Freedom CAD has been recognized by Cadence as their Service Bureau of the Month.  Cadence sited Freedom CAD’s expertise with their Allegro PCB Design Software and participation in Allegro BETA program were key contributors to this selection.

Visit Cadence Design Systems for the details!

Charles Pfeil, Engineering Director at Mentor will be presenting “Effective Design Methods for Very Large BGAs”.

Mr. Pfeil has been in the PCB design industry for 40+ years and literally “wrote the book” on this subject. There are many benefits to using the BGA package; however its greatest asset – the ability to provide an extremely dense array of thousands of pins – also turns out to be a tremendous problem for PCB designers. The BGA density and pin count continues to increase; yet, our ability to effectively design with these devices has not kept pace.

Fortunately, significant advancements in PCB fabrication technology have enabled further miniaturization in the manufacturing process. These improvements, along with new software and design methods specifically for BGAs provide a means to successfully design using these devices. Mr. Pheil will explore the impact of dense BGAs with high pin-count on PCB design and provides solutions for inherent design challenges.

In addition, Vern Wnek, of Broadcom’s Chip Planning and Packaging Group will be presenting “Let your PCB Layout Team help you be SUCCESSFUL”

Mr. Wnek is a CID and a PCB Manager and the Central Library Manager for Broadcom Corporation in Irvine, CA. He has 30 years experience in the industry with PCB Layout Designs and EDA tools for DFM, DFA, and DFT requirements and is a multiple Co-Patent holder for Routing Optimization for Ball Grid Array Packaging for PCB Design. He will discuss how to create a successful team process and approach for Chip IO Planning and PCB Layout Optimization to help save your customer time and money.

The conference includes presentations on:

• Tin Whiskers: Are they behind the Toyota recalls?
• Printed Electronics vs.Traditional Electronics
• DDR3 Design and Analysis
• Easy (and Cost-Effective Ways) to Prototype Faster
• How to Plan your Design to Save Layers and Time
• LEDs and PCBs
• Library Management
• Emerging Technologies in Electronics
• Rigid/Flex
• Solderability and Reliability
• Flip Chip

Freedom CAD’s Robert Jardon is presenting “How to Plan Your Design to Save Layers and Time”.

Robert Jardon has earned a worldwide reputation for developing high density, high complexity interconnect design solutions where other designers have been less successful. He shared his 30 years of interconnection technology experience, 20 of those years using Cadence Allegro, in a presentation describing how an effective planning methodology that includes Cadence’s Interconnect Flow Planner (IFP) can reduce layer counts and save time and money during the printed circuit board layout process.

The trade show can be found on-line at: http://www.virtual-pcb.com

Robert Jardon has earned a worldwide reputation for developing high density, high complexity interconnect design solutions where other designers have been less successful.   He shared his 30 years of interconnection technology experience, 20 of those years using Cadence Allegro, in a presentation describing how an effective planning methodology can reduce layer counts and save time and money during the printed circuit board layout process.

Following the presentation, Robert fielded questions from a number of participants about the IFP tool and planning process..

Click play below to view the presentation.

For a link to the Cadence Press Release regarding the Cadence Virtual Conference please go to: http://www.cadence.com/cadence/newsroom/press_releases/pages/pr.aspx?xml=102709_advance

About Cadence
Cadence enables global electronic design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today’s integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software and hardware, methodologies, and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company, its products, and services is available at www.cadence.com.

Rich and his QA team provide the Freedom CAD designers with an independent audit of their PCB design projects to identify and eliminate potential DFx issues, making the release of  the design to PCB fabrication seamless and efficient.

“We are very pleased to add someone with Rich’s education and experience to lead our Quality Assurance team.  While he was at Solectron, Rich was a key contributor to their Valor Trilogy development, deployment and training process and we are looking to Rich to help Freedom CAD sustain our world class reputation for quality as we continue our double digit growth rate.”

- Eddie Broyles, CEO, Freedom CAD Services

IPC Designer Council Meeting

Freedom CAD Service’s senior printed circuit board designer, Tim Woytek participated as a panelist at the Orange County chapter of the IPC Designers Council’s January meeting. The meeting was designed to explore concepts and strategies which could help the designers to be more productive and efficient with today’s circuit routing challenges. The panel, consisting of representatives from Cadence, Mentor Graphics, Broadcom and Freedom CAD, shared their views and methodologies for enabling improved PCB routing planning and efficiencies.

Tim Woytek, a CID and former “Top Gun” award winner, presented examples of some of his most challenging designs and shared his planning methodology for routing success.

With 87 attendees, the Orange County chapter enjoyed its largest attendance to date for this meeting.

Scott McCurdy

Scott McCurdy of Freedom CAD Services, Inc. received a “Special Recognition Award” at the 2008 IPC Printed Circuits Expo, APEX and the Designers Summit in Las Vegas.

The award was presented in appreciation and recognition of Scott’s support of the IPC Designers Council activities by the IPC on behalf of the PCB and EMS industries, their suppliers and customers.

Mr. McCurdy is the President of the Orange County California Designers Council Chapter and since assuming this responsibility in 2003, has grown his chapter into the largest chapter in the US.

Freedom CAD’s CEO and Co-Founder Lou Primmer commented, “We are proud of Scott’s association with the IPC and his recent award.  He has been the consummate ambassador for the IPC and is clearly setting the standard for chapter participation and growth.   Kudos to Scott and his Chapter’s executive staff for helping him garner this well deserved recognition.”

About the IPC
Since 1957, IPC—Association Connecting Electronics Industries® has been guiding the electronic interconnection industry through its dramatic changes. A global trade association dedicated to the competitive excellence and financial success of its more than 2,500 member companies, IPC represents all facets of the industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly. As a member-driven organization and leading source for industry standards, training, market research and public policy advocacy, IPC supports programs to meet the needs of an estimated $1.5 trillion global electronics industry. IPC maintains additional offices in Taos, N.M.; Arlington, Va.; Garden Grove, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; and Shanghai, China.  http://www.ipc.org/

CEO and Co-Founder Lou Primmer offered, “We have become one of the largest independent Design Service Bureau’s in North America through the dedication to technology, quality and service of our printed circuit board physical design team. Over the past five years, an increasing number of customers have asked that we provide a broader range of services, such as electrical and mechanical engineering, to help them to meet their technology and/or time to market needs.  As the demand for this wider range of engineering services grew, it became apparent that we needed someone to help us organize and manage these elements of the business.”

“We are pleased to announce Don Duncan has joined Freedom CAD as Chief Technology Officer.  Don comes to us after spending the past 16 years in Engineering at Solectron/Flextronics.  We’re confident that Don has the experience and expertise to guide Freedom CAD to deliver the diverse engineering service and support that our customers have come expect from Freedom CAD.”

Mr. Broyles joins Freedom CAD after 16 years with Solectron/Flextronics.  “We are very excited to have Eddie join Freedom CAD,” commented Lou Primmer, CEO.   “His years of experience in building and managing a staff of over 400 engineers and technicians for a world class organization like Solectron/Flextronics will provide us with the leadership necessary for us to continue to expand our capabilities and successfully manage our growth.  By leveraging Eddie’s previous management experience along with the nimbleness of Freedom CAD, we hope to provide our customers with a flexible and unique solution to their needs for electrical and mechanical engineering and Printed Circuit Board design.”

Robert formerly owned and operated Jardon Engineering, of Tustin, CA, which was acquired by Kaparel Corporation, a Rittal Company in 2001.   Lauren Primmer, President and COO commented, “We are thrilled to have Robert join our company!   He brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to the organization and will be the perfect compliment to our talented staff.  His industry experience will provide us with a seasoned perspective and help us to grow and improve Freedom CAD!”

Robert’s particularly skilled at designing high-speed Backplanes and complex Daughtercards and has participated in a number of industry leading organizations over the years such as the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group’s (PICMG) 2.0 CompactPCI and 3.0 AdvancedTCA Committees.  Robert will work out of our growing Santa Ana, California Design Center.”

Lauren Primmer, COO and President of Freedom CAD offered, “We have been planning our expansion in the West for nearly a year.   We have growing number of customers located on the West Coast and with our headquarters in Nashua, New Hampshire, there are some logistic challenges now and then resulting from our time zone difference.  Establishing the Santa Ana design center enables us to overcome these challenges and consistently provide the level of service that we have become recognized for.”

Scott McCurdy, Freedom CAD’s Business Development Manager for the West Coast now has the opportunity to offer his regional customers local support while leveraging the expert resources from across Freedom CAD.   “Combining the benefits of a local, West Coast design center with the resources of Freedom’s 50 full-time designers across North America gives us a unique combination of experience, service and scale!  Throw in our additional layout capabilities in China and we have the ability to globally service our growing number of West Coast customers with a scalable solution to their PCB layout needs.

Mr. McCurdy brings over 35 years of printed circuit board industry experience to this role.   As the former President and CEO of McCurdy Circuits, Mr. McCurdy operated one of the leading printed circuit board fabrication shops in California in the 1990’s thru the early 2000’s.   Before joining Freedom CAD he was the Business Development Manager of Jardon Engineering.   In addition to this role, for the past 4 years Mr. McCurdy has also been the President of the Orange County chapter of the IPC Designer Council.  The membership of this chapter has quadrupled during his tenure, making it the largest chapter in the US.

“Scott’s experience in the pcb fabrication industry, combined with his knowledge of the design business brings a unique skill set to Freedom CAD”, commented Lou Primmer, CEO and Co-Founder of Freedom CAD.  “We’re very excited to have Scott join our company to help us to expand our customer base in the West.

Scott Miller, Executive Vice President added, “We’re very pleased to have someone with Mr. McCurdy’s credentials heading up our Business Development efforts in the West.  His knowledge of the region and years of industry experience will provide our customers with the technical service and support required to be successful in today’s dynamic environment.”

“As a long time customer and member of the Cadence Early Adopter Program, Freedom CAD continues its tradition of employing leading edge technology to give our customers the best result in the least amount of time,” said Lou Primmer, CEO and Co-Founder of Freedom CAD.  “We have built our business on the principle of providing world-class service and support to leading edge technology customers and tools like the Cadence Allegro 16.0 GLX suite.  In particular, GRE will continue to provide us with the opportunity to differentiate Freedom CAD in the marketplace.  Add to that EMA’s superior support during the process, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Lauren Primmer, President and Co-Founder added, “We are confident that the new Global Route Environment technology will enable us to significantly reduce the inefficiencies that are typical in today’s routing processes.  We believe the Global Route Environment technology for Allegro PCB design will enable us to help our customers quickly solve the interconnect challenges that previously would have taken weeks or even months to sort out using conventional practices.  We’re confident that this tool can help us to save time and reduce costs to our customers.”

“We are pleased to have Freedom CAD, one of the industries recognized leaders, as a user of the Global Route Environment technology and as an Early Adopter Program Member,” said Manny Marcano, President and CEO of EMA Design Automation.  “Freedom CAD’s North American footprint of over 45 full-time designers makes them one of our largest service bureau customers.  We are excited to have them on board with the Allegro 16.0 tool suite and have the ability service Allegro users overflow needs across North America.”