Electronic devices dominate the modern world. A PCB circuit board is at the core of any gadget, whether be a silent vitals monitor or a smartphone with endless notifications. The production of printed circuit boards has expanded over time in response to the demand for electronic circuitry that is newer, quicker, and more complicated. However, PCB design may be the ideal career path for an engineer who enjoys physical creation, puzzle-solving, and electronics. There is still room for electrical engineers to cooperate with PCB designers even if they don’t want to be PCB designers or layout engineers.
However, there isn’t a degree specialising in designing printed circuit boards or PCB layouts for people who work in that field. Instead, there are industry-level courses that you may take as part of your study to help close the knowledge gap between a standard academic engineering curriculum and what the market needs from professional designers. The Printed Circuit Engineering Association’s PCE-EDU course and the IPC Certified Interconnect Designer (CID) course are two courses in industry-level design. But first, we should know what PCB and PCB Design are.
Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
A PCB is a rigid structure with electrical circuitry made up of embedded metallic surfaces called traces and larger areas of metal called planes. Metal pads on the board are soldered with components to connect them to the board’s circuitry. It makes it possible to link components. The circuitry may be spread across one, two, or more layers of a board.
Circuit boards are constructed using a dielectric core material with limited electrical conductivity, interspersed with additional metal and dielectric layers as necessary, to ensure pure circuitry transmission. Copper is typically utilised for the metal lines and planes of the circuitry. In contrast, the common dielectric material for circuit boards is FR-4, a flame-resistant composite made of woven fibreglass fabric and epoxy resin.
Printed Circuit Board or PCB Design
Your electronic circuits come to physical life through printed circuit board (PCB) design. The component placement and routing are combined with layout software throughout the PCB design process to specify electrical connectivity on a printed circuit board.
PCB Design Course Online
The PCB designing courses offered by several platforms such as Coursera, Unacademy and several others are designed to help professionals and students who want to add PCB design to their important career skills. Students who take up PCB design courses get to understand and learn the necessary software and design skills for entry-level positions in the PCB design sector. PCB designing courses enable a well-rounded learning curve, from a fundamental comprehension of electronics concepts to circuit diagram reading skills to complex schematic and PCB layout designing.
A PCB DESIGN COURSE also imparts the skills listed below to make students successful candidates for jobs in the field.
⦁ Good understanding of electronic components
⦁ Strong knowledge of PCBs
⦁ Experience working with CAD software such as AutoCAD, OrCAD or PADS
⦁ Knowledge of RF and analogue layouts
⦁ A clear understanding of PCB layer stack up
⦁ Knowledge of common PCB design rules
⦁ Experience working with and designing engineering drawings
⦁ Ability to maintain and create libraries
⦁ Proficient in MS Office suite
⦁ Proficient in BOM
⦁ Experience in Configuration Management
⦁ Strong learning drive
⦁ Ability to utilise the right tools at the right time
If you want to pursue design as a career, or take up power electronics courses online, make sure you enrol yourself in a beginner course and then in the level-up courses to have a flourishing and successful career.