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Curtis Scott Opens the Blinds on PCB Design
January 9, 2020 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 1 minute
I recently spoke with Curtis Scott, a young PCB design engineer with Current Products, a manufacturer of automated window coverings in Pensacola, Florida. I’m always excited to hear about OEMs in Pensacola; I lived there for 17 years, and it’s a great town, but you won’t find much industry other than tourism. I asked Curtis to share his thoughts on the industry and his job designing PCBs in that scenic city on the Gulf of Mexico.
Andy Shaughnessy: Curtis, why don’t you start with a little background about yourself and how you got into circuit boards?
Curtis Scott: I’m an electrical engineer. I went to school at the University of West Florida and graduated in 2012. I started as an intern with another company, QMotion, designing boards, and doing general electronic testing. I knew this was something I liked, and I enjoyed the consumer electronics side of things. I stuck with it, and eventually, the owner sold the company and started a new one, so I went with him to Current Products. I’m enjoying making products for them.
Shaughnessy: Tell us about Current Products.
Scott: Current Products is a home automation company. We primarily develop and manufacture window coverings and automated drapery, such as retrofit window blinds.
Shaughnessy: So, you’re designing boards for the motors that make the blinds open and close?
Scott: Yes, I design most of the boards that we do. We have remotes, hub devices, and controllers for the drapery motors. And then we have other people who do programming, make all of the mechanical parts, and assemble it all together.
Shaughnessy: That’s cool. Did you know you wanted to work with boards when you were getting your degree?
Scott: Once I started in my degree, it piqued my interest. Communications didn’t really pique it, and power didn’t really either, but the consumer electronics side of things did.
Shaughnessy: Is the only job you’ve ever had in the industry?
Scott: Pretty much.
To read this entire interview, which appeared in the November 2019 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
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