Sierrathon – PCB Design for Innovation

October 31st, 2024 at 9:00 am PT

COST: FREE

Design for Innovation

Pushing the Boundaries of PCB Technology

Online competition with judging panel at San Jose State University -- Open to U.S. students only

The winners and runner-ups will be awarded:

$5,000 off PCB fab and assembly
$2,500 off PCB fab and assembly
$1,000 off PCB fab and assembly
$500 sponsorship towards a school project
1 free PCB seminar seat per team member
And more surprise giveaways

Competition overview

Join our first PCB design hackathon, Sierrathon, and showcase your skills by designing a printed circuit board for various electronic applications, such as smart IoT devices, wearable tech, robotics platforms, or drone control systems. Teams will be judged on creativity, innovation, and technical proficiency.

Design support

Get up to 30 minutes of free design consultation with Sierra Circuits’ design engineers between September 4th and November 15th, 2024. This is available during office hours only, excluding weekends.

Team structure

Max of 5 members per team
One project per team

You may be the only member in your team.

Resources

Free access to the Sierra Design Portal during the competition
Digital copies of the DFM and DFA Handbooks provided

Visit our design guide hub and design tool hub for more resources.

Submission guidelines

Submit your projects through the Sierra Design Portal by November 22nd, 2024.
Earn bonus points by submitting videos that showcase your design process and how you tackled key layout challenges.

Late submissions will not be accepted.

Evaluation criteria

Submissions will be evaluated on creativity, innovation, functionality, use of the Sierra Design Portal, and manufacturability, with a total of 100 points available.

Winners

The top 10 finalists will receive a final design review from Sierra Circuits’ experts and present their projects at the San Jose State University campus on December 7th, 2024 where the winning team and four runner-ups will be announced.

Download the SIERRATHON RULES AND GUIDELINES BOOKLET for more information and contact Lucy at lucyi@protoexpress.com if you have any questions.

Register your team!

Sierrathon timeline

Registrations open: September 4th, 2024
Registration deadline: September 27th, 2024
Competition duration: September 30th to November 22nd, 2024
Submission deadline: November 22nd, 2024
Finalist announcement: November 27th, 2024
Final review and judging panel: December 7th, 2024 (from 9 am to 4 pm on the SJSU campus)

The mission behind Sierrathon

Sierra Circuits launched Sierrathon to inspire and empower the next generation of engineers by providing a hands-on opportunity to design innovative circuit boards. Through this hackathon, we aim to foster creativity, technical skill development, and collaboration among students, while also giving them access to our industry-leading tools and expert guidance. By engaging with the future leaders of electronics design, we strengthen the connection between academia and industry, ensuring a bright future for PCB technology.