Engineering Insights, Tutorials & Best Practices
Deep-dive articles on PCB trace width calculations, via sizing, impedance control, and industry standards. Written by engineers, for engineers.
Practical PCB relay-output trace-width guidance for contact current, inrush loads, fuse coordination, terminal exits, copper weight, vias, and supplier release checks.
Practical PCB relay-output trace-width guidance for contact current, inrush loads, fuse coordination, terminal exits, copper weight, vias, and supplier release checks.
Practical PCB power-plane current guidance for copper pours, plane neck-downs, via arrays, voltage drop, thermal rise, and supplier release checks.
Practical rules for splitting PCB current across parallel traces, copper pours, and layers without creating hot vias, narrow neck-downs, or false copper margin.
Practical USB-C VBUS trace-width guidance for 3A and 5A USB Power Delivery boards, connector escapes, voltage drop, copper weight, vias, fuses, and buyer release checks.
Practical 12V automotive PCB trace-width guidance for fuse outputs, connectors, relays, MOSFET loads, voltage-drop budgets, copper weight, vias, and supplier release checks.
Practical PCB trace-width guidance for inrush current, pulsed loads, fuse paths, connector exits, copper heating, voltage drop, and supplier release checks.
Practical PCB trace voltage-drop guidance for sizing copper by millivolt budget, I2R loss, current density, temperature rise, vias, connectors, and buyer release checks.
Practical PCB trace-width guidance for solar charge controllers, including PV input current, battery charge current, MOSFET paths, fuses, connectors, vias, voltage drop, and supplier release checks.
Practical heavy-copper PCB trace-width guidance for choosing 2oz or 3oz copper, avoiding via and connector bottlenecks, comparing bus bars, and releasing supplier-ready fabrication notes.
Practical PCB fuse and current-shunt trace-width guidance for high-current paths, Kelvin sensing, fault current, via arrays, copper weight, and supplier release checks.
Practical LED strip PCB guidance for copper width, voltage drop, power injection spacing, flex circuits, connectors, vias, and buyer release checks.
Practical DC-DC converter PCB trace-width guidance for input loops, switch nodes, output current, vias, copper weight, voltage drop, and supplier review.
Terminal blocks, connector pins, pad neck-downs, and via fields often overheat before the long trace does. Use a practical review workflow for power-entry and field-wiring PCB paths.
How to derate PCB current in sealed or fanless products. Practical copper-width, temperature-rise, via, and procurement guidance for boards that run hot inside enclosures.
Practical BMS PCB trace-width guidance for pack current, cell sense routing, balancing resistors, fuses, contactors, vias, and procurement reviews before fabrication.
Practical guidance on when thermal vias under QFNs, regulators, LEDs, MOSFETs, and power modules improve PCB temperature, and when they create solder, cost, or assembly problems instead.
Practical guidance on the mixed-signal PCB return path mistakes that create ADC noise, ground bounce, and EMC problems. Learn when to avoid plane splits, where to stitch vias, and how to review converter crossings before release.
Practical guidance for selecting 1oz, 2oz, or heavier copper on power electronics PCBs. Learn when copper weight solves a real problem, when wider pours are enough, and what buyers should confirm before fabrication.
Real PCB current-carrying examples using IPC-2152 thinking. See how layer, copper weight, bottlenecks, and board context change the trace width you should actually release to fabrication.
Practical PoE PCB guidance for 802.3af, 802.3at, and 802.3bt. Size the 48V path, bridge, vias, and bottlenecks without overbuilding every Ethernet-adjacent trace.
Practical guidance for choosing 1oz vs 2oz copper, trace and pour sizing, via count, and voltage-drop targets on motor driver PCBs.
How wide should CAN bus traces be on a PCB? Practical routing guidance for CAN and CAN FD, including width targets, pair symmetry, impedance considerations, and fab-ready checkpoints.
A comprehensive comparison of the two major PCB current carrying capacity standards. Learn when to use each and how they differ in trace width calculations.
Compare 0.5oz, 1oz, and 2oz PCB copper weights. Real-world applications, cost trade-offs, and trace width impacts explained.
Avoid costly PCB redesigns by learning the most common trace width mistakes. From temperature rise to manufacturing tolerances.
Understanding the key differences between thermal vias and signal vias is crucial for effective PCB design. Learn sizing, placement, and when to use each type.
Calculate the exact number of vias needed for your PCB. Engineering formulas for current requirements with practical examples.
Compare microstrip, stripline, and coplanar waveguide for high-speed PCB design. Impedance calculations and use cases.
Complete reference guide for high-speed interface impedance requirements. Covers USB 2.0/3.0, HDMI, PCIe Gen 1-5, DDR3/4/5, and more with practical design tips.
Essential online calculators for PCB design: trace width, via current, impedance, and more. Boost your productivity with these free tools.
Never send a flawed PCB to manufacturing again. 25-point checklist covering trace widths to impedance matching.
Thermal and electrical differences between internal and external PCB layers. How layer choice affects trace width and heat.
Put your knowledge into practice with our free PCB design calculators.