ABOUT
I joined Gemini Circuits Ltd (Now Gemini Tec Ltd) back in 1990 at just 18 years old. I worked in the planning department which oversaw all the processes required to build bare printed circuit boards. I experienced firsthand all the processes required to actually make a bare board, from single and double-sided to multilayer boards.
PCB CAD was really taking off. I was recruited into the Front End Tooling department, overseeing the panelisation of customers CAD data and preparing it for manufacturing.
Artwork scanning was the next big thing. Thousands of designs without CAD data were reversed engineered into Gerber data to enable an easier FET process and bare board manufacture.
Later PCB assembly services were added at Gemini. I operated the Pick & Place SMT machines to aid the assembly of complex PCB Designs. Finally, I was recruited into Gemini’s in-house PCB Design Bureau.
This natural progression from the manufacture of bare boards to actually designing them myself, has given me a great deal of insight. I know exactly what it takes to Design a PCB for Manufacture (DFM). Using CADSTAR PCB design software, I learned from experienced PCB Designers how to layout boards with mixed technologies and with varying complexity.
Later I joined the R&D Department at Powerstax www.powerstax.com. Using Protel PCB Design software, I liaised between the R&D Department and the Production Department to ensure a smooth transition from design engineering through to fully built products. By adding Solidworks mechanical design to my role, I was able to not only design the PCB, but also with 3D CAD, create finished products fully assembled. From there I was responsible for creating full production manufacturing packages, drawings & assembly information.
I carried out a similar role at Sens-Tech Ltd www.sens-tech.com in developing X-Ray detection hardware. This required adding the use of Altium PCB Design software, along with Autocad Inventor 3D CAD Design to carry out all tasks. Additionally, I was also given the responsibility to run the Electronic Change Notice (ECN) system for all products and updating BOM’s & Production Assembly packages.
Now with over 30 years of experience in the Design, Manufacture and Assembly of PCB’s, I can now offer design services to all wishing to develop their products from a concept to a reality. It really helps to be able to understand electronic engineer’s design constraints and requirements and then setup the relevant design rules to achieve the finished product they need.