Valtronic has received second place in Mentor Graphics’ 25th annual PCB Technology Leadership Awards in the category of industrial control, instrumentation, security and medical.

Valtronic proposed a complex board for a magnetic resonance image receiver using Mentor Graphics’ Xpedition Enterprise software. The design team consisted of Gabriel Gay, Van Ly Mai, Cristian Anton, Bert de Vries.

Judges said that Valtronic provided a ‘well-documented and excellent solution’ and that ‘good EMI/EMS considerations were given.’

Established in 1988, this award programme is the longest running competition of its kind in the electronic design automation (EDA) industry.

It recognises engineers and designers who use innovative methods and design tools to address complex PCB systems design challenges and produce industry-leading products.

The contest is open to any designs created with Mentor Graphics PCB solutions. Judging is based on design complexity and overcoming associated challenges, such as small form factor, high-speed protocols, multi-discipline team collaboration, advanced PCB fabrication technologies and design cycle time reduction.

Prominent experts in the PCB industry judged worldwide entries in six categories that represent various industries.

These industries included consumer electronics and handheld, industrial control, instrumentation, security, medical; military, aerospace, computers, blade and servers, memory systems, telecom, network controllers, line cards and transportation and automotive.

Large companies such as Sanmina, Qualcomm Technologies, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, BAE Systems, Ericsson TV and Visteon also entered and won a Leadership Technology Award.

However, the only Swiss-based and small-to-mid-sized company to win was Valtronic.