How are electrical circuits actually designed in the real world?
I am wondering how electrical circuits and systems are actually designed in the real world. Is there a formal process that goes into designing a circuit for a particular purpose? I have heard of electronic design automation for digital circuits, but how is this actually done? What about for analog circuits? Power systems? Thanks!
Thanks. I did have two other questions.
1.) Are there any particular tools that are necessary in any of the areas I specified?
2.) Is it possible to automate portions of the design process?
3.) Is there a really good tutorial available for this?
Tagged with: analog circuits • digital circuits • electrical circuits • electronic design automation • real world
Filed under: Electronic Circuit Designs
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First you write down your requirements (function, performance, power consumption, efficiency etc.).
Then you evaluate possible circuit topologies that are known to satisfy these requirements and if there are none that do, you invent your own. That's the fun part.
The next step is typically to simulate your circuit with Spice for analog circuits or any of the digital and mixed signal simulators for the digital ones.
Once you are happy with the simulation, you either prototype or build your circuit in real. The prototype or first test-product is then evaluated for its performance and optimized if necessary (it is almost always necessary).
Then you take what you have learned there and iterate the design process… topology, simulation, prototype, test. After a year or two or three (depending on the complexity of your product) you usually have a circuit and a design that can be produced. You still have to go through cycles of production engineering before the product can be released.
And once your product sells, you have to react to customer reports about problems and failures in the filed. And let's not forget the fun when a component you have used in the design gets discontinued…
You still want to be a EE? Be prepared for many years of fun!
Starts off as scribbles on a sheet of paper and the adding of components and modules and the application of electrical maths. Then the real work begins.