Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Current

Products

Measurement Suite for Mobile WiMAX software suite is said to speed testing of modular RF instrumentation of mobile WiMAX devices. Based on PXI Express instrumentation, the suite reportedly performs error vector magnitude (EVM), power and spectral measurements three to five times faster than traditional instruments. Typical residual EVM accuracy of -46 dB at 3.5 GHz (-10 dBm). Supports channel bandwidths from 1.25 to 28 MHz and fast Fourier transform (FFT) sizes 128, 256, 1024 and 2048, as well as all Mobile WiMAX modulation types with both convolution coding and turbo convolution coding. Generates or analyzes signals with up to eight zones and 16 bursts.

National Instruments, www.ni.com/automatedtest/WiMAX

VisualCAM and GerbTool v.16.0 features advanced panel layout optimizer that requires setting just a few layout constraints. Accurately performs over/undersize operations on raster polygon data. Permits flexible methods to control how sizing takes place. Stencil Tools includes new shapes, analysis information, and the ability to choose single pads for modification and modify basic size without changing shape.

Wise Software Solutions Inc., www.wssi.com

Pressure sensors for direct mounting onto PCBs have high sensitivity and resolution, and are tested for temperature, stability and linearity. Are piezoresistive measuring cells consisting of a glass back plate and silicon chip with diffused resistor bridge. The cell is mounted on a glass feed-through and packaged in housing. Output signal can be conditioned with standard amplifiers. Series 2 for dry-air applications acts directly on the silicon chip and comes into contact with the strain gauges of the Wheatstone bridge. Series 4 acts on the rear side of the silicon chip; is for wet or dry applications.

Keller, www.keller-pressure.co.uk

No. 1002 is an electrically heated, 500ºF cabinet oven used for various test procedures. Is 20" x 20" x 20". 8KW is installed in Incoloy-sheathed tubular elements to heat the unit; a 400CFM, 1/3-HP recirculating blower provides horizontal airflow across the load. Features 4" insulated walls throughout, type 304, 2B stainless steel interior with continuously backwelded seam construction, stainless steel exterior with #4 brushed finish, three nickel-plated wire shelves and adjustable opposed louvers on full coverage supply and return ductwork. Is equipped with all safety equipment for handling flammable solvents.

The Grieve Corp., www.grievecorp.com

Speedflex flex-rigid PCB design option is now available for Speedstack PCB layer stackup design tool. Creates and documents PCB stackups, combining rigid and flex-rigid PCBs. Provides a fast process said to build stacks in minutes, document drills, display stacks as 2-D or 3-D image, and add controlled impedance. Does not limit the number of layers that can be added, or the number of cross-sections that can be created and compared, including coverlays, adhesives, and no-flow prepreg layers. Can be exported in industry standard file formats.

Polar Instruments, www.polarinstruments.com

A prototyping peripheral add-on board for NanoBoard FPGA-based development boards works with the fixed-FPGA NanoBoard 3000 and NanoBoard NB2. Comes in packs of three or 20. Reportedly eliminates need to create custom PCBs for circuit prototyping. A single on-board connector plugs into the NanoBoard to give direct access to the I/O on the host NanoBoard FPGA and common NanoBoard resources, including power and JTAG lines. Can integrate custom circuitry with standard NanoBoard peripherals and services, using the land patterns and plated hole connections on the prototyping boards to construct custom hardware. Supports a variety of surface mount packages in varying pitches, as well as through-hole components on 0.1" or 0.05" grids. Predefined land patterns for SMD accommodate pitches of 0.5, 0.65, 0.8 and 1.27 mm; each SMD pad is connected to a 0.5 mm hole. Board identification is achieved using a 1-wire compatible unique ID device.

Altium Ltd., www.altium.com