Electronic Test Engineering and PCB Design Programme

Day 1

• Introduction to project management
  • What is project management?
  • The project management process
  • The different types of project management roles
• Lean methodology
  • What is lean methodology?
  • The principles of lean methodology
  • The tools and techniques of lean methodology
• Case study: applying lean methods to an electrical-engineering project

Day 2

• Project planning
  • How to create a project plan
  • How to estimate project costs and resources
  • How to manage project risks
• Project execution
  • How to communicate with project stakeholders
  • How to resolve project conflicts
  • How to measure project progress
• Project closeout
  • How to document project lessons learned
  • How to hand off project deliverables

Day 1: Understanding Engineering Duties and Responsibilities

• Session 1: Understanding the Role of a Test Engineer
  • Introduction to test engineering duties
  • Gathering and understanding design requirements
• Session 2: Creating Design Specs with MS Word
  • How to use MS Word to create and format design specs
  • Incorporating electrical and mechanical design guidelines into specifications

Day 2: Documentation for Design, Fabrication, and Assembly

• Session 1: Documentation Fundamentals
  • The importance of proper documentation in engineering processes
  • Identifying key elements in engineering documentation
• Session 2: Advanced Documentation Techniques with MS Word
  • Using advanced MS Word features for effective documentation
  • Hands-on: Developing a sample board design document

Day 3: Advanced Data Handling and Reporting with Excel

• Session 1: Leveraging Excel in Test Engineering
  • Using Excel for data analysis and reporting in test engineering
  • Basic and advanced formulas, functions, and data visualization techniques
• Session 2: Hands-On Excel for Test Engineers
  • Real-world exercises on using Excel for test engineering tasks
  • Creating custom Excel templates for regular engineering tasks

Day 4: Effective Customer Engagement and Communication

• Session 1: Principles of Effective Customer Engagement
  • Understanding customer needs and expectations
  • Effective communication and feedback handling
• Session 2: Outlook and supported email/calendar services
  • Email and calendar workflows with Outlook and a supported Exchange or Microsoft 365 environment
  • Advanced features for task management, scheduling, and team communication

Day 5: Putting It All Together: Integrated Project

• Putting it all together
• Assessment

Day 1: Introduction and Simple MCU-based PCB Design

• Session 1: Review of Altium Designer Basics
  • Quick overview of Altium Designer features
  • Review of Schematic Capture and PCB layout in Altium
• Session 2: Designing a simple MCU-based PCB using a selected reference design
  • Understanding the schematic and board layout of the MCU
  • Creating the schematic in Altium
  • Layout and routing of the PCB
• Session 3: Practical
  • Begin design of the MCU-based PCB
  • Guidance on schematic creation and layout

Day 2: Complex PCB Design 1

• Session 1: Introduction to Complex PCB Design
  • Challenges in complex PCB design
  • Techniques for managing complex designs in Altium
• Session 2: Designing Complex PCB 1
  • Introduce the first prepared complex PCB example
  • Discuss unique challenges and approaches to the design
  • Begin schematic creation and layout design in Altium
• Session 3: Practical
  • Continue design of the first complex PCB
  • Guidance and troubleshooting

Day 3: Complex PCB Design 2 & 3

• Session 1: Designing Complex PCB 2
  • Introduce the second prepared complex PCB example
  • Discuss unique challenges and approaches to the design
  • Begin schematic creation and layout design in Altium
• Session 2: Practical
  • Continue design of the second complex PCB
  • Guidance and troubleshooting
• Session 3: Designing Complex PCB 3
  • Introduce the third prepared complex PCB example
  • Discuss unique challenges and approaches to the design
  • Begin schematic creation and layout design in Altium
• Session 4: Practical
  • Continue design of the third complex PCB
  • Guidance and troubleshooting

Day 1: Introduction to OrCAD/Allegro and IEEE Standard Symbol Creation

• Session 1: Introduction to OrCAD/Allegro
  • Overview of Cadence software
  • Introduction to OrCAD/Allegro interface and features
  • Navigation and tool utilization
• Session 2: Electronic symbol libraries and applicable symbol conventions
  • Understanding applicable schematic-symbol standards and conventions
  • Creating and managing symbol libraries in OrCAD/Allegro

Day 2: Schematic Creation and Footprint Creation

• Session 1: Introduction to Schematic Creation: OrCAD Capture
  • Basics of schematic design in OrCAD Capture
  • Building and editing schematics
• Session 2: Footprint Creation of Electronic Components
  • Understanding footprints in PCB design
  • Creating and managing footprint libraries in OrCAD/Allegro

Day 3: Transition to PCB Design and Board Constraints

• Session 1: Switching to Printed Circuit Board Design (PCB Design)
  • Transitioning from schematics to PCB layout
  • Overview of PCB design workflow in OrCAD/Allegro
• Session 2: Board Shapes and Board Restrictions
  • Defining board shapes in OrCAD/Allegro
  • Setting and managing board restrictions

Day 4: Component Placement and Layer Stack Up

• Session 1: Placements on PCB
  • Principles of component placement
  • Tools and techniques for component placement in OrCAD/Allegro
• Session 2: PCB Layer Stack Up Setup and Calculations
  • Understanding layer stack-up in PCB design
  • Setting up and calculating layer stack-up in OrCAD/Allegro

Day 5: Routing, VIAs, and Practical Assignments

• Session 1: Constraint Manager Settings and Introduction to Routing on PCB
  • Setting constraints for routing
  • Basics of routing in OrCAD/Allegro
• Session 2: VIAs in Printed Circuit Board
  • Understanding the role of VIAs in PCB design
  • Creating and managing VIAs in OrCAD/Allegro
• Session 3: 2 Layer Board Design Assignments
  • Introduction to the assignment
  • Guided practice and completion of a 2-layer board design

Day 1: Getting Started with Fusion 360

• Session 1: Introduction to Fusion 360
• Session 2: Understanding the Basic User Interface
• Session 3: Creating and Editing Sketches
• Session 4: Building 3D Models
• Session 5: Importing and Exporting Files

Day 2: Diving Deeper into Design and Assembly

• Session 1: Exploring Parametric Modeling
• Session 2: Applying features and constraints
• Session 3: Understanding Design Intent
• Session 4: Working with Sheet Metal Design
• Session 5: Assembling Components

Day 3: Simulating Real-world Conditions

• Session 1: Getting Started with Simulation
• Session 2: Performing Stress Analysis
• Session 3: Conducting Thermal Analysis
• Session 4: Fluid-flow analysis concepts and prepared demonstration with a compatible CFD tool; Fusion model preparation is not a built-in flow solver
• Session 5: Motion/joint studies and their limits as physical analysis

Day 4: Bringing Designs to Life with Rendering

• Session 1: Introduction to Rendering
• Session 2: Applying Materials and Textures
• Session 3: Managing Lighting and Shadows
• Session 4: Positioning the Camera
• Session 5: Creating Animations

Day 5: Collaborating and Documenting Designs

• Session 1: Collaborating in Fusion 360
• Session 2: Sharing Files
• Session 3: Working with Teams
• Session 4: Documenting Designs
• Session 5: Publishing Designs