As the consumers’ appetite for efficient electronics continues to grow, manufacturers are only pleased to adapt to the evolving interest and be inventive in their design and engineering methods to fulfill the growing demand. One of the most notable improvements in electronic design engineering services is the shift from a generic CAD approach, like technical drawing and 3D modeling, to specialized software tailored for specific applications, including but not limited to PCB design and 3D printing for electronic enclosures.
As the industry grows, such specialized software programs are used not only in industrial settings but also in consumer electronics. Over the years, electronic design engineering has maintained a trajectory for development and innovation to enhance product functionality, aesthetics, connectivity, and user experience. Some of the biggest innovations and trends revolve around AI integration, IoT, and autonomous vehicles. But of course, all those developments cannot possibly happen unless the PCB design and manufacturing are also improved in the first place.
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PCB engineering software
At the heart of every electronic device is a PCB, where the firmware communicates with hardware to dictate all functions and features. It takes a careful arrangement of small and big components, how they’re connected to each other, and the configuration of physical and electrical requirements that define the device’s capabilities.
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Engineers are now spoiled with plenty of digital PCB design tools thanks to the ever-evolving software programs that offer easy integration with mechanical CAD software like Autodesk and SolidWorks. But computer-based PCB design wasn’t really a big thing until the 1980s, spearheaded by two big names: Autotrax and OrCAD, both were released in 1985.
- Autotrax: developed by Protel System (now Altium), Autotrax was among the first to revolutionize PCB engineering by providing a digital platform to integrate multiple design disciplines. Apart from the advanced routing capability, the software also came with a real-time collaboration feature that helped set a new standard for innovation.
- OrCAD: even by today’s standards, you can say that OrCAD has a user-friendly interface and a comprehensive set of features to create detailed schematics. And like many modern software today, it has simulation features.
There were indeed some alternatives back then, but the two software enjoyed true widespread adoption and were the most pivotal in setting a new trend for computerized PCB design. The overwhelmingly positive reception carved the pathway for other companies to follow suit and get competitive with their software, leading to decades of CAD proliferation in the electronic industry.
While the basics of digital designing and simulation remain pretty much the same several decades later, most modern programs have much more intuitive GUI and are indeed designed to comply with the current standards for safety and energy efficiency. Early CAD systems were largely text-based; they required quite an extensive command-line input, which limited their own accessibility. GUI proved to be a real game-changer for those tools, which broadened their adoption among manufacturers, designers, engineers, and CAD design services nationwide. They were groundbreaking back then and are still actively developed today.
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Design and layout
CAD has always been essential for designing and calibrating PCB layouts. Today, engineers have plenty of modern tools at their disposal, such as KiCad, Altium Designer, and Eagle, which provide all the means necessary to build even the most intricate PCB design with great accuracy. Most of the PCB-specific CAD software programs offer features like fully-automated or semi-automated routing and schematic capture to cut down the development time without sacrificing efficiency.
If schematic capture allows engineers to digitally create a circuit diagram (to be translated into the layout of a PCB), automatic routing helps determine the electrical connections (or paths) in the most optimized way possible with little to no manual input. CAD software also gives a manual edit interface where engineers can place components and draw their tracks to connect the pins accordingly. In general, the software opens the door to limitless experimentation with PCB designs in a virtual environment. Engineers don’t even need to touch the soldering iron each time they need to make a change.
Simulation
Design tools alone are not enough. While CAD software does improve the workflow a great deal with digital design and layout features, manufacturers need to see if the design actually works before they build any physical prototype. And this is where simulation tools kick in. Simulation software is the most practical, cost-efficient, risk-free fashion to test and analyze every PCB layout constructed on a computer.
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Engineers are able to see the specific parts of the layout that work as intended, along with those that fail. Advanced software tools also generate data to be utilized as the basis for refinements almost immediately after each successive analysis. Among the most commonly used PCB simulation software include:
- SPICE: a general-purpose and open-source electronic circuit simulator to predict circuit behavior and check the integrity of circuit designs.
- Multisim: a combination of SPICE simulation and other advanced analyses to identify PCB design inefficiencies. It comes with a library of more than 50,000 manufacturer-verified components.
- Proteus Design Suite: a real-time microcontroller simulation and electronic design automation software. Proteus even has a 3D Viewer module that can represent board enclosure.
CAD also plays a major role in setting up the trend for flexible electronics services, constructed from circuit boards and transistors that can bend and flex up to almost full rotation. Typical examples include bendable displays (LCD and OLED), flexible circuits on print heads, thin-film solar cells, and flexible batteries (zinc-carbon and lithium-ion). Some flexible electronics are already found in mainstream products, such as smartphones and computer monitors, while others are still in the early stage of commercialization.
The development of CAD software for PCB design services and simulation marked a big leap forward in electronic innovation, as it empowered engineers to build sophisticated, intricate, feature-rich circuit boards on modern devices. As far as the engineering work is concerned here, CAD software helps simplify sophistication in the sense that complex design doesn’t have to be complicated to create. CAD directly contributes to lower production costs as well, making it possible for general consumers to afford higher-quality products at affordable prices.
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At the moment, the market for CAD software for electronic design and engineering is dominated by Autodesk Eagle, Siemens NX, and Dassault Systèmes. The market in its entirety is projected to reach up to $16 billion by 2027, driven mainly by digital-twins functionality – basically virtual prototyping. At least until 2033, about 65% of the market will be controlled by those three companies.
Artificial intelligence
Conventional software, like a CAD program, is designed to perform a specific task. The primary artifact of conventional software is the programmer’s code. AI is also built with codes, but the software is designed to “learn” to do tasks based on data collection, pattern analyses, and algorithms. Unlike conventional software created using predefined instruction, artificial intelligence is expected to come up with ingenious solutions to complex problems. AI is on the verge of revolutionizing electronic design engineering by introducing a new range of automation previously thought to be impossible.
For example, an engineering design company can use some simple “prompts” or text-based commands to tell an AI software to build an entire PCB layout and perform the necessary simulations. All analytical tasks, including failure prediction and performance data generation, are done automatically. It’s also possible to ask the AI to suggest improvements to an existing PCB or electronic device design, significantly reducing the cost and time associated with the iterative engineering process.
Some of the more advanced AIs are better suited for custom electronics, such as creating tailored solutions to meet highly specific requirements for industrial applications and medical devices. Yes, we need to write codes to build AI and human input to set the task parameters, but it doesn’t change the fact that AI is a major leap from conventional software.
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Internet of things
It is old news that electronic devices can communicate with each other via sensors bridged by wireless networks. This is the “Internet of Things,” as observed in many smart home appliances. Automated sprinkler systems and robot vacuum cleaners might be the finest mainstream examples of such advancements. In an automated sprinkler, the built-in sensors and wireless Internet work together to gather weather information, monitor soil conditions, and read the temperature before it waters the plants.
The timing and volume of water are adjusted for optimum conditions throughout the year. A robot vacuum cleaner is, in many cases, simpler than a sprinkler system. The vacuum cleaner’s sensors detect the room size, layout, and stairs to determine the most efficient path to sweep the floor. When the battery is about to be depleted, it heads toward the docking station to recharge itself. The same technology makes its way to other applications as well.
We now have smart refrigerators, smart watches, smart light bulbs, smart locks, smart security systems, and an entire range of IoT home appliances you can control via smart speakers, which act like little command centers on your cupboard. According to Statista, there will be 400 million smart homes (basically buildings that use all those smart appliances) before the end of 2024 – an innovation and trend that CAD design services should observe closely to stay competitive.
Autonomous vehicles
Some say that autonomous and electric cars are nothing more than glorified torches and generators; they might be correct. Glorified rechargeable and self-driving cars are indeed the primary objective in the automotive industry, and they’re much more sophisticated than most people imagine. Think of the array of sensors to detect traffic data, identify pedestrians, recognize traffic signs, and find the right parking spot, to name a few.
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They’re all electronics that work autonomously just as soon as the driver enters the vehicle. It’s expected that an expedited rollout of 5G technology – with hyper-speed connectivity and super-low latency to handle a massive number of connected electronics and data – will bring the automotive industry closer to self-driving cars.
Cad Crowd is here to propel your next innovation
Electrical CAD is not only a tool; it’s a transformative, groundbreaking force to help your company design the next generation of intricate electronic devices. Thanks to automated PCB schematics, simulations, and enclosure 3D modeling, CAD is leading the way in achieving higher efficiency and precision in the design and engineering process. Cad Crowd connects you with experienced CAD professionals to lend a hand in your electronic product development and deliver real competitive advantage in the increasingly hungry market. Feel free to contact Cad Crowd for your free quote today.
