Trace ampacity

Lets say for a laptop/computer that has 4 USB ports. Is it safe to connect a USB Splitter for all 4 of its ports? (Lets say The usb splitter has 4 ports each and it does not come with any external power supply/must be powered from laptop/computer).
I think the way the USB is wired internally in the motherboard to supply the needed amount of current is that if 2 or more USB ports are near together, they may share the same circuit trace and then its just a matter of adding their maximum ampacity which will determine the ampacity of the circuit trace (i.e. 2 USB ports *0.5A = The ampacity of the circuit trace that supplies the 2 USB ports is 1A. Likewise for 3 USB ports that share the same circuit trace, 3*0.5A = 1.5A).
*I'm not an electrical engineer or circuit board designer, but just extrapolating what I know from wire gauges (AWG) to supply several outlets, I assume how components are electrically powered in printed circuit boards (PCB) follows the same principle more or less. A thicker trace is needed for higher ampacity.
So to that end, you only basically need to worry about the ampacity of your USB port on your laptop/computer?
The basic premise of all this is not to exceed the ampacity of the particular USB port on your laptop.
AFAIK (correct me if I'm wrong):
Given that the official specs of USB 2.0 is 0.5A (0.5mA) and USB 3.0 is 0.9A (900mA) If you connect the USB splitter to a USB 2.0, it can only supply up to a maximum of 0.5A If you connect the USB splitter to a USB 3.0, it can supply up to a maximum of 0.9A The usb splitter will distribute the power to the devices connected to it as needed (i.e. if Device A needs 0.2A, then Device B will only be left with 0.3A).
A standard USB office mouse = 0.1A
A standard USB office keyboard = 0.1A?
My RGB Mat = Threw the box away but I'm asking the store where I bought it from how much amps it has.
Most USB devices start at 0.1A and then increase its amps if it needs more power.

I just want to start by thanking everyone who helped out with my first post!
So just to recap, I've designed some boards before at school but I've never done a mains board. From what I gather, the important things to consider when doing higher voltage designs are creepage, clearance, and isolation. For "double" or "reinforced" isolation, the minimum distance between conductors (creepage and clearance) of different nets is **6.4mm**, so I've used cutouts in order to achieve this. I've also used plenty of power and ground planes which should have ample ampacity. I've also kept all the components on the top side as to simplify testing and assembly. I'm also intending to add ground stitching vias around the board, but I've left this out as to prevent cluttering the image.
The nominal AC load will never be greater than 6A. I plan on using an AGC fuse in the C14 connector to ensure that in the event of a short there is protection
Schematic
PCB View 1
PCB View 2
Overall, I think I did ok and feel reasonably confident that this will work on the first shot. However, I think I broke some best practice rules:

1. I broke the ground plane under some of my digital traces with my 3.3VDD supply
2. 3.3V and 12V supplies are sharing the same ground plane
3. Analog relay coil signals leave the ground plane and pass over the 12V power rail underneath the board

Are any these as problematic as I think they are? I'm just remembering what I learned in my high speed digital design class, and even though this isn't a high speed board, I figured they would still apply.
​
Thank you to everyone for taking a look!

So I was making a high current (15A) PCB and was thinking about ways to get a high trace ampacity without making it stupidly wide.
Here are some numbers I played with on this trace width calculator for a 15A current

Cu Thickness (oz/ft2)	Temp Rise (°C)	Trace Width (mil)
1	10	495
1	25	284
1	50	187
2	10	248
2	25	142
2	50	93.3
3	10	165
4	10	124

Eventually went with 2oz/ft² Copper, 25°C rise.
Now for the crazy idea:

• Could you make two parallel traces?
  • i.e. one trace on top copper and one on bottom copper, parallel routing, each half the requisite width?
  • One thing I don't like about this is current imbalance. If one happens to have slightly more resistance due to manufacturing or whatever, and one trace burns out because of it, poof, broken.

I thought I had more crazy ideas, but I guess I only really had one.
Any other crazy ideas out there?

Verified? (This bot cannot verify AMAs just yet)
Date: 2012-06-02
Link to submission (Has self-text)
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Questions	Answers
My MSI motherboard says its built to "military specs". What amount of marketing bullshit does that claim represent?	"Building to" and "certifying to" are 2 separate items. Oddly enough, all of my Military guys are converting over to Commercial standards as they've found commercial, high-reliability standards are superior and less-expensive.
	"Built to" just means the guidelines are used, no additional cost "Certifying to" means that you built and use validation methods and submissions to ensure the onging quality of the part number. Way more involved and expensive.
	Yes, marketing BS.
So do you design the board, or so you actually assemble the real board? If you don't assemble it yourself, is the assembly done by people or robots? How is building PCB's for military different than the normal things that we use in smartphone, etc?	1) So do you design the board, or so you actually assemble the real board? I do little design. That's usually done by some designer that doesn't understand how to build the board. Though there are designers who understand fabrication. Designers have to take many things into consideration from bare-board fabrication, assembly, signal integrity, etc etc. I do not assemble. I build the bare-board. Think of it as I build the bus, the components are the people. 2) If you don't assemble it yourself, is the assembly done by people or robots? Not necessarily robots, but what are called "pick-n-place" machines. First the un-populated boards have solderpaste (basically a putty made of tiny balls of flux and solder) applied to them via a screening method. The boards then go into the pick-n-place machine where reels of components (literally looks like a film reel from a movie theater) reside and the machine places the components in appropriate locations. Then, the board goes into an oven where the solderpaste reflows creating the solder joints. 3) How is building PCB's for military different than the normal things that we use in smartphone, etc? Depends, if prototype, usually not that much different. However, I build a lot of product for military contractors. The boards are built, inspected and certified to much more robust and stringent criteria. Cellphones, when you look at it in reality, are designed to throw away. That way Uncle AT&T can get you locked into another 2 years. Most cellphone requirement lie within the assembly side of things as the components need to stay in place after you drop your phone.
Any tips for a designer to make fabrication easier? I'd like to think I know a thing or two, but since I've never actually set foot in a PCB manufacturing plant, I may be wrong..	I teach at PCBWest and IPC Apex. If your company is willing to allow you, check them out. You'll know which course is me. I present and teach courses specifcally for designers.
	Tips: Use IPC-A-600 Copper tables for understanding how to reference base copper. Thinner copper is always easier to fab with. Use these two guidelines to develop your ampacity calculations.
	Understand proper hole-to-pad ratios to achieve necessary annular ring.
	Understand tolerances of fabrication.
	Call the engineering manager of your fabricator. Ask them about your designs and what you can do to improve them.
I used to work those pink'n'place machines as a job in between undergrad and grad school. I don't think i've ever had a more menial job that was so agitating. Tiny little parts half the size of a tic tac, on roles of 1000, being placed by little vacuum arms=so much frustration.	Boards are extremely frustrating. Its an art more than science at times...
Were you at the latest San Diego show? I was there exhibiting.	Yep, I taught PD-45.
Well next IPC show I'm at I'll be sure to sign up for your class! What a great show San Diego was though, perfect place for it (Though Mandalay was definitely better).	Vegas allows for more customevendor interaction.
	AND less expensive.
What do you enjoy about doing this?	Never been asked that. Hi-five smack
	It's always something new, something challenging and something that will require thought. I've engineered 5 jobs in 1 day and each one was completely different from the other and required "out the box" thinking to build it. I have a love-hate relationship with building boards. As most board fabrication has moved to China, America is now quick-turn prototype. Quick-turn fabrication is completely intense. Usually, what it would take a shop 15-20 days to build, we're doing in 24-hour, 2-day, 3-day and 5-day turnaround. So that means it has to get out of Engineering QUICKLY. I have to be 100% correct about all of my tools and instructions in just a fraction of the time that I had just a few years ago. Its a weird high. Intense, fast-paced....but stressful as hell.
What's your educational background? And can someone who's self taught make it in the industry?	I didn't finish college. I stumbled into this industry by chance. Most people have no idea it exists. To clarify, I don't do much design at all. I am the Engineering Manager for a shop that builds the bare-boards (no components on it, yet). Due to the complexity of building boards, most people start out working for years on the shop floor.....i.e. Feeding the machines, running the CNC machines, working in the Wet Process area (that's where copper plating happens). I was a decent programmer and the shop I worked for at the time needed a CNC Programmer for their engineering department. It all went downhill from there, LOL.
That's crazy how people just fall into a job like this, my dad did the same thing. He went from a medic in the airforce to doing failure analysis and cleaning circuit boards. It makes no sense and I have absolutely no clue how he comes up with the processes.	I'll tell you this. Circuit boards have taught me how to be one resourceful bastard. Again, it's many different industries and disciplines combined into one big cluster-fuck.
What is the hardest material to work with? What is the most layers you have ever fabbed?	What is the hardest material to work with? Teflon is the most difficult to deal with. It moves unpredicatbly, sometimes and it's difficult to plate to as it's designed to me a non-stick surface.
	What is the most layers you have ever fabbed? I've personally built a 38-layer board for Northrop Grumman. It was .250" thick. Heavy as hell.
38? jesus christ. Most I have ever heard of was 10...till now.	Adding layers and increased thickness are easier, believe it or not. Layer-to-layer registration and Aspect Ratio (smallest hole diameter vs. Thickness of board) are the only difficulty.
	HDI is the pain in the butt. This is called High-Density Interconnect. This is the technology that your cell-phones thrive on. It's basically scaling everything down. 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag.
What would they need a really thick board for? What advantage does that give over thinner?	Loaded question: Really thick can be a culmination of many things. High-layer count, copper thickness, robustness, etc. No advantage, really. But, would you rather carry an iPhone or carry an iHuge. I can build you a board that can do the same thing in the end, but one would be significantly larger.
38 layers 0_o. Most I designed for my hobby was 4.	Yeah, some people are overachievers. I've seen a 66-layer board.
Why do circuit boards look like little cities?	Because barns and cattle won't fit on them...LOL.
I'm on my way to getting my EE diploma, best decision ever.	Hmmm good question. As an EE, you'll be hammering out schematics, power distribution networks, signal integrity, etc. This information will then go to a designer who'll perform schematic capture and will do lay-out of the board. Then, it gets pumped down stream to me and I make your concept a reality, hopefully.
I would like to ask you, are there any ideas you would like to build and market?	As far as ideas, hmmmm..... not really. When you're banging out 11-12 hour days building this stuff, you tend to keep your mind as far away as possible from it.
Why most circuit boards are green or blue colored? Is there any reason for that?	The colored stuff you see is called soldermask. It is a protective coating over the copper circuitry and bare-board material. Not all circuit boards have it or are required to have it.
	Color wise: Originally, the green color came from Military standards. The military determined that is was easire to discern GREEN soldermask with WHITE reference designators (this was back when the components were populated manually). I've built boards with a wide array of colors. Green, CLEAR, blue, red, orange, pink.
Ok I really REALLY would like my next motherboard to be fucking clear.	Clear is my favorite color.
Can you see all the way through the board?	If there's a big enough hole...LOL.
Have you ever built a board to operate in watesalt water solution? any tips for improving layer adhesion in that sort of situation?	1) have you ever built a board to operate in watesalt water solution? any tips for improving layer adhesion in that sort of situation? hmmm I don't know if any of my boards are operating in open water, unprotected. Perhaps "Conformal Coating" would facilitate this. I'm now sure. Any tips for improving layer adhesion? Again, I'd look at conformal coat. Perhaps look at using teflon as a material.
What size scale do you work at? what is the smallest thing you have built?	2)what size scale do you work at? what is the smallest thing you have built? I've built .002" laser microvias, .001" trace width and .001" spacing. That's pretty damn tight for circuit boards. Now, IC's and Semiconductors are a whole other work.
Electroplating or electroless? or do you jump straight to vapor deposition techniques?	3) electroplating or electroless? or do you jump straight to vapor deposition techniques? We use both. Electroless is somewhat limited in its achievable thickness of plating. We mainly use this for the initial metallization (copper-wise). We also use for Final Finish, for example Electroless Nickel/Immersion Gold The shop I work out now uses Direct metallization, aka Black Hole. It's a carbon coating in the holes that allow electroplating.
Is there a difference in creating say...a graphics card board? I'm not very educated on the subject.	Nope, no difference. It's all woven fiberglass with epoxy resin (most boards), copper, soldermask (the green stuff) and components. The circuit board itself is merely the vehicle that facilitates components talking to one another, when they need to talk (that's key in many applications). The IC's and other devices is where the magic happens.
Why are some graphics card PCBs different in color? Is this hard to achieve?	Not hard to achieve. This post has answers about the color. Other than that, what looks cooler and more high tech. A green board you've seen before or a RED one? Both are the same, the Red is more marketable.
How does one go about recycling circuit boards, and is there any money to be made while doing so?	No money. I'd take it to Best Buy.
So, excuse me if I sound like a total dumbass right now, but I've learned that the redstone in Minecraft resembles these Circuit Boards, am I wrong? Do you know about the redstone in Minecraft, and what is your opinion about it? This video is a perfect example of what redstone can do. I'm just wondering what you think about that?	Meh that appears to be more software, than anything. But, good question.
It's all built in software, but it's all based on wires, inverters, and delay components. If you look it at enough and fiddle with it enough it's essentially a big, slow electronic simulator.	Oh cool!
I used to design. I am interested to know how the plane layers are made. Also what does the equipment look like, does it automatically switch drill bits or do you have to do it yourself? Do you hate it when designers send you something with a bajillion different hole diameters? How bad are the chemicals? Can I have other colors besides green?	I am interested to know how the plane layers are made. Typically, for innerlayers, just a print and etch operation.
	Also what does the equipment look like, does it automatically switch drill bits or do you have to do it yourself? Yes, it automatically switches. It also validates the size and has broken bit detection.
	Do you hate it when designers send you something with a bajillion different hole diameters? Yes.
	How bad are the chemicals? Pretty nasty stuff.
	Can I have other colors besides green? I can make any color you want.
On to the questions: 1- you say you don'T design much, but through the years, did you pick up a few skills and can you now tell which boards were professional/amateur? 2- What's the fastest turn around time you were able to achieve for a customer? 3- Are tooling fees actually legit or is it a way to get more money out of me?	1- you say you don'T design much, but through the years, did you pick up a few skills and can you now tell which boards were professional/amateur? Oh yeah, I definitely can. BUT, it's not always the case. The design is only as good as the user. I've seen big-name companies fall flat on their face with the quality of work. 2- What's the fastest turn around time you were able to achieve for a customer? I just built a board last Friday, 4-layer board, for an Intelligence community customer. I came in at 5:30am to engineer it and it shipped at 4:30pm that afternoon. THAT is pretty bad-ass 3- Are tooling fees actually legit or is it a way to get more money out of me? They are legit. You have pay for my time, expertise, and the Cadillac software I use to get your creation on your door.
I know a lot of companies offer quick turn around, and it's always super impressive to me how fast you can make PCBs (the amount of work easily explains the jump in price too).	Oh sorry. It sounded as if you were a buyer. I was offering advice on how to save.
for tooling fees, I wasn't asking in a cheap kind of way. If I want to avoid tooling, I use regular sized drill bits and everyone's happy. I was just wondering how much of a process it actually was to incorporate non-standard sizes during fabrication.	Non-standard sizes are really no big deal. We drill at 4-5mils larger than your nominal to finish at +/-3mils of your nominal.
Most traces on boards have intentional, tiny holes at some point. Are those for diagnostic purposes?	Those are affectionately referred to as vias. They are copper-plated holes that connect to other layers in the board. They are small so that you can have a higher density of connections.
Any recommendations for small assembly/hobbyist runs? I thinking of designing a PCB but don't have the time to actually assemble it (after I get the PCBs made).	PCB pool (Link to www.pcb-pool.com) to get your bare-boards built Cheap and dirty. Caveat: They "run what you brung". Running it through a true fabricator, such as myself, will ensure the utmost integrity of the board. PCB Pool makes money by placing multiple part numbers up on a production panel and just building it. No specialty involved.
	Proto-Pac is a good assembly house I did business with. They specialize in low-volume, high mix. I would go on google maps, near your location, and do a search for assembly house or contract manufacturing, pcbs.
There was an episode of "Ripley's Believe It or Not" which featured circuit board art, microscopic pictures and icons etched into the actual circuit board. Is there any truth to this? And if so, how common is it?	Yes, i've seen this before in boards I've built. It's super easy to do. I had a strong relationship with a former customer and I'd take their designs and hide stuff in them so that they'd see it in the end result. It was a funny relationship.
You might get a laugh out of this...	The asians are ......well....funny. My jaw dropped. Like....what just happened???
What does this accomplish, it's supposed to be rigid but if that snaps it should still work?	What does this accomplish, it's supposed to be rigid but if that snaps it should still work? We take flexible material, that has copper patterns, and embed them with the boards. This removes the necessity for a wiring harness. Also, as things are getting faster and faster, it helps reducing noise in connecting device A to device B my avoiding mis-matched impedances.
What's the story behind colors. Like I have seen any color but mostly I see green, brown, occasionally "natural plastic".	What's the story behind colors. Like I have seen any color but mostly I see green, brown, occasionally "natural plastic". The colored stuff you see is called soldermask. It is a protective coating over the copper circuitry and bare-board material. Not all circuit boards have it or are required to have it. Color wise: Originally, the green color came from Military standards. The military determined that is was easire to discern GREEN soldermask with WHITE reference designators (this was back when the components were populated manually). I've built boards with a wide array of colors. Green, CLEAR, blue, red, orange, pink.
OK, so the flexy part is coming out the side and connecting to something else... I was envisioning it totally encased. I know about soldermask, but I think I've also seen green substrate often enough on boards w/o mask?	A good example.... Link to ksg-web.cycro.info
What about undersea cable repeaters & man-rated spacecraft? Do they also fall into class 3, or is there a class 4 for them?	Again, class 3A, which is space flight. Undersea, never really heard of applications for it.
They don't make a lot of new undersea cables, and the ones they do have a lot few repeaters than they used to. But the expense of dredging it up to repair it is still huge, so the soldering has to be perfect.	Oh, in that case, the housing must be spot on. It's all based upon the conditions that the board will see. Repeaters may or may not run at high temp, thereby introducing minimal stress to the board. But, you must keep it dry.
Link to www.youtube.com	God I love old informative films....
How did you get into this line of work? What exactly drove you to do it?	Complete accident. I left the Navy, needed a job. I had no idea the industry existed.
Did you have any knowledge of this stuff before or did you just jump right into it?	Mentions are made in this post. Complete accident. And no, there are no college classese for it. This, as I've come to learn, is a very unique industry.
How do you rationalize working with the military-industrial complex? (The one Dwight Eisenhower gave us dire prophetic warnings about at his farewell address.) Is it something you knowingly rationalize or did you just happen to "fall into it?"	Just fell into it. I guess I'm pretty good at what I do.
	As far as the MIC goes, there are people pulling on strings that I have no control over. I play my part and make the best of it. Protest it all you want, rationalize it all you want....it makes no difference in the end. The president is merely a poster child for a duration of 4 years to give people a person to lay blame...for that period of time.
I wasn't referring to the president, but the very real circumstances we're in as a nation. Glad to hear you aren't blaming one either. Are you doing anything about it? Or is it hopeless to do anything about the inevitable?	Not doing anything about it, nor do i have an "inevitable" mentality about it. For now, this is my life. It will be whatever I make of it. I choose not to partake in analyzing it, I guess.
	I don't have access to the intelligence that this country's decision makers have. therefore, I can't form an honest opinion as to whether its right or wrong. I, as a citizen that loves his country and his fellow countrymen, can only be the cog in the machine that I've been asked to be and do it to my fullest potential.
I think I failed my exam yesterday on circuits. Is there anything you can say to comfort me?	I know you're encountering much "resistance" in completing your circuitry course. Do or do not....there is no try.
	LOL.
I'm 17 and thinking of going into Electronic engineering as my career choice. What are some pro's and cons of the job? Also, Does it get old after a while or is it always a good time?	There's always good and bad. You can't appreciate the good if you never have bad. Whatever you do, research it. Go to companies in your city and ask to speak to these people. it always amazes me how people will spend 6 months to 1 year researching and looking for a house, but apply little effort in figuring out what they will do for the next 50+ years (not saying that you are doing that at all) I would go to these companies with a quick 5-10 question sheet....hit them with it. then, figure out what you want to do. You can always do General Studies in the interim.
I just started doing PCB layout design so this question is relevant to me. how do you answer when people ask you, "what do you do for living?"?	I tell them I'm a butt model.....seriously If they really want to know, they'll ask again at some point and you can actually explain...because most people will have NO clue of what you're talking about.
Yeah, US prisoners dismantle a lot of it. E waste often gets sent to UNICOR companies. Isn't there a timeline of when use of solders that contain lead was phased out in the US?	Meh, not Military. They love lead.
Let's say that my tv, or my graphics card fails. Would you know where to begin troubleshooting it, besides looking for obvious physical damage?	That would be a needle in a haystack.
I have some basic soldering skills, but I don't know the first thing about electronics. I have always wondered what kind of knowledge is required to "fix a tv" or something of that sort. Or is that kind of skill simply out of reach for all but the most dedicated of tradesmen?	Did a component fail? Did a via crack? Did the board delaminate? No telling what the root cause is.
So do you design the board in a program and have it manufactured through large machines? Or how does it work exactly? Maybe break down what goes into designing and building a board if you can?	Link to en.wikipedia.org
What exactly do you engineer on them? the shape/placement of the circuits? or are you also the electrical engineer for them and design the whole schematic too?	Nope. EE does schematic. Designer takes schematic and lays it out. Place components here and there. Then he connects it all. Those files come to me and I make manufacturing tools out of them.
	That's a very high topical view.
So just those? NOR do you do other things? NAND what about this weather today?	I hang out with the ol' lady. we've been together 5+ years. I've been a drummer since I was 4. Played Bass for a few years.... Fire-pit, a lil' fishin', I try not to say the word "No" in life.
What's your opinion on the various EDA packages, or do you only deal with Gerbers? (I'm Australian, so primarily Altium).	I'm a bandwagon Mentor guy. Mainly because I've been heavily involved with their R&D group helping to develop their DRC tools, i.e. ODB++,etc. But, ultimately, a software package is only as good as the user. I work with a guy in Texas that is still using a CAD package that runs in DOS. DOS!!!!! His designs are clean and actually have some technology to them. I personally hate Gerber. It's dumb data. ODB++ maintains data intelligence and all CAM systems can use it. You also reduce engineering cycle time at the fabricator by using it.
My personal best layout is a 14 layer IPC-2 RF board on Rogers substrate with 2 BGA-1156. :)	RF boards are a blast, aren't they? Us fab guys have gotten pretty good with Rogers. Were you using 4000 series? Hybrid?
4450 from memory.	Was is a hybrid or pure-package Rogers?
ODB++ is great, I'm no fan of gerbers, I much prefer to send the whole package or ODB++ with netlist embedded for full BBT/e-test. Just makes everyones job easier.	We use inkjet whenever we can. Sounds like you're on the right path.
Do you prefer silkscreen or inkjet overlay?, and what's your smallest recommended overlay feature size? I tend to use 32/8 for easily readable designators, and 24/6 if it gets tight.	How do you get the line feeds in your comments? Mine just run together even though I hit return? **What the hell? It did it correctly this time.
I study Industrial Design Engineering. What can I do as a (future) product designer to make your job easier?	Make my boss allow Bourbon to be consumed in moderation at my desk. A good cigar1-2 times a week at my desk Mandatory rides on my Harley for a 2hr lunch.
	Other than that, keep pushing the envelope. it makes things frun for me.
Hey! I wanted to ask you, what was the path you took to get here? Like what course did you opt for at graduation and did you do a post-grad?	You won't find this industry in any course work. it's a cluster of many industries. I know Chemical engineers whom work in our wet process. All they do is make sure our tanks/baths are running top notch. I know mechanical engineers that make sure our CNC machines and lasers run like a champ. I fell into this industry by accident. I didn't finish college due to the success I had in this industry. I just got lucky and stumbled into something I was good at.
I do a hobbyist "batching" PCB service, putting lots of designs on the same large panel. A lot of fabs don't want to do panels with a lot of different designs. Why is that? What makes them difficult?	It's a bitch for our MRP/ERP system. Keeping track of multiple parts on 1 production panel is a pain in the ass, honestly. I hate it. For engineering, most of our tools and automation are designed to be monogamous, if you will, in the setup. 1 part, 1 panel motto. It just throws a big wrench in the system. I recommend submitting the data all merged together. Most people don't think about that.
So maybe you don't batch things in this way, but do you have packing algorithms to automatically figure "We have sheets of substrate x by z inches and need to make so many of each of several different boards of these dimensions and shapes, how do I best pack them?"	Talk to your fabricator. Ask them their preferred production panel sizes. Ask them what their tooling margins are. They'll break it all down for you.
Do you like, reuse the copper that gets etched off, precipitate it out and send it back to be put on new boards?	Do you like, reuse the copper that gets etched off, precipitate it out and send it back to be put on new boards? Nope, once its gone...bye bye. We offload to a recycling operation that will buy it from us and use in other applications.
How do you deal with the crazy price discrepancy between american and china PCB houses? (I can get boards for $0.12/sqin in china, and its hard to find a place to make them under $2.50/sqin in the USA)	Elaborate on "how do you deal". Do you mean explaining the cost difference? Do you mean how do american companies still survive?
Do you manufacture anything for RF circuits? Are there any special techniques that have to take place for high frequency boards?	Do you manufacture anything for RF circuits? yes. I also build hybrid (digital and rf on the same board)
	Are there any special techniques that have to take place for high frequency boards? yes, a better material is used. Low loss, high speed material is used frequently.
At my job we call the rf boards "randomly fucked" because they are such a bitch to troubleshoot, requires great skill with the signal analyzer and a lot of patience.	Bwah hahaha That's funny.
Annual salary?	CAM Engineers can make 35-55k. Eng. Managers 55k-100k,
I dabble a bit in hardware design, but have never done it professionally in a production environment. One of the most irritating things I encounter is the fairly minimal parts libraries available for EDA; it seems that for common-but-newish components (μCs, MEMS sensors, high flux LEDs, etc), I'm stuck making the package/pad definitions and schematic symbols most of the time. Is this the workflow that professional designers can expect, just slowly building a library over time and giving the junior guys the gruntwork? Do you know of any resources/protips for making the setup work go quicker?	Hmmm there are a lot of freelance designers. Usually, a company has a well-established library of parts, definitions and guideline. Hit the user forums of the software you're using. You might strike gold.
How much money do you make? (if you don't mind) or whats the average salary? Also how would one get into this field? Thanks!	Answered in this post somewhere.
I am a recent Computer Engineering graduate. I spent my senior year focusing on VLSI design, any job openings? :]	Stay away from bare-board fab. No market for your skill set. Check out OEM's.
What processomicrocontrollers are generally on them? what is the estimated average components on one of your boards, and what software do you use to design them?	No components or design here. But, i can tell you that I've built a board that cost 8k...without components.
Jeez 8k, what was it that made it so expensive? layers? size? pitch of components?	Burn-in board. For processors....All of the above made it so expensive.
Which hand do you use to wank the crotch rocket?	Both, my Harley has Cruise Control!!
Do yiu have any tips for drawing omega?	You must be an alpha to draw Omega.

Last updated: 2012-06-06 20:31 UTC
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