Circuit design

[2] The initial specification is a technically detailed description of what the customer wants the finished circuit to achieve and can include a variety of electrical requirements, such as what signals the circuit will receive, what signals it must output, what power supplies are available and how much power it is permitted to consume.

This can involve tightening specifications that the customer has supplied and adding tests that the circuit must pass to be accepted.

Correctly identifying the customer needs can avoid a condition known as 'design creep', which occurs in the absence of realistic initial expectations, and later by failing to communicate fully with the client during the design process.

It is good practice to keep options open for as long as possible because it's easier to remove spare elements from the circuit later on than it is to put them in.

The design process involves moving from the specification at the start to a plan that contains all the information needed to be physically constructed at the end; this happens typically by passing through several stages, although in the straightforward circuit, it may be done in a single step.

At this or later stages, it is common to require a large amount of research or mathematical modeling into what is and is not feasible to achieve.

At this point, it is also common to start considering both how to demonstrate that the design does meet the specifications, and how it is to be tested ( which can include self diagnostic tools ).

In general, the circuit principles of design flow are including but not limited to architecture scope definition, materials selection, schematic capture, PCB layout design that include power and signal integrity considition, test and validation.

The greater the complexity (quantity of components and design novelty), the more hours of a skilled engineer's time will be necessary to create a functional product.

The process can be tedious, as minute details or features could take any amount of time, materials and manpower to create.

This method is thought to cost less than additive manufacturing and eliminates the need for waste management altogether.

The task of circuit design is demanding and requires meticulous attention to detail to avoid errors.

These risks include the potential for fires and overheated wires, which could result in burns or severe injuries to unsuspecting individuals.

As a bare minimum, the documentation will normally include at least the specification and testing procedures for the design and a statement of compliance with current regulations.

In the EU this last item will normally take the form of a CE Declaration listing the European directives complied with and naming an individual responsible for compliance.