Prototyping and Product Design Blog

23 Feb

Designing Power MOSFET Circuits

By Kyle Hunter Circuit Design12 Comments 6

MOSFET circuit design and selection is a commonly requested topic for me to cover. There are a lot of uses for MOSFETs, as a result, they have become more commonplace than standard BJT or NPN transistors, especially in high-power applications. This article will discuss different MOSFET circuit designs, specifically for high-powered applications. I will also go into the important specs and part selection using datasheets. There are plenty of fantastic articles that delve deep into

09 Feb

Advanced LED Driver Circuit Design

By Kyle Hunter Circuit DesignNo Comments 3

One of the first projects that aspiring electronic designers or engineers undertake is making an LED blink. Completing this task with a simple resistor to limit the current is relatively simple. Many people then believe that this is the standard “end-all, be-all” for LED control. For simple LED indicators and low powered lighting, driving LEDs linearly like this is fine, but many applications call for a different approach. In this article, I outline a few

29 Jan

Troubleshooting a High Power LED Circuit Board

By Kyle Hunter Circuit Design3 Comments 3

Understanding how to properly troubleshoot circuits is an important skill to possess as an electronics designer. No matter how well versed in design and layout you are, many days will be spent on time-consuming circuit troubleshooting. It is crucial to have a solid understanding of circuit design basics, and also have the equipment available. This design required an oscilloscope, a soldering iron, and a few resistors and capacitors to troubleshoot. This article discusses a high

01 Apr

Patent Before Prototype: Which Comes First?

By Kyle Hunter Entrepreneurship1 Comment 2

One of the most misunderstood topics when launching a new product to market is of patents and prototypes. My goal with this article is to dispel myth’s and help guide entrepreneurs in product development. I will try to help suggest when to patent an invention first, and when to prototype it first. For the sake of this article, when I say “patent,” I mean a fully filed utility patent. A great resource on the importance

15 Mar

High Power PCB Design Tips & Tricks

By Kyle Hunter Circuit Design4 Comments 2

While working on my youtube video series, I have had many questions and requests to do a detailed write-up on design considerations for a high powered printed circuit board(PCB). Throughout my career, I have worked on several high powered LED and motor driver boards. The most powerful would peak at around 1000 watts with a 24VDC supply. When researching this project, there wasn’t any information online that discussed proper practices for this type of board.

28 Jan

H-Bridge Circuit Design

By Kyle Hunter Circuit Design 3

H-Bridge Circuit Basics What is an H-Bridge circuit? In the most simplistic terms, an H-bridge circuit can switch the polarity of the attached load. The most common use of an H-bridge is to drive a DC motor, allowing directional control. There are various H-Bridge designs, and some use discrete components consisting of MOSFETs, while other designs utilize a dedicated Integrated Chip (IC) H-bridge. How does it work? Figure 1 shows a basic high-level view of an

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