IESF 2013: PCB System Design and Mechanical Analysis

TECHNICAL SESSION The design of complex PCB systems requires the coordinated efforts of extended design teams as well as leveraging the intellectual property of the company such as component libraries and re-usable designs. This requires data management infrastructure that is specifically tuned to the PCB design process, as well as a collaboration protocol between the design team and the supporting corporate infrastructure. This session will illustrate Mentor's successful capabilities in this area.

TECHNICAL SESSION The engineering of a complex system of multiple PCBs by a team of engineers requires not only an advanced systems definition capability but also the ability of teams of engineers to define the system and the design constraints concurrently. This session will illustrate Mentor's technology that is unique in the industry where multiple engineers can work on the same schematic and define high speed constraints on a system concurrently while viewing their peers' edits real time. It will also describe the ability to define the multi-PCB system top-down with automated backplane and cable integrity.

TECHNICAL SESSION In this session we will present the future of thermal simulation for aerospace and defense electronics, including infotainment, navigation, or tactical and/or mission-critical systems. This new technology will speed up the overall design process and enable better, more accurate, and efficient thermal analysis. We will show how to stay in the loop with the latest electrical design for thermal simulation and how to leverage the information that comes with the ECAD design for even faster simulation setup and accuracy, enabling engineers to get the design right the first time and be even faster to market than ever before. This future simulation technology is the key to all thermal designs decisions that enable better SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) of any industry-related electronics.

TECHNICAL SESSION One critical factor in thermal management of electronics systems is being able to accurately evaluate component level thermal behavior. When operating in a system, component performance can be influenced by many factors such as the operating conditions, the system environment and even the component manufacturing process and quality.Gaining a detailed understanding of the component thermal characteristics allows system designers to select the most suitable and reliable components for their application from vendors. It also helps them to assess the impact of thermal cycling on performance, and where it can potentially lead to a component failure due to component structure degradation. This session will focus on how thermal characterization of semi-conductor components via repeatable, accurate testing methods, can be applied to assess component reliability to improve overall component/system performance in mission critical applications.

TECHNICAL SESSION Poor reliability of a product can lead to extensive warranty cost, product recalls, and bad reputation. There are many causes of poor reliability, such as excessive heat, vibration and shock, marginal manufacturing, and poor power distribution network design. This session will discuss how virtual prototyping analysis can predict long-term reliability issues and help designers eliminate them without the use of expensive and time-consuming physical prototypes and test chamber testing.