{"id":16258,"date":"2017-10-20T13:58:51","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T05:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seeedstudio.com\/blog\/?p=16258"},"modified":"2020-03-26T14:33:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T06:33:40","slug":"6-steps-to-develop-the-electronics-for-a-new-product","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seeedstudio.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/20\/6-steps-to-develop-the-electronics-for-a-new-product\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Steps to Develop the Electronics for a New Product"},"content":{"rendered":"Developing the electronics for a new tech product may seem overwhelming.\u00a0 There is no doubt it can be a complex process that requires considerable engineering expertise.\n\nHowever, by breaking it down into discrete steps the process becomes more manageable and less overwhelming.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019ll be breaking the electronics development process down into only six steps.\n

Step #1 \u2013\u00a0 Pre-Design \/ Topology \/ Key Component Selection<\/h3>\nMany electronics designers begin the development process by immediately creating the schematic circuit diagram, but this is a mistake.\n\n\"PredesignBlockDiagram\"\n\nBefore digging down into all of the numerous details needed to create a schematic diagram, you should first analyze your product\u2019s development from a higher level.\n\nThe primary goals of the electronics pre-design<\/a> step are to create a block diagram, select all of the critical components, identify the key risks, and estimate the manufacturing cost.\n

Step #2 \u2013 \u00a0Schematic Circuit Diagram<\/h3>\nNow it\u2019s time to design the schematic circuit diagram.\u00a0 A schematic diagram is similar to a blueprint for a new house.\u00a0 It\u2019s an abstract diagram that provides every detail on exactly how all of the various electronic components are connected.\n\n\"Schematic\"\n\nCreating the schematic circuit diagram<\/a> is one of the two core steps necessary in the development of custom electronics.\u00a0 Once the schematic is completed the next step is to turn the abstract diagram into a real-world Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout design.\n

Step #3 \u2013 Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Design and Layout<\/h3>\n\"PCB\n\nThe same software that was used to design the schematic diagram is now used to design the PCB layout<\/a>.\u00a0 One of the primary functions of this software is to verify that the PCB layout precisely matches the schematic diagram.\n\nThe PCB design software has the ability to automatically route all of the connectivity traces, but most designs will need to be manually routed in order to optimize performance.\u00a0 The PCB layout can be especially tricky to design for radio-frequency circuits (WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, cellular, GPS, etc.), high power circuits, and high-speed digital circuits such as microprocessors.\n\nIn addition to confirming the PCB layout precisely matches the requirements specified in the schematic diagram, the design software also verifies trace spacings, trace widths, hole diameters, etc. \u00a0This verification process confirms that your layout is compatible with your PCB fabrication process.\n\nYou need to have all the required specifications from the PCB manufacturer before you begin the PCB design<\/a>.\u00a0 Every PCB manufacturer will have different process specifications.\u00a0 The design rules for the specific PCB fabrication process will need to be entered into your design software for correct verification.\n

Step #4 \u2013 Ordering Your Printed Circuit Boards<\/h3>\n\"PCB\n\nOnce your PCB layout is verified to match the schematic and to meet all of the PCB fabrication design rules, then it\u2019s time to send the design data to the PCB manufacturer<\/a> for fabrication.\n\nThe production of a custom PCB consists of first producing the empty printed circuit boards, and then soldering on all of the necessary components.\u00a0 Automatic placement machines are used to accurately place and solder on all of the various electronic components.\u00a0 Seeed\u2019s Fusion service<\/a> includes both of these steps providing you with high-quality, fully assembled circuit boards.\n

Step #5 \u2013 Microcontroller Programming<\/h3>\nMicrocontrollers serve as the \u201cbrains\u201d for most products, and nearly every electronic product will contain them.\u00a0 Some advanced products may instead require a microprocessor which is basically just a much faster version of a microcontroller<\/a>.\n\nMicrocontrollers are most often programmed in the computer language \u201cC\u201d and the resulting software is called firmware.\n\nYou may have to bring in someone who specializes in firmware programming, although some circuit designers also do the firmware programming.\u00a0 Many products may also require the development of a corresponding mobile app.\u00a0 In most cases, a different programmer will be required to develop the mobile app.\n

Step #6 \u2013 Evaluating, Debugging and Revising the Design<\/h3>\n\"ElectronicsDebug\"\n\nSorry, but no product design is ever perfect the very first time.\u00a0 When you receive your first prototype you need to evaluate it for any problems.\u00a0 You\u2019ll then need to debug any problems discovered, and design any necessary fixes.\n\nIt can be challenging to estimate how long this step will take to complete. This is because any problems found are obviously unexpected.\u00a0 So, the time it takes to fix them remains an unknown until you understand the problem.\u00a0 You will likely need to repeat steps 4-6 multiple times, until your prototype is finalized.\n\nAbout the author<\/strong>\n\"johnteel\"\nJohn Teel is founder of Predictable Designs<\/a>, a company which helps entrepreneurs, startups, makers, inventors, and small companies develop and launch new electronic products. John was formerly a senior design engineer for Texas Instruments where he created circuit designs now used in millions of popular electronic products (including some from Apple). He also developed his own hardware product which was sold in over 500 retail locations.\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Developing the electronics for a new tech product may seem overwhelming.\u00a0 There is no doubt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":16270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[792,4],"class_list":["post-16258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-development-of-electronics","tag-pcb"],"yoast_head":"\n6 Steps to Develop the Electronics for a New Product - 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