a lost sole! He does apperently not know, that the owner of
the company lives as a billionaire on the Bahamas. And HE uses a Ronson when
he lights his havanna cigar.

I meet bad designs every day and so do we all. It's the mentality today for
many people. Why bother? Why wake up at midnight and make a sketch for a new
concept?  Why work in the lab voluntarily over the weekend for so few
dollars ?  Etc. When the younger came in to my office (I'm retired now) they
marvelled when they saw my fact and knowledge backup. They shrugged and
meant ' poor old man...we are only on a temporary mission.. have other
goals'.  True. I belong to the idiots that had no time to jump in zigzag to
the top positions. On the other hand....I stood one day in the rain on the
bank of a local little creek. I studied the small dippers in my binoculars. 
Heard a voice close to my right and turned, It was the president of the
company where I worked . We chatted about this and that, and he asked me
about my job (he knew me a little from the organisation plan). I told him
about the struggle against cost, time, technical obstacles, but also about
the amusing and funny moments.  His comment :  ' Happy man, you know lots. I
became president and now I know nothing'.

Inge



----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Wolfe" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 4:36 PM
Subject: Re: [TN] PCB Design Rant


My Turn on The Soap Box
I 100% agree with yours & Pete Houwen's comments

No offense to anyone just starting out in design, don't take this the wrong 
way, but I absolutely CRINGE
when I read some of the questions posted here & mostly on the Designers 
Council forum about design.
Like "What is a via?" Pretty scary stuff!!!!!!!!
I keep hoping I won't be buying any products designed by these people.
Problem is everyone needs to start someplace
(however it would help though to have at least one other Sr. level person 
with you in the dept as a Mentor)
It is a good thing is we have these types of forums & the fact that they are

actually asking questions
and not blindly muddling along is somewhat comforting. But an email forum 
can't replace formal training.
Proper training in both design & CAD tool should be absolutely 
required!!!!!!
Once one has had extensive design experience & been thru a few CAD systems 
only then should one consider self training on a new CAD system.
But formal training does shorten that learning curve substantially.
Happy Holidays
Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rex Waygood
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 7:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [TN] PCB Design Rant

A follow on from
QFP centre slug over signal vias

There are some interesting comments in the QFP thread which are to do
with PCB design and they have caused me to pull out my current soap box.

I would like to be a bit extreme and say there should be a tax of a few
thousand pounds or dollars imposed upon those that give away free CAD
packages. The money raised should be provided to vendors who sell real
CAD packages to subsidise PCB layout training in order to allow cost
effective and reliable pcb design, assembly design, rework and design
for test to be taught properly.

Why is it that an electronics engineer will design a circuit and then
feel that he is competent to lay out the circuit using a free CAD
package? The fact that the CAD package was free meant that management
were not involved and the consequences of a PCB being laid out by
someone with little or no knowledge of the pcb industry or even the
assembly industry were not considered.

The list of stupid things we see is very long, it results in pcbs and
assemblies being more expensive to procure, less reliable to
manufacture, difficult to make, impossible to test, slower to get into
production and just downright rubbish. The free CAD package cannot
provide intelligent data means that a reverse engineering process is
required to attempt to undo some of the stupidities we see. Words like
DRC and libraries are an unknown for many using these packages.

Also I'd rather tell a six year old that Fred, their pet turkey, is
required as a sacrifice for thanks giving day than explain to a young
circuit designer with a free CAD package that he is delving into areas
that he should stay out of and that his layout is very bad. That doesn't
mean I don't do it but Fred's demise is easier.

I could go on but mince pies are calling
Happy winter solstice
Rex




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