The Engineering Projects

4 Tips for Better Construction Job Bids

Hello Buddies, Welcome from the team of The Engineering Projects. We hope you are having a good day. In this article, you will investigate about four remarkable tips for a better job bit that will boost your chances to be hired. Construction is an emerging and fast-growing source of business. However, we cannot neglect that it is a very competitive field at the same time. In this ever-growing world, where the construction business is highly profitable and demanding, most people fail to get better construction jobs due to inaccurate bids. While construction bidding is not an easy task, better understanding and farsightedness can help you win more jobs.

What is construction bidding?

Construction bidding is the process through which you submit a proposal for a specific job. In other words, you send your proposal to a potential client. As simple as it may seem, writing an attractive proposal isn’t easy. Many companies have very unfavorable bid-hit ratios, which translates into wasted time and money. However, this process doesn’t depend entirely on luck. Understanding the process and working diligently can make your construction bidding more manageable and successful. When a client invites contractors to bid on a project, they often split it into different chunks. For example, one chunk of the job might be plumbing and another electrical work. Then, the client will invite various subcontractors to bid on tasks related to their specialties. This process is very smooth as it allows the owners and contractors to develop better relationships and continue their work. Similarly, it also helps the owners to get the best team of contractors for their construction project.

Tips for Submitting Better Construction Job Bids

Preparing a bid proposal for construction jobs takes a lot of time and effort. It requires full focus on understanding the client’s needs, estimating the costs for laborers and equipment, and then bidding. Even the smallest of mistakes can make you lose a highly profitable project opportunity. The following tips will help you in writing the best construction job bids.

?       Select the right project

Many people think that bidding on every job they encounter will increase their chances of getting work. However, that’s not the case. It will only utilize your energy and time with no fair results. Thus, bidding on every job you find is among the worst mistakes construction contractors make. A much more effective strategy is to bid less and bid on those jobs worth your consideration and time. Let’s assume you bid on a particular project without thinking and attend all pre-bid meetings and start taking subcontractor pricing. After analyzing the pricing and crunching the numbers, you realize that it doesn’t offer much profit to your team. So, the only solution at this point is to move on to another project. But what did all the effort, pre-bid meetings, and takeoffs cost you? It was a tremendous waste of time and resources. It can improperly impact your overall profitability as a company. Therefore, the best strategy is to identify the client’s needs and bid on those projects you can perform and give the best results. Before bidding, think about the past projects your company had won and delivered and came out with successful results. If the new projects are similar, bid on them.

?       Develop a positive reputation

General contractors always gauge your effort and professionalism based on the proposals you submit. An attractive proposal highlighting your ability to meet the client’s needs can help you win the job for the bid amount quickly. A good bid proposal is detailed. Take the time to carefully craft your messaging and offer within the proposal before submitting it. To be more precise, the proposal should be professional, comprehensive and accurate. To know more about writing a winning bid proposal for construction, head to bridgitsolutions.com. The company is highly reputable and has put together a great resource about crafting effective construction bids.  

?       Know when to submit the lowest bid

If a brand has no real competitive advantage over others, its chance of winning the bids becomes difficult. The same happens when you are new to the area and are surrounded by highly reputed and competitive companies. If you’ve nonetheless identified the project as one that will further your company’s goals, you may consider placing a relatively low bid. This strategy can help a lot as it attracts more contractors to get the work done at the lowest price. However, it should not be so low that you lose your profit – unless you’re willing to treat the project as a loss leader. However, some contractors value your skills and expertise more than the price. If you have a team of highly skilled professionals capable of managing the client’s needs, that constitutes a competitive edge they’ll likely consider when choosing a contractor.

?       Create accurate estimates

Taking accurate measurements is essential when calculating the appropriate bid. Inaccurate measurements and human errors can cause many problems as it misrepresents the total amount of labor and materials, which can have a devastating impact on your bottom line. The best way to create accurate estimates is by using good estimating software. An efficient software solution can speed up the process and provide error-free, precise, and accurate bids. Similarly, arithmetic errors leave a huge impact on the bid. So, using a calculator is better to ensure better measurements. However, robust construction bid software is the best way to ensure accurate measurements in less time. Choosing the best estimating software is also difficult when there are so many in the market. First of all, understand your needs and what you want the software to do for you. Then, do proper research and choose the best software solution for your goals.

Conclusion:

Preparing a competitive and winning proposal for a construction job requires time and effort. However, no matter how much time you put in, if you don’t have a proper proposal with accurate estimates, your efforts will go in vain. Thus, the tips mentioned above will help you understand the strategies of construction bidding and bidding for the right and winning proposal.

Implementation of SR Flip Flops in Proteus

Hello Learners! welcome from the team of The Engineering Projects. We hope you are having a productive day. We are working on a series of Blogs based upon the core knowledge about Digital Logic Gates and Circuits. In this tutorial, we'll know about the SR Flip Flops and after brief introduction we will simulate SR Flip Flops in Proteus. Let's have a glimpse on the topics of today:

• What are Flip Flops?
• What are the types of Flip Flop?
• How does we design the Truth Table of SR Flip Flops?
• What are further classes of SR Flip Flips?
• Implementation of SR Flip Flops in Proteus.

Flip Flops

Flip Flops are extremely important Circuits of Digital Logic Design. We Introduce the Flip Flops as:

"Flip Flops are type of sequential Logic Circuit that contain two stable states "Zero" and "One" (because of the binary system). It is often used as Storage device and each state of Flip Flop stores one bit." 

They are the building blocks of the Electronics and play an important role in the world of Logic Circuits. Being the Binary circuits, they are essential for the computation in the computer system. The Inputs of the Flip Flops are named as "S" AND "R" that stands for Set and Reset respectively. There are two Outputs of the Flip Flop called Q and Q'. As the name suggest itself, both the outputs are the Inverse of Each Other. the Flips Flop are sequential Logic Circuits that mean they use a Clock called as "CLK"  in the circuit. the Function of clock is to synchronize the circuit. The Phenomenon in which the clock signal is change its value i.e, from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0, is called the edge of the clock.

DID YOU KNOW?????????????????

Flip Flops are also called as Bipolar Multi-vibrator because they can store the both the Conditions of the Binary system.

When we say that Flip Flops are the Storage Devices, we mean that they does not only calculate the output from the present data, but they can also work with the data stored previously in the Flip Flops.  

Types of Flips Flops

When we talk about the types of Flip Flops, we consider mainly Four types of Flip Flops as follow:

1. SR Flip Flop
2. JK Flip Flop
3. D Flop Flops
4. K Flip Flops

These kinds are same in the composition of circuits, but the working, Construction and the results are different from each other. We'll Describe the structure of each of them along with the simulation for best concepts one after the other.

DID YOU KNOW??????????????

Flip Flops can maintain a binary state as long as there is power in the circuit, therefore can store the Data.

SR Flip Flop

The full name of SR Flip Flop is Set Reset Flip Flop. In this type of Flip Flop the Value of Output Q depends upon the Value of the "S" input. once the input of the SR Flip Flop goes high (When S and R are high) the output goes to infinity or undefined therefore this Circuit is used to  store the information.

Truth Table of SR Flip Flop

When we talk about the Truth Table of SR Latch, we find some unique behavior. The Interesting point about the SR Latch is when Set and Reset are LOW i.e, 0 then the value of the Output does not change. The circuit does not show any alternation. Moreover, when the values of inputs are HIGH, the output is undefined as discussed above. Hence the design of Truth Table of SR Flip Flop is as follow:

S	R	Q	Q’
0	0	No change	No change
0	1	0	1
1	0	1	0
1	1	Undefined	Undefined

  The SR Flip Flops are further classified into two main types:

1. Active High SR Flip Flops.
2. Active Low SR Flip Flops.

we'll learn about their details and the structure of the circuit.

Active High SR Flip Flops

The Active High SR Flip Flops are the one in which the Set input and the output terminal Q collaborate with each other. When the S is 0, the output Q is 1 and vise versa. We know that Q is always opposite to Q' hence we get the output as expected. Let's Look at the circuit of Active High SR Flip Flop and work at it in Proteus ISIS.

Active High SR Flip Flops in Proteus ISIS

• Fire Up your Proteus Software.

Material Required

1. AND Gate
2. NOR Gate
3. NAND Gate
4. Logic Toggle
5. LED-Red
6. Clock
7. Ground Terminal
8. Connecting Wires

• Click at the "P" button and Write AND Gate, NOR Gate, Logic Toggle, LED-Red, Clock one after the other and choose them through Enter button.
• Choose AND Gate from the Pick Library section and arrange two of them at the working area.
• Get two NOR Gates and arrange them just after the AND Gates.
• Get two Logic Toggles and Arrange them just before AND Gate for input.
• Choose two LEDs and fix them just after the NOR Gates.
• Ground each LED through ground Terminal Found in the Terminal modes at the left side of screen.
• Use a Clock in between AND Gates.
• Join all the components through wires just like the image given below:

Now Pop the Play button. Alter the Values of Input and observe all the outputs at each Logic Gate. You will get following Truth Table:

S	R	1	2	Q	Q’
0	0	0	0	No change	No change
0	1	0	1	0	1
1	0	1	0	1	0
1	1	Undefined	Undefined	Undefined	Undefined

DID YOU KNOW???????????

The inputs of Active Low SR Flip Flops are denoted by a a bar , a complement or a "not" word along with their name.

Active Low SR Flip Flop

The Active Low SR Flip Flops have the same output as their twin Circuit Active High SR Flip Flop. The difference is in the construction of the circuit. We use the NAND Gate in the Construction of Active Low SR Flip Flop. all other arrangements and devices are same as the previous one.

Simulation of Active Low SR Flip Flop in Proteus ISIS

• In the above Circuit of Active High SR Flip Flop, pop the left click at gate 1.
• Left click>Delete the Gate 1.
• Repeat the same step with other gates as well.
• Add the NAND gate in all the places.
• Arrange the system again as shown in the figure below:

When we Test the Active Low SR Flip Flop we get the following outputs:

S'	R'	1	2	Q	Q’
0	0	0	0	No change	No change
0	1	1	1	0	1
1	0	1	1	1	0
1	1	Undefined	Undefined	Undefined	Undefined

Hence this is another form of SR Flip Flop. Consequently, we learned about the Flip Flops, we saw what are its types , saw the subclasses of the Flip Flop and designed two types of SR Flip Flops in Proteus ISIS. Stay tuned for the other tutorial in which we'll solve the problem of undefined conditions of Flip Flops.

Introduction to Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2

Hello Everyone! Hope you’re well today. Happy to see you around. In this post today, I’ll walk you through the Introduction to Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2. Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2 is a microcontroller board based on ATmega4809 and carries an ECC608 crypto chip to ensure a secure and safe WiFi connection. The board contains 14 digital I/O pins, 5 PWM pins, 6 analog pins, one SPI protocol, one I2C, and one UART communication protocol. I suggest you read this entire post till the end as I’ll detail the complete Introduction to Arduino Uno WiFi Rev2 covering pinout, pin description, features, programming, and applications. Let’s jump right in.

Introduction to Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2

• The Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2 is a microcontroller board that is mainly based on the ATmega4809 microcontroller.
• Contains a temperature sensor and a 6 axis accelerometer/gyroscope for motion sensing. Generally employed to develop fall sensors, step counters, door opening alarms.
• A brand new ECC608 crypto chip accelerator is included on the board to ensure a secure WiFi connection.

• The safe and secure WiFi connection makes it an ideal pick for several industries including consumer electronics, automotive, agriculture, logging data, and small home automation projects.
• The oscillator speed is 16MHz which is required for the synchronization of all internal functions.
• There are total 14 digital I/O incorporated on the board out of which 5 are used as PWM pins and 6 analog pins are available on the board.

 

• The flash memory is 48KB that is mainly employed to store the sketch (Arduino program is called a sketch) while the EEPROM is 256bytes and SRAM is 6KB.
• The EEPROM is a non-volatile memory which means it stays stored in the board even if power is removed from the board. While SRAM is used to manipulate and generate variables when it is activated.
• The DC current for the 3.3V pin is 50 mA and the DC current per I/O pin is 20mA. And the recommended input voltage ranges from 7V to 12V.
• The operating voltage of this board is 5V. Moreover, this board also incorporates Secure Element = ATECC608A and Radio module = u-blox NINA-W102
• This board is an advanced version of Arduino Uno. But the processor architecture of this Rev 2 board is different than the Arduino Uno since it incorporates a different chip. The program you write for Arduino Uno will not work with Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2.
• Other features include a power jack, USB connection, a reset button, and an ICSP header. ICSP header is used to develop communication with other devices while pressing a reset button will reset the board and start the program from the initial stage.

Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2 Pinout

The following figure shows the pinout diagram of Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2.  

Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2 Pin Description

This was all about the brief introduction to Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2. In this section, we’ll detail the pin description of each pin incorporated on the board. Let’s get started.

Digital Pins

14 digital pins are installed on the board which you can use as an input or output according to the requirement. These pins get only two values i.e. HIGH or LOW. When they receive 0V they are in a LOW state and when they receive 5V they are in the HIGH state.

Analog Pins

6 analog pins are available on the board. These pins can receive any number of values in comparison to digital pins that only get two values HIGH or LOW.

PWM Pins

Out of 14 digital pins, 5 are used as PWM pins. These pins generate analog results with digital means. These pins are mainly used to control the speed of the motor.

SPI Pins

This board features the SPI protocol. Which serial peripheral interface communication protocol. It is used to develop communication between the controller and other peripheral devices like shift registers and sensors. It contains two Pins i.e. MISO (Master Input Slave Output) and MOSI (Master Output Slave Input) are mainly incorporated for SPI communication between devices. These pins are used to send or receive data by the controller.

I2C

I2C is a two-wire communication protocol. It contains two pins SCL and SDL. The SCL is a serial clock line used to synchronize all data transfer over the I2C bus while SDL is a serial data line used to carry the data.

UART Pins

The UART is a serial communication protocol. It contains two pins Rx and Tx. The Rx is the receiving pin used to receive serial data while Tx is a transmission pin used to transmit the serial data.

Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2 Features

The following are the main features of Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2.

• Microcontroller = ATmega4809
• Input Voltage (recommended) = 7 - 12V
• Operating Voltage = 5V
• DC Current for 3.3V Pin = 50 mA
• DC Current per I/O Pin = 20mA
• Digital I/O Pins = 14
• Analog Input Pins = 6
• PWM Pins = 5
• Flash Memory = 48KB

• EEPROM = 256bytes
• SRAM = 6KB
• UART = 1
• SPI = 1
• I2C = 1
• Oscillator = 16MHz
• Secure Element = ATECC608A
• Radio module = u-blox NINA-W102
• Inertial Measurement Unit = LSM6DS3TR
• Size = 53x68mm
• Weight = 25g

Programming

• The board contains a USB port. Simply connect the board with the computer through a USB cable and start playing with it. The Arduino IDE (integrated development environment) software is mainly used to program all Arduino boards.
• Moreover, this board carries an internal Bootloader that is employed to burn the program inside the controller. This means you don’t need an external burner to burn and program the microcontroller board.
• While you open up this IDE software, you will be presented with LED basic program through which you can check if your board is working fine.

Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2 Applications

• Used in fall sensors, step counters, door opening alarms.
• Due to the presence of WiFi connection ability, it is mainly employed for IoT applications.
• Used in embedded systems and control systems
• Used in educational projects

That’s all for today. Hope you’ve got a clear idea about Introduction to Arduino Uno WiFi Rev 2. If you have any query, you can pop your comment in the section below, I’d love to help you the best way I can. You’re most welcome to share your valuable suggestions and feedback around the content we share so we keep producing such content customized to your exact needs and requirements. Thank you for reading the article.

Introduction to Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll walk you through the Introduction to Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3. The Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 is a microcontroller board that is based on the ATmega2560 microcontroller. The Arduino boards are widely used in the automation industry and embedded projects. Almost all boards work similarly with few exceptions. Other boards like Arduino Uno, Arduino Nano, Arduino Every, Arduino Beetle all seem a good pick for the projects that require little memory to store the program. However, when the nature of projects go complex that require more memory and a rich set of I/O interfaces, the Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 comes into play. This board is an advanced version of the board Arduino Mega 2560. I suggest you buckle up and read this entire post till the end as I’ll detail the complete Introduction to Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 covering pinout, pin description, features, programming, and applications. Let’s get started.

Introduction to Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3

• The Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 is a microcontroller board that is based on the ATmega2560 microcontroller.
• There are total 54 digital I/O pins available on the board out of which 15 pins are used as PWM pins. There are 15 analog pins incorporated on the board.
• The board comes with 4 serial ports, one SPI, and one I2C communication protocol.
• The operating voltage of the device is 5V while the input voltage ranges from 6V to 20V while the recommended input voltage ranges from 7V to 12V.

• The oscillator clock speed is 16MHz which ensures the synchronization of the internal functions.
• The Arduino Program (sketch) is stored in the Flash memory which is 256KB and SRAM is 8KB while the EEPROM is 4KB.

• The SRAM is responsible for producing and manipulating the variables when it runs and EEPROM is a non-volatile memory that remains stored in the board even if power is removed.
• It is important to note that Arduino Duemilanove/UNO is compatible with Arduino Mega 2560 which projects the shields developed for Duemilanove stands fit for this mega board.
• You can say Arduino Mega 2560 is identical to Arduino Uno with more memory and rich I/O interfaces so it is mainly used for more complex and advanced projects.
• This device is also incorporated with a new USB chip (similar to Arduino UNO) - ATmega16U2 (previously ATmega8U2 or FTDI chips were used).
• This board incorporates two voltage regulators i.e. 5V and 3.3V which gives the ability to regulate the voltage as per requirements in contrast to Arduino Uno which comes with only one voltage regulator.
• More features include a power jack, a USB connection, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It comes with everything required to support the microcontroller.

Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 Pinout

In the following picture, you’ll see the pinout diagram of Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3. The board incorporates 4 LEDs where one is a built-in LED connected to pin 13 of the board. One is a power LED that turns on when the board is turned on. While two LEDs are reserved for Rx and Tx which respond when the serial communication happens on this board.

Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 Pin Description

Hope you’ve got a brief idea about this Arduino Mega board. In this section, we’ll highlight the pin description of each pin incorporated on the board. Let’s get started.

UART Pins

There are 4 serial ports incorporated on the board. Each UART serial port comes with two pins Rx and Tx. The Rx is the receiving pin that ensures the receiving of serial data while Tx is the transmission pin that guarantees the transmission of serial data.

SPI Pins

The board contains one SPI communication protocol. While is a serial peripheral interface communication protocol. It is used to develop communication between the controller and other peripheral devices like sensors and shift registers. It contains two Pins… MISO (master input slave output) and MOSI (master output slave input) for the SPI communication.

I2C Pins

The board carries one I2C communication protocol. It carries two pins SDL and SCL. The SDL is the serial data pin that carries the data while SCL is the serial clock line that ensures the synchronization of data transfer over I2C bus.

Digital Pins

This comes with the most number of digital I/O pins incorporated on any Arduino board. The reason it is called Arduino Mega. It is also capable to store more memory of the Arduino program in the Flash memory. You can use these 54 pins as an input or output based on the requirement. These pins receive two values HIGH and LOW. When they receive 5V the pins are at HIGH state while when they receive 0V the pins remain in a LOW state.

Analog Pins

The board contains 15 analog pins. These pins can get any values in contrast to digital pins that receive only two values HIGH and LOW.

PWM Pins

Out of 54 digital I/O pins, 15 pins can be used as PWM pins. These pins generate analog results with digital means.

Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 Features

The main features of Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 are described below.

• Microcontroller = ATmega2560
• Input Voltage (limit) = 6-20V
• Input Voltage (recommended) = 7-12V
• SPI = 1
• I2C = 1
• UART = 4
• Digital I/O Pins = 54
• Analog Pins = 16
• PWM Pins = 15
• DC Current for 3.3V Pin = 50 mA
• DC Current per I/O Pin = 20 mA
• Clock Speed = 16MHz
• Flash Memory = 256 KB

• EEPROM = 4 KB
• SRAM = 8 KB
• LED_BUILTIN = 13
• Size = 53x101mm
• Weight = 37g

Programming

The Arduino.cc has introduced the official software Arduino IDE to program all Arduino boards. The Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 comes with a USB comes that is used to program the board. Simply connect the board with the computer using a USB cable and start playing with it. Moreover, the board comes with an internal Bootloader which is used to burn the program inside the controller. Setting you free from buying the external burner to burn the program.

Difference between Arduino Mega 2560 R2 and R3

• Two more pins are included in each row of the pin. In the "digital section" two-pin header sockets are available: 10 and 8 pins, despite 2 x 8. While in the "analog section" two pins 8 and 6 are included instead of 2 x 6.
• ATmega16U, chip for USB communication, replaced the ATmega8U chip in the R3 board. And it comes with16 kB of flash memory as compared to 8.
• Now digital section incorporates two separate pins for I2C communication i.e. SDL and SCL.
• It is important to note that, these pins are not considered additional signals. In the case of Arduino UNO R2, two pins SDA and SCL are incorporated at A5 and A4. In R3 they reserve the same spot, merging new pins with old ones.

Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 Applications

This mega board is an ideal pick for the projects requiring more memory space to store the program and require a rich set of I/O interfaces. The following are the main applications of Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3.

• Controlling and handling more than one motors
• Developing 3D printer
• Sensing and detecting temperature
• Interfacing of number of sensors
• Parallel programming and Multitasking
• Home automation and security systems
• Embedded Systems
• Water level detection projects

That’s all for today. Hope you find this article helpful. If you’re unsure or have any questions, you can approach me in the section below, I’d love to help you the best way I can. Feel free to share your valuable suggestions and feedback around the content we share. This helps us create quality content customized to your exact needs and requirements. Thank you for reading the post.

How to Select the Right LMS Vendor for your Business?

Learning Management Systems have gained popularity with technological advancements.  The curiosity to learn NEW made the information available with just a few clicks away. That’s how e-learning was born! Now, it has become inevitable for every business to adapt to the trend. When it involves developing a course from scratch, you need LMS.  Well, by what norms do we identify LMS vendors for my business? Here are five checkpoints you should know when choosing an LMS vendor.

• The background

It is quite common when you are choosing an LMS vendor; you look for the price. Beyond the quote they are offering, you need to verify their track record. Ask the following questions to acquire the vendor’s level of the business.

1. How long has the LMS dealer been in the industry?
2. How many customers does the vendor have dealt with so far?
3. What are the evolving trends in LMS?
4. What are the common priorities of customers?
5. Which features of LMS are used most in recent times?

You can infer the quality of the LMS vendor in the business from his answers.

• The knowledge on e-learning

E-learning is the prime motive of the Learning Management System (LMS). If your LMS vendor doesn’t have enough knowledge about it, he is out of the game.  His leadership skills will show whether they (the company) have a stagnant product or have a room for innovation.  For example, Artificial Intelligence and Game-full thinking are the desirable features most learners and employees are looking forward to in their training modules and online courses.  The LMS you are purchasing must have at least the introductory version of these features so that you can up-level your course in years down the lane. [caption id="attachment_161291" align="aligncenter" width="300"] online education concept - e-learning word cloud on a vintage slate blackboard[/caption] Moreover, the publication of high-quality content will prove the vendor’s expertise in offering valuable information to prospects and clients.  Also, check for the technical aspects like Flash and SCORM in the LMS.

• Customer Relationship Management

Who they are is essential but how they treat the customers is significant.  The response timing, language, and patience to solve the issues are the qualities that will impact you as a customer from LMS vendors. Check for information about the team members and multiple customer support from their website. It will reveal their identity. Consider how they value customer satisfaction and deal with multiple test ticket numbers simultaneously. This little follow-up communication clarifies their persona to you.

• A Live Demo -Free trial

Although verbal information gives you an overview, a test drive will reflect the working of LMS. It is good to ask for a free trial or a live demo.  You can gain first-hand experience; thus, comprehending whether the product meets your needs or not. For example, if you intend to offer multi-lingual support to your global employees in online training, you need to ensure the LMS is enabled with it. Plus, enquire the LMS vendor on the scalability functions to fulfil your future needs. 

• Look for Client views

Testimonials, reviews, and case studies will give you the user experiences straight from the previous clients.  It would be best to get references from other companies who use LMS and consider their insights.  These existing customers will tell you information on how LMS vendors respond to the issues. Besides, it is essential you team up with an LMS provider who has solid financial health.  This is because vendors with constant cash flow can perform research and development to upgrade their product, thus offering you a better version. 

The Bottom line

The initial point to all your training and management needs starts with choosing the right LMS vendor. We hope all these details will narrow down your search for the appropriate LMS provider.

A Detailed Guide on PCB Fabrication Process

Hi Friends! Happy to see you around. Thank you for clicking this read. In this post today, I’ll document a detailed guide on the PCB fabrication process. PCB is commonly used in modern electronics. If you uncover the TV set and have a look inside, you’ll find a printed circuit board, electrically connecting components on the board. There are copper traces incorporated on the board to electrically connect the components and provide the current flow from one part to another. These printed boards make devices precise and compact that are capable of doing more functions than the devices where the end to end wiring is used. Circuit boards are divided into three main types. Let’s discuss each type one by one so you can better understand the structure of each type before employing them in the relevant application.

If you don’t want to undergo this intimidating fabrication process of the board, you can get help from the online PCB manufacturers. We are quite satisfied with PCBWay services, so I am going to recommned this one.

PCBWay is a great place to get your ready-made PCBs. Simply submit your details, and they will return the PCB quote for the given project, which you’ll get within 2-5 business days. They have a team of professionals, ready to guide you throughout the process.

Main Types of Printed Circuit Board

Circuit boards are categorized into three types.

Single-sided Circuit Boards

Single-sided PCB, also called single layer PCB, is composed of woven glass epoxy material which is incorporated with copper traces on one board side and another board side is utilized to put components on the board. These copper traces electrically connect the different components on the board.

Double-sided Circuit Boards

Double-sided PCB, also called two-layer PCB, is made of the same rigid woven glass epoxy material that is used in single-sided PCB, and there’s a little difference. Here both board sides are incorporated with the copper traces. And traces are kept with different thicknesses depending on the application.

Multiple-sided Circuit Boards

In Multi-layer PCB copper foil is employed rather than a copper coating. This copper foil helps in the construction of different layers until you reach the required number of layers.

Main Parts of PCB

Let’s elaborate on the basic parts of the PCB before documenting the fabrication process.

Substrate

This is termed as the PCB skeleton – the most fundamental structure of the board. Fiberglass is utilized to construct the substrate material. Fiberglass confirms the core strength, making board strong, stern, and solid.

Copper Layer

The following part is the copper layer. Depending on the PCB type, copper coating or copper foil is employed on one side or the two sides of PCB. This copper layer is used to provide an electrical connection between the board’s components. This is like the nervous system of the brain that contains neurotransmitters to communicate with the body muscles.

Solder Mask

On the third number comes the solder mask. It is a defensive layer composed of a polymer that goes about as a PCB skin. It helps in securing the copper layer. It also helps protect the board from short-circuiting.

Silkscreen

Silkscreen, also called legend or nomenclature, is the last part of the PCB. It is normally smeared on the board’s component side. This layer is utilized to demonstrate logos, switch settings, part number, test points, and component reference.

PCB Fabrication Process

In this part, we’ll demonstrate the PCB fabrication process in detail.

Step 1: The Initial Design

Everything begins with the fundamental design. A comprehensive PCB design is made on the software. There are multiple software used for the PCB design including Altium Designer, Eagle, OrCad, Pads, Proteus or KiCad When the design is made, the document is then exported. Most manufacturers support the extended Gerber file… so be sure your final document is exported in the Gerber file. It is important to know that different software comes with different Gerber file generation steps, however, all these software constitute comprehensive information about copper tracking layers, drill drawing, component notations apertures, and other options.

Step 2: The Print Process

The PCB is printed using the plotted printer. It produces the resultant film which is made of different layers. The black ink shows the conductive copper traces on the other hand the clear ink represents the non-conductive portions. This is used for inner layers. On the layers outside this pattern is switched for example the clear ink demonstrates the conductive copper traces and black ink shows the non-conductive regions.

Step 3: The Substrate Material

Recall, the substrate is considered as the skeleton of the PCB that is made of fiberglass. This fiberglass behaves like an insulating material that is used to connect the various elements.

Step 4: The layers

In the fourth step, resist is made that is composed of photosensitive film. Photo-reactive chemicals are used in this resist. When these chemicals come under the UV light, it helps in hardening the resist.

Step 5: Hardening the Photoresist Layer

In this step, underlying copper pathways are revealed. Which is achieved by hardening the photoresist layer. The photoresist layer gets hardened when a combination of resist and laminate is exposed to the UV light.

Step 6: Removal of Unused Copper

In this step, unwanted copper is removed. Unwanted copper is removed using the alkaline solution. While you’re at this process, be careful that it doesn’t affect the photoresist layer.

Step 7: Inspection

Optical inspection and layer alignment are done in this step. Both the outer and inner layers are aligned using the holes. Everything is aligned using the punch machine.

Step 8: Lamination Process

At stage 8, both outer and inner layers are pushed together for the cover. These layers are fused whenever they are examined, ensuring they are without any defect. These layers are aligned using the Prepreg made of epoxy resin. Metal clamps are used to set everything in place. The Prepreg material is covered with the substrate and copper foil. Everything is kept in place using pins and the mechanical press is employed to punch everything together. When heat and pressure are applied to the epoxy material, it melts down causing layers to fuse together. The actual PCB is then removed by removing the pins and press plates.

Step 9: Drilling Process

After stage 8, the drilling process is carried out. An X-ray machine is used to locate the drill spots before applying drilling on the layers. Holes are created using a computer-guided drill. Leftover copper is then removed after the drilling process is completed.

Step 10: PCB Plating

After the drilling process, a specific compound is applied to weave all layers together. This process is called PCB plating. A series of chemicals are then used to cleanse the PCB layers. The copper layer is applied between the drilled holes and on the top of the layer during this bathing process.

Step 11: Outer Layer Imaging

Another layer of photoresist is employed at the PCB outer layers once the PCB plating is done. This photoresist layer is then exposed to UV light which hardens this layer. In this process, again PCB plating is applied using certain chemicals that again helps in fusing the layers together. The process is similar as we did in the last PCB plating process. The copper appears on the PCB outside layer is secured by the plating of tin which is developed around the outer layers.

Step 12: The Etching Process

The tin guard is created during the last process. During the etching of this outer layer, the tin guard is utilized to secure the copper layer. After this process, unused copper is removed while the tin guard developed during the last process still protects the copper present on the outside layer.

Step 13: Applying the Solder Mask

When the unused copper is removed it results in the making of proper PCB connections. In this step, we do solder masking. The final PCB panels now undergo the bathing process before we employ the solder mask. Ink proxy is used with the solder mask after the cleaning process has been finished. Then the product undergoes the UV light which results in the removal of the unused solder mask. After this step, we put PCB in the oven that develops the green colors on the PCB panels.

Step 14: Final Surface Finish

In this step silver and gold materials are applied to produce the final surface finish. These materials ensure the core strength of the PCB layers and help in improving the elements bonding. After plating the PCB layers with materials like silver and gold, silk-screening is applied. In this silk screening process the necessary details like manufactures marks, company ID, warning labels are then applied to the layers of PCB.

Step 15: Electrical Testing

In this step, electrical tests are applied to the PCB layers to confirm the functionality of the PCB layers. Two tests are applied… one is a circuit continuity test and the other is the isolation test.

Step 16: Final Cutting Step

In this final step cutting process is carried out the removes the PCB from the original pane. A CNC machine or V-groove is used to remove PCB from the original panel. The final PCB is now ready to be used in an electrical project. That’s all for today. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article. If you’re unsure or have any questions, you ask me in the section below. I’d love to help you the best way I can. You’re most welcome to share your valuable suggestions and feedback around the content we share so we keep sharing quality content tailored to your exact needs and requirements. Thank you for reading the article.

Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) Simulation in Proteus ISIS

Hello Learners, hope you are doing well. I am here with a new tutorial. We'll discuss about Junction Field Effect transistors. In this tutorial, we will learn the basic Introduction to JFET nad will also have a look at its practical Implementation and simulation in Proteus. Basically, Junction Field Effect is a type of transistor, similar to Bipolar Junction Transistors but they have different characteristics due to some reasons as discussed below:

Introduction to JFET

We Define the JFET as:

"Junction Field Effect transistors or simply JFET is the semiconductor ,Voltage Control, three terminal device that is present in both configurations either N channel or P channel."

JFET  are named so because the the operation of JFET relies on the Field of the input gate voltage thus they are voltage operated devices. The Input of JFET is called Gate whereas, the output is said to be Drain.

Explanation about JFET

Junction Field Effect Transistors are important Devices in the world of electronics. They look similar to the transistors but are different in their Production.

Terminals of JFET:

JFET's have two Ohmic connections at either side of the channels. These channels are called Source and Drain. the Connection of Drain and source is said to be Gate. This is the point where PN Junction is formed. Source and Drain Collectively makes resistive path through which the current Id passes due to the Voltage Vds. The channel is semiconductor due to which current is passed equally well at both sides. But, because of the resistivity of the channel, the voltage becomes less Positive when we move from Drain to Source. Subsequently, the PN junction contains the high reverse bias at Drain as compared to the Source. Thus, the a Depletion Region is formed due to biasing whose width increase with the increase in the Biasing and vise Versa.

Configuration of JFET:

We know that Transistors are made by two type of materials i.e, N type and P type. The Terminals are connected by a current path between Drain and Source. these two terminals work as Collector and Emitter, respectively. Hence we observe two Configurations of JFETs:

1. N-Type.
2. P-Type.

Within the P-Type Configuration, we observe the doping of acceptors. hence holes are abundant in this region. by the same token, N- type configuration contain the doping of the electrons hence we get the faster conduction in N-Type region. We'll use N type JFET for the experiment.

Types of JFET:

Base upon their Production, we classify the JFET in two types:

1. Standard JFET
2. Insulated Gate JFET

The 2nd type i.e, IGJFET is most Commonly called Metal Oxide Junction Field Effect Transistor or simply MOSFET.

Conduction of JFET:

JFET are unipolar Devices and their efficiency mainly depends upon the Conduction of holes and electrons in P-Channel and N-channel, respectively.

 Implementation of JFET in Proteus ISIS

The Junction field effect transistors has very specific characteristics that can easily observed on the graph at a glance. Hence, let's start the simulation for best understanding.

Material Required:

1. Junction Field Effect Transistor (2N3819)
2. DC Power Supply
3. Ground Terminal
4. Current Probe
5. DC Transfer Curve Analysis

Procedure for the characteristics of JFET:

• Fire up your Proteus Software.
• Pick Up the JFET from the Pick Library through the "P" button.
• Set the JFET on the working area.
• Foster the "DC" from the power Generation mood of the Proteus.
• Fix 1 DC power supply at the Gate Terminal and the other on the Drain Terminal.
• Pick the Ground terminal from "Terminal mode" and fix it with the Source.
• At this stage, the circuit should look like the picture given below:

• Place the Current probe taken from the side of the Proteus at the Drain.

One point must be clear here, the direction of the probe should be towards the drain showing that the current passes from the Current source towards the Drain terminal of JFET.

• Name the Gate source as "Vgs".
• Name the Drain power supply as "Vds".
• Mark the Current Probe as "Ids".
• Choose "Transfer" from the Graph mode at the left most bar of the Proteus.
• Click on the Working area and make a window of the "DC Transfer Curve Analysis".
• To get the output, we will drag the Id at the graph area.

• At the instance, we have to set the Graph according to our need. Truss, Double click the graph to edit the Properties.
•  Set the Values according to diagram:

Now, when we simulate the graph by left click>simulate the graph, we find a simulation log.

• Simulate the graph through the Play button.
• Maximize the screen through left click at Graph>maximize and Observe the output.

Observations of JFET Characteristics:

• Vgs applied to the Gate Controls the Current flowing between Drain and the Source.
• No current flow through the Gate hence the Source current that is flowing out of the device is equal to the Drain current moving into the device.

Mathematically,

Is=Id

• We observe the four types of regions here:

1. OHMIC Region: JFET acts like a voltage resistor when voltage VGS =0 because the depletion region at this point is very less.
2. Pinch-off region: Resistance is maximum when Vgs is sufficient to cause the JFET to act as an open Circuit. This region is also called Cut-off region.
3. Saturation Region: In this Region, the JFET becomes the Good Conductor and be controlled by Vgs. The Vds has very less effect.
4. Breakdown Region: We observed that the in this region, the Vds becomes maximum and is controlled.

Advantages of JFET:

• They are replaced by the BJT because they are similar to BJT in characteristics like efficiency , robust, instant operation but are smaller than the equivalent Bipolar Junction Transistors. Thus they are better.
• Due to the size, they have less power consumption and low power dissipation, therefore are ideal to use in ICs and the CMOS range of circuit.
• They have extremely high input Impedance tat can be more than thousands.

Consequently, We learnt about extremely important features of the Junction Field Effect Transistor, Perform the experiments for the characteristics and observed the Advantages of JFETs.

Half Adder through XOR with AND Gate in Proteus ISIS

Hello Pupils! I welcome you to The Engineering Projects. I hope you are having a good day. In our previous lectures, we simulated almost all the DLD Logic Gates i.e. AND, OR, NOT, NOR, NAND, XOR and XNOR. I hope now you must have a complete understanding of the logic gates and their working.

Now, it's time to have a look at the reason for inventing these logic gates. These DLD logic gates are used to design different numerical modules i.e. adder, subtracter, multiplexer, de-multiplexer, encoder, decoder etc. These arithmetic modules are normally used in electronic products i.e. a simple microcontroller has numerous adders/subtractors for properly calling the registers' addresses.

So, from today onward, we are going to discuss these applications of logic gates one by one. Today, we will focus on the basic one i.e. Half Adder. First, we will understand its working and later will simulate it in Proteus.

Let's have a look at what we'll learn today.

1. What is an Adder?
2. What is Half Adder?
3. Truth Table of Half Adder.
4. Half Adder Simulation in Proteus.
5. Advantages of Half Adder.
6. Disadvantages of Half Adder.

Let's start the Learning.

What is Adder?

• In DLD, an Adder is a simple digital circuit, designed using logic gates and is used to add binary numbers(normally bits).
• Advance Adders can also add other number systems i.e. Binary Coded Decimal, HexaDecimal etc.
• There are two types of Adders, named:
• Half Adder
• Full Adder. (We will cover it in the upcoming lectures)
  

Now, let's have a look at the definition of Half Adder:

What is Half Adder?

• A Half Adder is a simple arithmetic electronic circuit, designed using logic gates to add two binary numbers.
• A Half Adder produces two Outputs of 1-Bit each. These outputs are the Sum and Carry of the added numbers.
• The numbers being added(i.e. inputs of Half Adder) are called augend and added.
• A simple Half Adder is shown in the below figure:
  

• We will understand the working of Half Adder in the next section but for now, we can see in the above figure, the Adder circuit has two inputs and 2 outputs.
• The first output is Sum Bit and the second one is Carry Bit.
• A simple Block Diagram of Half Adder is shown below:

Logical Circuit

In order to design a DLD Half Adder, we will need to use the following two logic gates:

1. XOR Gate
2. AND Gate

If we recall from our previous lectures on logic gates, the XOR Gate is used to provide the Sum of the Inputs, while the AND Gate provides the Carry of the Inputs. So, by combining these two gates, we can easily get both the Sum and the Carry.

Mathematically,

  SUM = A XOR B

CARRY = A AND B

• Here's the Truth Table of XOR Gate:

A	B	Z
0	0	0
0	1	1
1	0	1
1	1	0

• The Truth Table of AND Gate is given below:

A	B	Y
0	0	0
0	1	0
1	0	0
1	1	1

Let's move towards the Practical implementation of Half Adder in Proteus ISIS.

Simulation of Half Adder in Proteus

To design the circuit of Half Adder, we need the following components:

Components Required:

1. AND Gate.
2. XOR Gate.
3. Logic toggle.
4. LED.
5. Ground Terminal.

Circuit Diagram of Half Adder

• Select the first four components from the Proteus Library.
• Place the XOR Gate and AND gate in the Proteus Workspace.
• Connect the Logic Toggles on the Inputs of the XOR Gate.
• Join the inputs of AND Gate with the Inputs of XOR Gate.
• Connect the LEDs with the output Terminals of both Gates.
• Add the ground terminal with both LEDs.
• The below figure shows the Half Adder Circuit in all possible scenarios:

• Here's the Truth Table of Half Adder:

Input		Output
A	B	Sum	C0
0	0	0	0
0	1	1	0
1	0	0	0
1	1	1	1

Advantages of Half Adder

1. Half Adders are simple in construction & easy to design.
2. We can get a Half Subtractor simply by inverting the circuit.

Disadvantages of Half Adder

1. There is no mechanism to use the carry in the next addition.
2. Can perform very specific functions.

So, that was all for today. I hope you have enjoyed today's lecture. Today, we designed the Half Adder using AND and XOR gates. In the next lecture, we will design the Half Adder using Universal Gates i.e. NAND and NOR gates. Till then, take care. Have fun!!!

Half Adder with Universal Logic Gates

Hello Pupils! I welcome you to The Engineering Projects. I hope you are having a good day. In our previous lecture, we discussed Half-Adder Circuit Designing with XOR and AND logic gates. Today, we are going to design the same circuit using universal logic gates i.e. NOR and NAND gates.

We are going to learn the following topics, in today's lecture:

1. What is Adder?
2. What is Half Adder?
3. How can We make Half Adder Circuit through NAND Gate?
4. How can We make Half Adder through just NOR Gate?

Hence without wasting time, Let's find all the Answers.

What is Adder?

As we discussed in the last lecture, the DLD Adder is a simple electronic circuit, used to add binary numbers in bit form.

There are two types of DLD Adders, named:

1. Half Adder
2. Full Adder

In this article, we'll focus on the Half Adder only.

What is Half Adder?

Let's recall it as well from our previous lecture, a Half Adder is a simple electronic circuit, designed with logic gates and is used to add two binary numbers. It generates two output bits i.e. Sum Bit and Carry Bit.

In our previous lecture, we designed the Half Adder using two types of Logic Gates i.e. AND and XOR but today, we are going to use a single type of logic gate(Universal Gate) to design a Half Adder. As we know there are two universal gates in DLD i.e. NOR and NAND. So, we will design the Half Adder circuit with both of these Universal Gates, shown in the below figure:

Truth Table of Half Adder

• The Truth Table of the Half Adder is shown in the below table:
  

Input		Output
A	B	Sum	C0
0	0	0	0
0	1	1	0
1	0	1	0
1	1	0	1

Half Adder with NAND Gate

Let's first recall the NAND Gate:

"A NAND Gate is an inversion of AND Gate and gives LOW output if all of its Inputs are HIGH, otherwise gives HIGH output".

The Truth Table of NAND Gate is shown below:

A	B	(A.B)'
0	0	1
0	1	1
1	0	1
1	1	0

Let's rush towards the Proteus software to run our Half Adder.

Components Required

We will need the following components to design Half Adde circuit in Proteus:

1. NAND Gate
2. Logic Toggle
3. LED
4. Ground Terminal

Proteus Simulation of Half Adder

• Here's the Circuit Diagram of the Half Adder with the NAND gate in Proteus:
  

• For designing the Half Adder circuit, we'll need 5 NAND gates in total, so get them from Proteus Library and place them in the Workspace, as shown in the above figure.
• I have used two Logic States at the Inputs and two LEDs at the Outputs.

In order to understand this Half Adder circuit, let's create a truth table of output at each NAND Gate:

Input		Output
A	B	1	2	3	4(SUM)	5(CARRY)
0	0	1	1	1	0	0
0	1	1	1	0	1	0
1	0	1	0	1	1	0
1	1	0	1	1	0	1

 

Half Adder with NOR Gate

Let's recall the NOR Gate from our previous lecture:

"A NOR Gate is an inversion of the OR Gate and gives HIGH Output only if all of its Inputs are LOW, otherwise it gives LOW".

The Truth Table of NOR Gate is as follows:

A	B	(A+B)’
0	0	0
0	1	0
1	0	0
1	1	1

To implement the Half Adder with NOR Gate, we are going to use the below components:

Components Required:

1. NOR Gate.
2. Logic Toggle.
3. LED.
4. Ground Terminal.
5. Connecting wires.

Proteus Simulation of Half Adder

Here's the circuit diagram of the Half Adder with NOR logic gate:

As you can see in the above figure, we have used 5 NOR gates in total and have placed logic states at the inputs and LEDs at the outputs.

Here's the truth table of Half Adder with NOR Gate:

Input		Output
A	B	1	2	3	4(SUM)	5(CARRY)
0	0	1	1	1	0	0
0	1	0	0	1	1	0
1	0	1	0	0	1	0
1	1	0	0	0	0	1

So, that was all for today. In the next lecture, we will discuss the 2-Bit Full Adder in detail and will simulate it in Proteus. Thanks for reading.

6 Ideas for Establishing an Engineering Consulting Firm

Hello friends! Welcome to another useful article of The Engineering Projects. I hope you are having a shinning day. Let's add some reproductive information in your day. Today we'll grasp about the establishment skills in Engineering Consultant Firm. Consequently, we'll learn about 6 tremendous ideas for the Establishment an Engineering Consultant. Starting any business can be difficult. As a matter of fact, some individuals state that around a third of new enterprises fail within the first year of operation. From there, this does not get any easier. These numbers increase to half by the second year of running a business. This might put you off when you decide to start your engineering consulting firms. However, you can make an engineering consulting company a success by considering the below ideas:

Be Strategic About Scheduling and Quoting

Quoting projects for the first time is challenging, though asking individuals who carried out the same tasks would be great to start. The best thing you may do for your clients is to meet them where they are. Many of your clients will be entrepreneurs who have a specified budget for work they need to be completed. Scheduling projects will also depend on your bandwidth. It will not benefit anyone when you have a lot of work that you can hardly handle. If you can quote for more time, clients will be happier when you deliver their projects early.

Learn How to Reduce Costs

Most organizations choose to implement CMMS in an attempt to decrease maintenance costs as well as enhance their bottom line in different ways. Therefore, what is CMMS software? Well, the software is a system, which facilitates the upkeep operations and centralizes maintenance information. This will help optimize the availability and utilization of physical equipment, such as plant infrastructures, communications, vehicles, and machinery. Your CMMS can also help you decrease the total number of reactive maintenance and unplanned breakdowns of your machines.

Gain Skills

When starting an engineering consulting company, you will need the necessary skills. After you decide on the value proposition, you need to gain the right skills and necessary knowledge. You should also be a degree holder. Engineers with a degree certificate are likely to establish their own firms. Later on, they may pursue a degree in management so as to acquire skills and learn how to work.

Have a Plan

When writing a plan for your engineering consulting company, you may include an executive summary, which explains your experience. Moreover, you may include the goals of your business and an explanation regarding your engineering company. You can as well offer detailed monetary information about your engineering consulting company.

Delegate Work

Regardless of which maintenance strategy you have, your maintenance team may need to deal with unplanned work. Human error, machine malfunctions, natural disasters, and accidents are some of the things you may not avoid completely. However, assigning projects to work orders will help technicians choose which work should be completed first. This may be important in emergencies when you require every hand on deck. In such a situation, you may use a mobile CMMS so as to send a push notification and develop a work order to every technician.

Consider Content Marketing

Inbound marketing is constructed around four different phases, including converting, delighting, closing, and attracting. Basically, you have to lure visitors to your site, close sales, delight clients, and convert customers into quality leads. The top-secret to effective inbound marketing lies in using the right messaging and content to target the correct audience in real-time. This will need a working knowledge of buyer personas. When it comes to engineering consulting companies, buyer personas tend to be disparities on decision-makers in construction firms, real estate developers, architectural organizations, and government agencies. In your buyer persona, you may include other useful details related to purchasers' motivations and demographic profile.

Concluding Remarks!

As an engineer, it’s not a must you work in an established engineering company. Immediately you have the experience to work in your specialty, you may launch your own firm. Whether you are a structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, and computer engineer, you may start a new engineering consulting firm. If you want to develop many engineering projects and establish a client list, you can consider some of these ideas.