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UltraCAD Design, Inc |
The "traditional" way we have looked at the question of trace/temperature performance (for the last 40 years) was through the use of the "Trace/Temperature" charts created in the 50's and currently published by the IPC in Figure 6-4 of IPC-2221 "Generic Standard on Printed Board Design." For those who don't have access to the IPC publications, we have repeated that chart here and created a downloadable document with an enlarged version of the charts and suggestions on how to use them here.
We did our "landmark" (well, maybe we exaggerate that a little!) study of two sets of historical data related to the temperature rise of a trace as current flows through it in 1998. You can obtain and review that study here. The objective of that study was to create an equation that would allow the use mathematical calculation instead of table lookup to solve trace/current relationships. The resulting equation(s) are printed in the article. We also published a freeware calculator for designers to download so they could make those calculations on their own computer. You can obtain the calculator from our calculator page.
People have often been interested in the relationship between trace size and dimension, on the one hand, and AWG wire gauge on the other. We published an article on this topic in the January, 2001, issue of PCD Magazine, and a reprint is now available here. A goal of that article was also to create a calculator that would allow a designer to go back and forth between trace dimension and AWG size. That freeware calculator is also now available from our calculator page.
The IPC now has a concerted effort under way to update the old Trace/Temperature charts, and UltraCAD is proud to be playing a small role in that development. As we make more contributions to this total topic, they will be posted here.
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