Manufacturing a clean PCB that functions during initial testing is not the same as manufacturing a truly high-quality board. The distinction between a PCB that is “good enough” and one that is built for long-term reliability often comes down to what the board has been subjected to long before it reaches the assembly line. While IPC standards outline a baseline for required testing, many meaningful evaluations a PCB can undergo are optional, and therefore inconsistent across suppliers.

I was recently asked a simple but powerful question: Is there anything available to PCB designers today that would be truly advantageous to them that they’re essentially not using? My answer was yes. However, it reminded me of an experience before Christmas one year when I was killing time at the mall. I had wandered into an Apple Store to look around, and I overheard a customer say, “Yeah, I just need a phone.”

Experts say that maintaining a proper work-life balance can lead to happier employees overall and increased productivity on the job. For me, the work-life balance can be a constant troublesome issue as I tend to lean more toward enjoying overworking and putting aside life issues and options. I admit I am a workaholic even into my golden senior years of engineering employment. I can’t help it; I enjoy solving problems and puzzles and producing solid engineering solutions.