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Top 7 Design Tips for IoT
- by Matt Stevenson

With the nationwide wireless upgrades to 5G happening all around us the demand for IoT products and designs is going to continue to grow at high rates for the coming years.  Here are a few tips for designing PCBs to use in your IoT projects (adapted from John McMillian whitepaper1).
Design Types: Most IoT designs will incorporate several different types of functions to make the signal flow across multiple streams and interact as one. These are analog, RF, digital and MEMS. Having at least some experience with these types of circuit design will help a designer to create a successful concept.  
 
Design Constraints: There are often pre-defined constraints to a project design.  Adding connectivity to a well-established product can really be a challenge for the PCB layout. Most consumers have a preconceived notion of a product and do not want those notions to be altered drastically to make it connected.  A smart watch is a great example, people have expectations on the size and weight and it is built on a very small scale and these all can present a challenge for the designer. 
 
Identify the major components required to make the data flow as expected. Sensor types, Wifi needs, RF standards, buttons, switches, etc. and solidify those in the design. Create the rest of the design around these building blocks.  
 
Create the BOM. Using the identified building blocks, physical constraints, cost considerations, connectivity of the blocks and part availability; start to create the BOM and PCB schematic from the parts that meet your needs. Remember to verify part footprint sizes and height above the board as part of that investigation especially on a highly constrained design.  
 
Test, simulate and verify. Use all of the tools that are available to you as early as possible. Depending on your PCB design package you may have to resort to building prototypes, testing and tweaking a design to achieve the speed and performance required. Other tools may allow you to simulate the design and get a better understanding of the performance and allow you to catch and make changes before a prototype build.  
 
Lay the PCB out. Remember to take into account the data flow through the various design types and layout in modules with a logical path in mind. Also take into consideration the constraints before you start including the height of the various components and heat generation and dissipation.  
 
Validate your design. Using your relationship with a PCB manufacturer and assembly partner is a good way to insure that your design has a higher likelihood of success.  A good partner will be able to provide feedback that will make your design more cost competitive and have higher yields and reliability. Other options for validation may be a DFM and DFMA tool that can also give some of these details, but usually come at a high cost.   
As you continue to make your mark on innovation in the IoT realm make your designs count with these tips. I am looking forward to seeing what you make next.