Mentor Blogs

This geek is excitedly gearing up for the Mentor Graphics Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) for mil/aero design engineers, managers, and executives. Thank you to those who have written with questions. I would like to allay any concerns, such as those of professionals whom have previously been burned by or are skeptical of the value of free, vendor-hosted events. Fear not! Yet, I can understand … Read More

Hardware, Geek, IESF, Mil-Aero, Design Automation, Milaero, Military, Aerospace, Software, Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum, Embedded Systems, Mentor, Engineer, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, electrical

Mentor Graphics’ free, must-attend mil/aero event is less than one month away. The company has announced the event’s agenda, which includes an impressive 23 sessions. The beauty of it is that attendees, of which I am one, can essentially build their own event, tailoring the day to their exact individual needs. To simplify things, however, Mentor Graphics officials have devised three breakout tracks … Read More

Geek, Engineer, Hardware, Computer, Mentor.com, COTS, Mil-Aero, Milaero, Aerospace, Military, IESF, Electronic, Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum, Embedded Systems, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Design Automation

Mentor Graphics has just revealed the program for its upcoming Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) 2011. If you’re not familiar with IESF, it’s one of the world’s leading events for design engineers, engineering management, and executives in the military and aerospace (mil/aero) industry. Even better, it’s free and in a great summer locale: the Marriott Long Beach hotel, in Long Beach, Calif. … Read More

ASIC, Long Beach, electrical, Milaero, Mentor, Aerospace, Marriot, Military, Embedded Systems, Geek, Engineer, Electronic, Mil-Aero, FPGA, EWIS, DO-254, IESF, Hardware, Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum, Mentor.com, ARP 475A, Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics’ Military & Aerospace Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) 2011 is coming up fast on the calendar – Tuesday, September 13 in Long Beach, California. This is a companion event to our Automotive IESF 2011 held in Detroit, Michigan in early June. And just like the June event, Military & Aerospace IESF will be chock-full of technical content. The September 13 event focuses … Read More

IESF, Military, Aerospace, System Design

Prices keep rising and rising. Virtually everything costs more today than even just a couple months ago. In fact, a quick glance at the inflation rate (http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/historical-inflation-rates/) reveals that it doubled between Jan. 2011 and April 2011—and the upward trend continues. Times are tough. Budgets are tight. Yet, mil/aero professionals still want and need … Read More

Mentor, IESF, Mentor Graphics, Design Automation, Aerospace, Engineer, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Geek, electrical, Milaero, Embedded Systems, Military

A few weeks ago I wrote a post titled Pushbutton Cars in which I lamented my experience with a rental car whose ignition was activated by a pushbutton, rather than a key in the ignition switch. I still don’t understand all the reasons for using the pushbutton, but I suppose it met some marketing requirement or design specification. Since I don’t see pushbuttons in many cars, it appears the idea … Read More

IESF

If you haven’t already signed up for IESF (Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum) Automotive, here is the link:  http://lyris.mentor-info.com/t/231322/15801563/18190/5846/  IESF is scheduled for June 2 at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn (MI). If you’ve attended IESF in past years you know its value for both quality technical presentations and networking. I am looking forward to hearing John McElroy (Autoline) … Read More

IESF, IBM, General Motors, Mentor Graphics, The Hansen Report, Autoline, AUTOSAR

The next installment of Mentor Graphics’ Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) is scheduled for June 2 in Detroit, Michigan. As I’ve mentione before, we typically host two or three IESF events each year in different cities around the United States. Topics vary a bit, depending on the location, but all are chock-full of technical content. The June 2 event focuses on automotive design and … Read More

IESF, AUTOSAR

Aren’t we just all happy people to be living in the information golden age? Maybe it just seems good now, and in a couple of centuries this will be seen as the iron age of information technology, one step on from the hunter-gatherers’ life of gleaning scraps of wisdom from the library shelves. At our disposal is a mighty array of data sources, and still, it sometimes is very significant … Read More

IESF, Detroit, Mentor Communities, automotive wiring harness, Capital, Automotive Electrical and Electronic Systems Design, CHS, Customer Support, Capital Harness Systems, Capital Library

Out and about on the last day of January I saw a house which still  sported the snowflake outdoor lights and the colored lights on the fir tree. That’s a little late, the second month just starting. And the year seems to be moving quickly to me. Capital 2010.2 released and already installed on a few computers I can mention and people are exploring the Capital Modular XC harness design capabilities … Read More

electrical wiring systems, Electrical Distribution Systems, IESF, autosar tools, Capital Harness Systems, automotive wiring harness, circuit design software, user conferences, vehicle wiring products, Detroit, car electrical system, wire harness cad, CHS, wire harness design

Since I began working in the realm of software systems for electrical interconnect design I have seen increased user choice in on-and off-road vehicles. I have read the technical papers and marvelled at the memorable phrase “combinatorial explosion” used to refer to the options a buyer of a high-end new passenger car is able to order. Choice is good right? If you are fortunate enough to be able to … Read More

John Antilla, IESF, Virtual Architect, Capital Desktop Architect, Capital Integrator, Automotive Electrical and Electronic Systems Design, Wiring Harness, Complexity Management, Electrical Interconnect Design, Chrysler, CHS, CHS Capital Costing

The heading sentence suitably filled out is a useful standby next time your manager asks you about why you have wandered into his office at 11 in the morning smelling of fried okra and stale garlic with a bemused look on your face. Hmm. On second thoughts, don’t - just stay out of her/his way and make yourself inconspicuous. In the last few weeks I have been experiencing one illustration after another … Read More

IESF, IESD, CHS

One of the highlights for me at IESF for the past three years now has been Paul Hansen’s presentation. You may know that Paul is the editor and publisher of The Hansen Report on Automotive Electronics (http://hansenreport.com), a highly respected newsletter. IESF attendees this year are receiving a free, three-month subscription. There has been a lot of negativity in the news lately, some of which … Read More

Hybrid Vehicles, Electronic Stability Control Brake Assist, Hyundai Mobis, Toyota, Aadaptive Front Lighting, Pedestrian Safety, Airbags, Tegra 2, The Hansen Report on Automotive Electronics, ABS, Tire Pressure Monitoring, IESF, Driver Assistance Systems, Kia, Electric Vehicles, Nvidia, Back-up Cameras, Paul Hansen, CSM Worldwide

In my last blog post, I highlighted Mentor Graphics’ IESF Automotive 2010 event which is now officially in the history books. While I didn’t get to sit-in on all of the presentations (I was working a demo stand, chatting with attendees, and had a couple of presentations myself), I learned a few interesting tidbits from several of our guest speakers. John Antilla from Chrysler talked about the challenges … Read More

IESF, AUTOSAR

Ten days left to the event at the Dearborn Grand Hyatt. The number of registrations is running close to the high water mark which was reached the last event.   Join the people flocking to participate in this free conference by visiting http://www.mentor.com/events/transconf/detroit/  This time around attendees are spared a presentation or a paper delivered by myself.  Therefore my personal preparations … Read More

Cabling, Capital Harness Systems, Automotive Electrical and Electronic Systems Design, CHS, IESF