Product Development Fundamentals
Electronic Product Design and development capability can be refined and enhanced only by practical experience. A student can learn these aspects by working in a Engineering Service Company.
Building Custom design Solutions for clients will build skills of component selection, black box specs, customer communication and prototype testing among many others.
A. Product Design Sections :
- Electronic Engineering - Circuit Design, PCB Design, EDA.
- Mechanical Engineering - CAD, Tool and Die Design, Enclosure
- Software Engineering Firmware - PC ware, CASE, emulators
B. Methods of Product Design :
- Design Automation. - Design and Simulation with Computer.
- Computer Aided Design - Design on Computer, Breadboard test.
- Conventional Design. - Paper design with Breadboard test
Electronic Product Design involves Electrical, Mechanical and Material Engineering too. This depends on the product complexity and the involvement of the R&D team in the component engineering too. Some products like RF and Robotics may need custom semiconductors and Some Wearable Electronics may need a custom ASIC as the heart of the device.
Circuit Design Service of delabs - Product and Circuit design. Consulting tech service.
C. Criteria of Product Design :
- Ergonomics - User friendly Interface of controls, display, etc..
- EMI / RFI Ext.- Immunity to external electrical disturbance.
- EMI / RFI Int. - Reduction of Internal electrical noise generation.
- Input Cost - Selecting Cost effective components and methods.
- Product Safety - Eliminating shock hazard, fire hazard or stress.
- Corrosion res.- Resistance to Chemical Fumes, brine, gases etc..
- Reliability - Long Life reliability engineering, MTBF, stability.
- Serviceability - Accessibility - Maintenance and repairs, Self test.
- Vibration - Enclosure / Components to be vibration resistant .
- Ease of Manufacture.- Manufacture ease and provision for test and Calibration..
- PC Interface - RS232, GPIB, etc. for PC Control and recording.
- Upgrade Ease - Options, Software change, Hardware upgrades.
- Quality - Design, Components, Production methods.
- Accuracy - Specifications of performance and its stability.
- Misuse-Abuse - Rugged design both electrically and mechanically.
D. Criteria of Circuit Design :
- Technologies - Time proven technology and Standard Parts.
- Reliability - Component Selection and Design Methods.
- Modular - Allow for incremental upgrades and Service.
- Safety Margins - Overrating for Voltage, threshold, speed, etc..
- Testability - Test Points, Isolating Jumpers, self test mode.
- Isolation - High voltage isolation, User safety, grounding.
- Thermal Limits - Dissipation Limit, Heatsinks, Shutdown, Size.
- Protections - Fuses, Current Limit, Zeners, Varistors, Alarm.
- Power economy - CMOS Designs, LCD Designs, SMPS, Portable.
- Electrical Parts - Connector selection, Relays, Switches, PCB.
- Precision - Accuracy, Resolution, Drift, Thermal stability.