The verdict is (almost) in!

The verdict is (almost) in!

In my first blog post I raised the issue that PCB developers are the “unsung heroes of innovation.” The premise was that virtually all design awards go to the mechanical or industrial world. However - it’s the innards of a product that really provide differentiation. In the blog post I talked about the smart phone wars and a Time article that presented the view that it was the hard-drive in the iPOD that really differentiated it from other players at the time. The blog post was encouraging Mentor’s users of its PCB solutions to submit designs to our annual Technology Leadership Awards (TLA).

It’s been a month now since we completed the submission process.  During the month of August, the panel of independent judges have been reviewing submissions and we will be announcing winners next week, Thursday Septemenber 10 at 12 noon EST, via a worldwide webcast.

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The submissions this year exceeded past years’ submission in terms of increasing complexity as well as the general trend of globalization. There was not one dominant country or continent - this is truly a global event.

Some of the complexity in the designs we reviewed included:

- Most use of FPGAs - 48

- Most layers - 32

- Nearly 50% incorporated HDI

- 63% incorporated Power Integrity in their design

- Largest total trace distance was 1,247,189″ (or 19.6miles)

This is just a taste. As in past years we have captured some of the TLA winners on video describing their challenges and paths to resolution.  You can see some of these videos in our multimedia section. We intend to do the same this year so that increasing awareness gets out about the complexities that you have to cope with day after day and the need to adopt technologies and methodolies in achieving your core project goals.

So please attend the webcast that announces the winners and learn more about the kind of complexities your peers around the world are coping with. If you did not submit this past year, please do so next year. We highly value all of your contributions to both our innovations as well as to the general industry.

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