Electronic Design

What is electronic design?

Electronic design involves the integration of circuit board-level electronic components to perform specific tasks.  This often entails creating a circuit board, affixing electronic components in place, and routing through the board electronic signals from external sources.  Schematics (i.e., blueprints for electronics) are created via a software schematic capture program.  The board’s physical layout and interconnections are then created from the finished schematic via the software’s auto-router program.  The characteristics of the board’s physical layout are then stored in predefined formats by the software.  These formats are then sent to a circuit board manufacturer for prototyping.  Once received, the prototype is manually populated with electronic components; external connections are established and the board is tested.  Once the prototype is validated, the board may then be mass-produced and populated automatically.

What are the benefits of electronic design?

Implementing electronic design can

• reduce mechanical or relay control systems in size to fit on a single board.
• integrate existing systems into an embedded control solution.
• provide cost effective circuit board prototyping.
• simplify the design process with the help of schematic capture software.

What can CIRAS do for my company?

CIRAS will assist Iowa manufacturers by providing technical assistance in the area of electronic design.  CIRAS will work with clients to conduct research, and identify process and design alternatives for improving both new and existing products.

What is my next step?

CIRAS currently does not have staff available to actively support this service, but you can contact Paul Gormley at 319-721-5357 with general questions or for information on other Electronic Design resources.