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Explaining Design Electronics

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Electronics design has two phases or stages. Stage one was explained above. Here stage two will be introduced. This stage each component that is placed in circuit boards or is part of the finished product is explained and along with the reasons for using them. The most common components used in circuit boards would be:

• Circuits: Circuits are the backbone to any electronic product. Circuits are what allow devices to work. For example, with a simple circuit you have a battery, lamp, and switch. One side of the battery is connected to the lamp. They other side is connected to the switch. Right now there is no current flow, therefore no light. But as soon as the switch is closed, current flows causing the electricity to flow through the lamp, illuminating it thusly. There are many types of circuits from simple to complex.
• Resistors: Resistors are little components that resist current flow. If a resistor was placed in the same circuit as described above, the lamp would still light, but not as bright. There are three types of resistors used in electronic circuits. These three include the resistor as was just talked about, the potentiometer, and the preset resistor. The potentiometer is used to adjust and control the voltage in a circuit. The preset resistor is a unique type in that once it is installed in the circuit, power is supplied to the circuit, and the resistor is adjusted according to specifications, then the resistor is set. No more adjustments are needed.
• Capacitors: Capacitors are components that are used to store electric charges. A typical capacitor has two plates of conducting material that are separated by a space filled by an insulator. The insulating material is called the dielectric of the capacitor. Capacitors work by passing AC signals but block DC. Capacitors come in four types: regular, polarized, variable, and trimmer.
• Diodes: Diodes are small components that work to allow current to flow in only one direction. One good use of a diode is to convert AC signals to DC. There are four types of diodes: the regular one, lighting emitting, zener, and photodiode.
• Transistors: Transistors are small components that help to amplify current. Transistors have three leads on them: base, collector, and emitter. When one current is sent through the base, another current is sent through the emitter. When these two signals combine, it causes the signals to double or triple in strength. This signal is passed out of the transistor by way of the collector. Transistors are mainly used for amplification but can also be used as a switch.
• Integrated circuits: These are usually called ICs for short. They are complex circuits that have been etched onto tiny chips of silicon. The chip is then packaged in a plastic holder with pins spaced so far apart. The pins are labeled by number starting at the point on the casing where a white dot usually is placed. At this white dot you will normally see pin one, followed by pin two, then pin three, all the way around counterclockwise until the last pin on the third side of the chip, or the pin directly opposite of pin one.

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