October

PDR at end of month

• It is best to have your schematic in Altium ready to go by PDR.

• If you're having trouble with your Altium schematic or using the software, Ask. For. Help.

  • Good news is since we picked Altium, an industry professional will definitely know how to use it. Start with your sponsor and see if they have internal resources with PCB design.
    • They'll be very happy you chose Altium.
  • If your sponsor doesn't have resources for whatever reason, talk to your mentor. They'll definitely know someone who can help you with your schematic. Or they'll know someone who knows someone.

  Note: I would strongly recommend using the reference design provided by your major component's datasheet. In some cases, the manufacturer straight up has Altium files you can use if you ask nicely.

  Warnings: The following is a non-exhaustive list of things to look out for when making your schematic
   >-

  • Direction of transistors (BJT, MOSFET, etc) and making sure that pins are connected to right parts - Pay attention to body diode direction when connecting MOSFET and circuit 
     > -
    • If you connect the source to your circuit and not the drain, notice that the body diode is forward-biased, meaning that it conducts
    > -
    • This is typically NOT desirable as your MOSFET sinks all its current into the source, behaving improperly >
    -
  • Direction of capacitors or other polarized components >
    -
    • Pay attention to the positive and negative poles. Magic smoke may come out otherwise
      otherwise.

  Another note: The manufacturers have forums where you can ask Application Engineers (people who help implement major components into your design). Talk to them, either over the forum or directly. IEEE can help you connect with the right application engineer and you can go from there.

• Alongside with your schematic, you should begin piecing together your BoM (Bill of Materials) at this time.

  • Again, Altium is great for this because it's a unified program. It lets you shop for components in the actual software while you piece them together. Use this feature. After all, the industry already does.
  • Shopping now for the rest of the components for your board is essential. We're mostly over COVID but supply chains for electronics are pretty fickle. Make sure you pick components with high availability, ie, they're readily in stock at multiple stores
    • Some may disagree with this, but I recommend Octopart for finding cheaper components and filtering. If you don't want to use Octopart, stick to the trifecta of Mouser, Digikey, and Avent/Newark/Farnell/etc. High availability, good shipping.