Midterm Assessment
Overview
The midterm test is a closed book assessment, so I can’t really say much about it. That being said, what I can tell you, is that it has two parts. The first is a multi choice questionaire (which is pretty easy), and the second is a timed PCB routing assessment. You will get ~3.5 hours to route a PCB. Last semester students were given the schematic file, but before that you had to do the schematic yourself as well.
I recently tried doing the altium test myself just to see how hard it was and how long it took. It took me about two and a half hours (including making the schematic, which took me about 40 minutes). I did not find it particularly hard knowing what I know now, but I did find it difficult back when I took it as a student.
What you should know
While I am not allowed to tell you much about it, here is a list of statements I can make.
- You will need to construct a board outline that actually cuts out the board at the right distance from the edge. You should know how to do that.
- The board you will make is small and dense, get good at routing in tight spaces.
- On the smallest track size, it is possible to route between the pads of most of the resistors and capacitors.
- This assignment has been basically the same for the past few years.
- You will be expected to create the actual board outline yourself. Know how to do that.
What we meen by “horizontally aligned” or “vertically aligned”
This can be confusing because you use the “align horizontal centers” tool to make things “vertically aligned” and vice versa. Many people have been confused by this.