What is PCB design? This term refers to the whole process of creating a printed circuit board (PCB). It involves creating the schematic, simulating it, building the layout, designing wire routing, testing, and finally assembling the PCB. Do you want to learn more? Then keep reading!
What Is Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Design?
Small electronics, car systems, vital aircraft devices, and even smartphones are all embedded systems—a combination of hardware and software created to perform certain predefined tasks. As different as they might seem, all these devices share several traits, one of which is running on printed circuit boards (PCBs).
On the other hand, PCB design is the process of creating such boards. It is multi-step and requires extensive collaboration and often specialized equipment, depending on the type of PCB you want to build. You can learn more about these types in our article: What Is a PCB?
Steps in the PCB Design Process
What does the PCB design process look like? It involves the following stages:
- Creating a schematic including the PCB's electrical elements and their function.
- Producing a prototype(s).
- Testing the prototypes with electrical bring-ups.
- Software/firmware development.
- Maintenance.
As you can see, it is quite a complex process that requires both electrical hardware knowledge and the ability to code the firmware. The maintenance stage is optional and depends on who carries out the project—at Conclusive, we believe that it is essential to review your PCBs; therefore, we offer maintenance with our services.
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At Conclusive, we offer you customer PCB design and manufacturing services. Our team of experts will carry out your project end-to-end, ensuring it aligns with your business goals. Contact us today! |
What Is PCB Design Used for?
PCB design services are mostly used to create custom printed circuit boards—ones that are adjusted to the needs of the project. Therefore, you might need them if you:
- Need a specific PCB that will fit into a predefined device size.
- Seek more efficient solutions than standard PCBs.
As such, PCB design services are mostly sought after in specific industries. Wherever there is a need for excellent performance in embedded systems, device manufacturers opt for custom PCB design services. Such industries include:
- healthcare and medical devices,
- aviation,
- automotive industry.
Let’s look at an example to better showcase this. What happens if a vital signals monitor fails at a hospital? The staff won’t be able to reach and help the patient on time. This is why such devices do not use standard technology but rather custom PCBs designed for maximum efficiency and error-proofing.
What Is the Role of a PCB Designer?
Let’s make one thing clear: although you might find PCB designer jobs or people who claim to work as a PCB designer, in most cases, it’s much more complicated; since PCB design requires a plethora of skills, businesses usually look for individuals with certain skills. This is why we can distinguish multiple specialties:
- PCB firmware designer,
- PCB layout designer,
- electronics engineer,
- PCB R&D designer.
To ensure excellence and high quality, every step of the printed circuit board design process may be performed by a different specialist from the same team. However, this adds an extra layer of complexity since the whole team needs to communicate with each other to prepare a functional prototype and finally manufacture a complete PCB.
PCB Designer Roles
Knowing what PCB designer types might be, let’s look at all the roles they could undertake in the PCB design process. These include:
- Layout design,
- customizing standard PCBs,
- wire routing design,
- PCB assembly.
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Our team of experts at Conclusive is ready to help you build a printed circuit board that is ideal for your project. We focus on you and your business goals, which are the leading points for our design process. We also employ multiple specialists in firmware design, layout design, wiring, and manufacturing. Contact us now and discover how we can help you! |
Why Should You Opt for PCB Design Services?
Outsourcing PCB design services is an excellent choice for multiple reasons. You should opt for them if you:
- Produce embedded systems but do not have the required resources (expertise, equipment) to build prototypes and design PCB layouts.
- You have the required equipment but want to benefit from extensive expertise in the form of an efficient PCB design.
- You lack sufficient experience in your type of project, and you are looking for a team that can align the design with your business goals.
In many cases (as with us at Conclusive), you can hire a team of PCB designers as a part of more complex, end-to-end embedded system design services. You may also decide whether you need your design services to be combined with manufacturing or whether you just need a project for your PCB. This flexibility is often crucial, as it helps you optimize the costs and time required to create your products.
The Takeaway
What is PCB design? It is a type of service focused on creating a functional project of custom printed circuit boards. It involves planning the layout and wiring, prototyping, and improving your PCB until it is ready to be mass-produced. Such services are complex and require multiple skills; therefore, specialized companies usually hire a whole team of experts in different fields to create efficient PCBs. If you don’t have the resources to do so, do not worry—you can partner with us at Conclusive!
You may also read: Where to Find Good Firmware Development Services