This month, Quadra have continued to strengthen their team of PCB design professionals and the expertise of Gary Mulqueen, an experienced Altium PCB designer, will help extend design capabilities within the company. CADSTAR and PCB Design Sales Manager, Michael Wray catches up with Gary and finds out more about his design experience and hear about some of the interesting projects he has been involved in.
So Gary, welcome to Quadra, what have you been doing for the past couple of years?
I have been working on mostly Altium designs for Calrec, who design and manufacture mixing desks and audio equipment. This role required a thorough understanding of the PCB design process, as designs often required knowledge of impedance control, high-speed design and length matching. It was a challenging but enjoyable role, especially as I enjoy taking conceptual information and turning it into a physical output and seeing the end product at the end of it.
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Sounds like you were heavily involved in the product design process. Did you get involved with the manufacturing?
As it happens, my previous role actually involved working with Autodesk Inventor on the mechanical CAD side so I have a strong understanding of both electronic and mechanical design and manufacturing. I think that’s probably my biggest strength as a designer, I have a good understanding of the mechanical development as well an understanding of multiple connected PCB’s and dense, high-speed designs.
What would you say was the most interesting project you’ve worked on previously?
Well, that has to be working with RAF re-developing some of the radar screens for the AWACS (The Boeing E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircrafts). Our company won the tender to replace the CRT screens in the aeroplanes with LCD’s. It’s amazing to think that something I worked on is serving such an important role still to this day.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for PCB design?
The biggest challenge we now face as designers is that as components get smaller, signal speeds get quicker and the end-product is also getting smaller, the manufacturing process is still nearly that same as it was 10/20 years ago. This puts pressure on the board designer to maximise spacing options and be more creative with their designs.
What are looking forward to with your new role?
I am looking forward to getting my teeth into a variety of different designs and challenges. I am also keen to further expand my skills and qualifications, one these being to gain my IPC CID qualification.
Gary Joined Quadra on the 2nd of June as is available to take on Altium PCB design work. Contact us for more information about our PCB design services. design@quadrasol.co.uk
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