ABSTRACT
The comprehensive process of designing an electronic product has traditionally included a common denominator of trial and error. It is suggested that as long as engineers are creating and inventing, the trial-and-error method of the design process will be with us. However, in recent years the computer has become a vital tool on the engineer's workbench (Figure 5.1). The computer provides the means of exercising iterative loops in the engineer's t rial - an d - error design scheme. The objective here is to expedite the synthesis of design and, hence, the subsequent analysis. The sophistication of computer-aided engineering (CAE) software will be a direct factor in establishing the level of design iteration, particularly as the product matures. Computer-aided engineering software is available from many sources. This software is most often tailored for specific ap plications ; software can be customized, of course, for a price. These programs, when debugged and functional for their intended purpose, are indeed valuable aids to the engineer. An important ingredient of computed-aided engineering is to permit the engineer to test a design by computer simulation. Thus, the engineer can make changes and modifications to a design at the computer stage. Of course, the results of the design synthesis and analysis will be a direct function of the level of sophistication of the program. There is a direct relationship between the program capability and its cost, depending on the product orientation and functional require ments and the enterprise marketplace. Each design requirement will be different and require unique and special program applications to meet its needs. Let it be clear that a product design engineer can not be held responsible for developing and generating his or her "own" computer-aided engineering programs (Figure 5.2). Specialists in this area are more likely to produce effective programs, and
FIGURE 5.1 PC800 Model 4 system console. Gerber Scientific Instrument Company.)
( Courtesy of the
certainly in far less time. These programs are mathematical models of electronics physics and directly reflect the configuration and per formance of the product design.
