Ever wondered why tracks on a PCB have erratic ‘squiggles’ or why large areas of a board have few components and patterns of dots?
No – it’s not the designer or the CAD auto-router throwing ‘a wobbler’ but a critical part of the design process as you’ll see from the below.
Modern high-speed signals need to have matched impedances and path lengths so that each side of a differential pair is matched or a parallel bus has all bits arriving together. PCIe devices negotiate between each other to establish transfer criteria and will slow down to achieve a reliable connection. To achieve optimum performance for a Gen 3 or Gen 4 PCIe connection, great care has to be exercised in the PCB routing to ensure the connection isn’t degraded. The apparent erroneous ‘squiggles’ in the tracks are to ensure that signal path lengths are equalised.
The large (what looks to be) unused area on the PCB, peppered with dots, is likely to be used for heat sink or RF screening purposes. In both cases the dots will be through holes connecting the copper planes on each side of the board.
At BVM we have been designing PCBs for many years and have experienced the changes in technology.
From 16-bit CPU modules, disc and network interfaces to the latest high speed PCIe devices, custom power supplies and carrier boards, BVM have built up a library of standard building blocks and, combined with our engineering design experience, we consequently ensure your project and design is a successful one.
For PCB layout we use Altium PCB designer which includes an ‘auto-router’ to the provides the means of an assisted layout tool which in turn means we maintain control and ensure an efficient design (and product) is produced – especially where repeatability of manufacture is concerned.
Our PCB prototyping and & volume manufacturing services include:-
- Selection and procurement of electronics components
- Product assembly
- Setup, programming and configuration
- Wiring and cable harness assembly
- Test and configuration of product
- Potting, encapsulation and heat shrinking
- Bespoke test rigs
- Processor and PLD programming
The above is in association with our other standard Manufacturing Management Services – which include:-
- Goods-in inspection processes
- Serialisation for traceability
- Product labeling
- OEM/branded packaging
- End of life and last time buy management
- On line RMA services
- Corrective action reporting
- Inventory control; monthly scheduled orders, frame orders and Kanban/JIT
Our Work
BVM Dual Channel Serial ATA Controller 
BVM Ultra 160 SCSI Controller Module BVM Ultra 320 SCSI Controller Module 
BVM Wide Ultra 2 SCSI Controller Module BVM 8 x 16Bit Counter/timers with 32 bit TTL I/O PMC Module BVM 8 x 16Bit Counter/timers with Opto-isolated I/O PMC Module BVM PMC 32 Bit Opto-isolated DIO Conduction Cooled BVM CompactFlash & IDE PMC Module 
BVM cPCI Hot Swap dual PMC Carrier 64Bit / 66MHz for H110
If you have a new project or product idea, talk to our team. It may be simpler than you think to realise your ideas. You can either call us directly on +(0) 1489 780 144 and talk to one of the team – or E-mail us at sales@bvmltd.co.uk – or use the contact form on our website