Design Mistakes You Must Avoid on Your New Electronic Product

[@PredictableDesigns]

Prevent mistakes by downloading your FREE DESIGN REVIEW CHECKLISTS for the schematic circuit, PCB layout, and enclosure 3D model design: predictabledesigns.com/design... And get your other free guides: Ultimate Guide - How to Develop and Prototype a New Electronic Hardware Product in 2023: predictabledesigns.com/guide From Prototype to Production with the ESP32: predictabledesigns.com/esp32 From Arduino Prototype to Mass Production: predictabledesigns.com/from-a... From Raspberry Pi Prototype to Mass Production: predictabledesigns.com/rpi Want my personal help on your project? If so, check out my Hardware Academy program: predictabledesigns.com/Academy

[@OYE.2003]

I really appreciate videos like these, since I want to have a business one day that manufactuers certain industrial tools. 🙏

[@MaximKachurovskiy]

Also forgetting a fuse, ESD protection, reverse polarity protection and over-voltage protection :) Also good to use non-flammable materials.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Those are definitely some good ones too, thanks Maxim!

[@jakestewart7079]

Awesome tips! I have a background in software engineering and am just learning electronics as I go. I would have never thought of any of this until it were too late.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank Jake. Like with many things in life it's easier to prevent mistakes than to fix them afterwards.

[@sbarifvlogs335]

Thanks Jon. Highly appreciated ❤

[@terranceparker2015]

Just found your channel. Great content and you have a new subscriber. Will sign up for your course when current projects are complete.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Awesome, thank you!

[@mauriciotavares5360]

It's a really great video; thank you, John. Over several years of designing electronic boards for medical devices, I have detected most of your described issues. So, I have developed a design verification checklist for the schematic level and another for the PCB level. These checklists are forwarded to experts who did not work in the design, and the feedback is always precious. This methodology results in project errors falling dramatically, as did prototyping and product certification costs.

[@P272-e9k]

Do you share your checklist?

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thanks Mauricio, we always use checklists for doing schematic and PCB design reviews. We provide these checklists inside our Hardware Academy platform.

[@PredictableDesigns]

We don't offer our checklists except inside our Hardware Academy platform, although I may eventually offer them separately.

[@keysnake-ai]

Thanks again John for sharing your knowledge.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you. Always happy to share knowledge:)

[@sjs5256]

Perfect video. I think subscribing after I finish developing my first prototype.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you! But why wait until after your prototype before getting help?

[@Berred]

Thank you for the video, all the hints and tips matches my experiences. Indeed I have 3 additional thoughts to avoid mistakes in designing a product. The first thing is a documentation (electronically!) of the product with all information about it, means BOM, distributors (with alternatives), schematics and PCB designs (with versions etc.), Hints about the assembly of the mechanical an electrical parts, pictures of the assembly, 3D components, drawing e.g. of front panels and so on. Information about calibration is also important. The documentation should be well structured. The second thing in my opinion is, that the mechanical parts must fit to the electronic part within the simplest connection. Example: You can connect a rotary encoder (or display or other) via an soldered wire to a PCB, but it makes more sense, to use connectors for it. For the assembly or repairing it is much more better to do so. Also the connectors must be selected in this way, that you cannot mix up it with another. The third idea is to make the product (for the assembly an service) as simple as possible. Examples: Use only one (or two), but not 5 or more types of screws for mounting parts. Use also for example snap-in holder for the PCB instead of screws. Use easy connectors instead of screw terminals. (For all ideas: if its possible!) ... and maybe more.

[@PredictableDesigns]

These are fantastic additions to watch out for, thank you so much for sharing!!

[@abielaguilarg.9158]

Bravo excellent keep going my friend with more

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you for the encouragement!

[@bbb-yk8no]

Hi there, thanks for sharing your experiences. I have been watching your other videos as well. Do you happen to collaborate with smart idea owners?

[@PredictableDesigns]

I help those with electronic product ideas in my Hardware Academy: predictabledesigns.com/academy

[@sdarquea2]

If I'm just a small time operation with no peers around that do electronics where do you recommend getting a design review? Do you offer design review services?

[@PredictableDesigns]

Yes, we offer design reviews: predictabledesigns.com/design-reviews/ But you can also get feedback on your design in my Hardware Academy.

[@RammedEarthCameroon]

Hello Sir thanks for this video. I am really new to PCB design and I'm a little scared of the whole process. Is it possible you mentor me as I grow in the field?

[@castlecodersltd]

Some great advice. Thank you ☺

[@PredictableDesigns]

You are so welcome!

[@shirsavar]

clear and informative, thank you

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you, glad it was informative for you.

[@robertlackey7212]

I just discovered your videos and I'm learning a lot. I was wondering if you could answer a question ? I'm designing a computer with a 2mm thick copper bottom and I plan to use the bottom as a heat sink for every significant heat source , the CPU , MOSFETs in the power supply , even the batteries will be in contact with the bottom. What kind of problems could I run into with this unusual arrangement ?

[@AstrosElectronicsLab]

Honestly, it's OK to use a jump cut when speaking if you're having trouble reading something. I do it all the time. Good video, though. Earned a new subscriber.

[@paragbharadia2895]

great video!

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thanks!

[@brunocunha5535]

Tanks, great video

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thanks Bruno, I appreciate it!

[@k.pradeepkumar968]

thanks for sharing this most valuable information

[@PredictableDesigns]

You are most welcome, thanks for the feedback.

[@VndNvwYvvSvv]

And always verify PCB footprints based on the datasheets, not the vendor like Digikey. I've seen them incorrectly list specs.

[@chadreshpatel2339]

Great information. I have learned a lot. I have a question related to enclosure consideration with wifi component. What are the factors affecting the performance of wifi component while designing enclosure? Is there certain materials (e.g. Metal sheet) that must be avoided? Do we need holes in enclosure for the correct signal strength or it is irrelevant?

[@PredictableDesigns]

Hi Chadresh, you will definitely not want the antenna enclosed inside sheet metal which will block the RF signal, but plastic will be fine. No need for holes in the enclosure except for heat or audio to pass through the enclosure.

[@chadreshpatel2339]

@@PredictableDesigns Thanks a lot for your quick answer. I am thinking of manufacturing only 50 pcs for the first batch because I don't know if there is any demand of my product in real world. Plastic enclosure in not really feasible for that. So I am thinking about metal enclosure. If I put some halls facing my antenna to metal enclosure, will that be sufficient? Or metal enclosure should not be used at all.

[@PredictableDesigns]

I would not start with 50 if you have never prototyped it before. Start with 3-5 units, then once fully tested and debugged you can do 50 units. You can use a method called urethane casting for producing that quantity of enclosures. Mush cheaper than injection molding. A metal enclosure of any type is going to reduce your operating range.

[@chadreshpatel2339]

@@PredictableDesigns Thanks a lot. Could you please do one video on certification like CE, FCC etc? I think it would be interesting to see that.

[@PredictableDesigns]

I actually already have done a video on FCC certification: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5Kqe42wi55gm7c

[@markysthemoose]

Great set of design issues to try and get right! One other issue I find a challenge is how much mixing of the circuit should one do on a single PCB? Should we add all the power supply and signal conditioning on the same board as the analogue front end for example? Cheers.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thanks Mark! If the power supply uses a switching regulator then it is a good idea to have it separate from any sensitive analog circuits. Linear regs are not so noisy.

[@Andrew-rc3vh]

Metal screening boxes are quite common on the analogue side. Use one layer of the PCB for the ground plane as well.

[@InsaneHydraulics]

Very helpful!

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you!

[@1minutechess]

How can I found a engineer co-founder like u

[@PredictableDesigns]

It really is all about networking with other entrepreneurs and engineers. But usually you need to bring something to the table to match what the technical cofounder will bring. For example, you would need to handle marketing, etc. Linkedin is a great choice for meeting others. In my Hardware Academy we have a program where members get matched each week for a video call with another member, and this works great for meeting potential co-founders.

[@edgeeffect]

I'm a hobbyist doing one-offs on stripboard and I STILL manage to get number 1 wrong. ;)

[@_a.z]

That nice blue pcb doesn't have the tracks pulled tight!

[@orangejjay]

I think your newer videos have done a good job of fixing the sound quality issues. The echo is PAINFUL. Sound is the most important part of a video. This would be a good one to remake with your new setup, plus it seems like your teleprompter reading has gotten better as the pauses seen in this video don't seem to show up in your other videos.

[@PredictableDesigns]

@orangejjay Yeah I've definitely improved my audio quality, and have gotten more comfortable being on camera. I kind of look like a deer in headlights in this video:) Strangely enough you are the first person to ever comment on the audio echo in those older videos. Amazing how much better the sound is once you correctly use the microphone:)

[@hogehoge8326]

It's great video.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Thank you!

[@davidhawley1132]

Some of these seem amenable to automated design checking. Which suggests that higher end design tools have that capability.

[@PredictableDesigns]

Yes, some can be, but many of these can't be automated.

[@johnlocke3481]

For #1 (design for manufacturability), you say manufacturing setup “can” be more expensive and challenging than the design itself. I would say, if you are designing real products for the store shelf, that the truth is manufacturing “IS” more expensive, complex, difficult and time consuming than the initial designing. The devil is in the details, and manufacturing is a special kind of hell with many details and many devils 😝

[@emdxemdx]

#1 "Premature optimization is the root of all evil" - Donald Knuth 😉