Just imagine you are at the office and someone rang the bell of your home. The push of a button has allowed your camera above to start feeding the live stream on your phone. The next intelligent thing would be that you can speak to the guy telling him to leave the package at a particular place without being at home. All these technologies are not imagination; it is available now. The eco-system of IoT is building faster than ever. There are thousands of devices adding every year to the real world. The connectivity is beyond imagination; it can be from user to user, the user to service provider and manufacturers to service provider.
The new product design having capabilities of IoT is a norm now. It has not only created new categories in the electronic device industry but has also provided a platform to for innovation. It has provided innovators with new ideas to rethink the way the consumer can interact with the technology. From manufacturers to inventors and entrepreneurs it has allowed building new products with those capabilities. IoT has given the businesses a real advantage, especially the manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Suppose a customer needs a tissue paper in the kitchen and he/she presses the IoT enabled button.
The signal travels to update the inventory of the delivery team, then to the retailer, to the distributor, and finally the manufacturer. The inventory management and manufacturing controls were never that easy before. The device design of the eco-system is a little different from traditional hardware. Most of the devices and sensors designed before this new era were related to processor and OS architecture. Thus the PCB manufacturing and PCB design of IoT devices are dedicated to core functionality actuators and sensors.
The PCB Design Of IoT Device and it’s Components
Digital and Analog converters
The IoT devices are mostly sensors. Most of the sensors are analog, and Analog to digital converters are required. The nomenclature for analog to digital converter is often called as ADC, and the other way around is DAC converter. The ADC is the device which converts the analog signal(voltage/current) to digital levels. The most prominent advantage of the analog sensors is that it integrates the analog world around us to digital world.
MEMS
MEMS stands for micro-electro-mechanical-systems. MEMS are minute sensors which are incorporated in many designs. The sensors gather information while actuators execute commands.
RF
RF stands for radio frequency. Some time for particular applications wireless connectivity is required. The RF module can be added when wireless connectivity is needed. The cloud connectivity with RF module whether it is WIFI or blue-tooth technology requires multi-protocol software integration. For using a wireless module, there is a certain parameter to be understood. Like power consumption, the range of signals and throughput.
After the simulation process is complete the next step is to design the circuit in the physical form. To achieve the right form factor software tools are used to make the PCB design. This PCB design is then printed on the circuit board; components are assembled on it to create the first prototype. Following are some necessary steps to layout the PCB, component placement, constraint management, 2D/3D layout, and testing.
PCB Manufacturing in IoT
For manufacture the IoT device, it is necessary to consider it during the prototype creation process. The process starts with PCB manufacturing followed by component assembly and quality control.
These devices are created for many industries like automotive, consumer, medical, military and industrial. Consideration of power consumption, form factor, signal, range and battery life is critical.
The form of IoT Devices
The IoT eco-system can be very complicated, the network elements, the software, and PCB designs to be prototyped. The most popular these devices which have mass production are human interface devices. For these HMI devices, it is required to have convenient form factor. There are two methods to design the device. The first method is to design and develop the product with the proof of concept through the prototype. And the second method starts with physical design requirements. The size, looks, weight, and shape are considered. It is the reverse process of above. In this method, the last step is to design unlike the first step in the first method.
The Design Components
One of the important steps in designing the IoT device is the selection of components. The selection of parts like ADC, DAC, actuators, sensors, MEMS and RF modules in significant concerning cost and functionality. The device may also contain fingerprint sensors, force sensing resistors and human interface devices.
Schematic Diagram
After the selection of components is completed the next step is to create connections between them. The connection of different components is a complex task, and accurate design parameter is required. This process is completed with the help of software tools and called as schematic design.
Simulation
Simulation is the step where the connections integrity is validated. There are special software tools which simulate the schematic design to investigate the parameter. Th achieves design performance different parameter are considered like DC operating point, time domain, frequency domain, Monte Carlo, sensitivity, worst case scenarios and behavior verification. For wearable devices, special requirements need to be addressed like size, power consumption, and charging time.
The demand for IoT devices is increasing every day which is changing the industry standards. The industry has to adopt rapid prototyping techniques in addition to that mass production is significant to reduce the cost.
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