Editing Western Design Center

{{Short description|American company}}
{{Confused|Western Digital}}
{{More citations|date=June 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name = The Western Design Center, Inc.
| logo = Western Design Center logo one-color.svg
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry = [[Electronics]]
| fate = 
| predecessor = <!-- or: | predecessors = -->
| successor = <!-- or: | successors = -->
| founded = {{Start date and age|1978}}<!-- if known, add: |mm|dd --> in [[Mesa, Arizona]], United States
| founder = [[Bill Mensch]]
| defunct = <!-- {{End date|20yy|mm|dd}} -->
| hq_location_city = Mesa, Arizona
| hq_location_country = United States
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = Bill Mensch
| products = [[Microprocessor]]s, [[microcontroller]]s, support devices
| owner = Bill Mensch<!-- or: | owners = -->
| num_employees = 
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
| parent = 
| website = {{URL|https://wdc65xx.com/}}

{{URL|https://www.westerndesigncenter.com/}}
}}

The '''Western Design Center''' ('''WDC'''), located in [[Mesa, Arizona]], is a company that develops [[intellectual property]] for, and [[license]]s manufacture of, [[MOS Technology 65xx]] based [[microprocessor]]s and [[microcontroller]]s. WDC was founded in 1978 by a former [[MOS Technology]] employee and co-holder of the [[MOS Technology 6502]] patent, [[Bill Mensch]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Cass |first=Stephen |date=September 16, 2021 |title=Q&A With Co-Creator of the 6502 Processor: Bill Mensch on the microprocessor that powered the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/q-a-with-co-creator-of-the-6502-processor |work=[[IEEE Spectrum]]}}</ref> Prior to leaving MOS Technology in 1977 Bill was the microprocessor design manager at [[MOS Technology]].

Beyond discrete devices, WDC offers device designs in the form of [[semiconductor intellectual property core]]s (IP cores) to use inside other chips such as [[application-specific integrated circuit]] (ASICs), and provides ASIC and [[embedded system]]s consulting services<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wdc65xx.com/integrated-circuit | title=Integrated Circuit (IC) &#124; the Western Design Center, Inc }}</ref> revolving around their processor designs. WDC also produces [[C (programming language)|C]] [[compiler]]s, [[Assembly language#Assembler|assembler]]/[[Linker (computing)|linker]] packages, [[Simulation#Computer science|simulator]]s, development–evaluation [[printed circuit board]]s,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wdc65xx.com/Single-Board-Computers | title=Single Board Computers (SBC) &#124; the Western Design Center, Inc }}</ref> and [[in-circuit emulator]]s for their processors.

==Hardware products==
The first product developed by WDC was the WDC 65C02, a CMOS version of the NMOS based MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. The 65C02 reduced the power consumption, improved noise immunity and added some new instructions. The 65C02 was subsequently adopted for use in the [[Apple IIc]] computer and, later, in an enhanced version of the [[Apple IIe]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=research!rsc: The MOS 6502 and the Best Layout Guy in the World |url=https://research.swtch.com/6502 |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=research.swtch.com}}</ref>

Mensch's next design, which was to become an important product at WDC, was a 65C02-compatible 16-bit microprocessor, the 65C816, later designated W65C816S. The 65C816's design came about following consultation with Apple and was adopted by them for use in the [[Apple IIGS]] computer. The 65C816 was later chosen as the core of the [[Ricoh 5A22]] processor that powered the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]].<ref name=":0" />

===Devices===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! width="10%" | Name !! width="20%" | Type !! Comments
|-
| [[WDC 65C02|W65C02S]] || [[8-bit]] microprocessor || [[hardware bug|Enhanced]] static core [[CMOS]] version of the [[MOS Technology 6502]] microprocessor
|-
| [[WDC 65816|W65C816S]] || [[16-bit]] microprocessor || Extended version of the W65C02S, featuring larger instruction set, selectable register sizes and 24-bit [[Address bus|memory addressing]]
|-
| [[WDC 65C134|W65C134S]] || 8-bit [[microcontroller]] || Microcontroller with W65C02S core and [[mask ROM|mask-programmable]] [[read-only memory|ROM]]
|-
| [[WDC 65C265|W65C265S]] || 16-bit microcontroller || Microcontroller with W65C816S core and mask-programmable ROM
|-
| [[WDC 65C21|W65C21N]] || [[Input/output|I/O]] device || [[Pin compatibility|Drop-in]] replacement for [[MOS Technology 6520]] & [[Freescale|Motorola]] 6820/6821 peripheral interface adapters (PIA)
|-
| [[WDC 65C21|W65C21S]] || I/O device || Lower power, higher performance version of the W65C21N PIA
|-
| [[WDC 65C22|W65C22N]] || I/O device || Drop-in replacement for the [[MOS Technology 6522]] versatile interface adapter (VIA)
|-
| [[WDC 65C22|W65C22S]] || I/O device || Modified version of the MOS Technology 6522 VIA, with [[push–pull output|totem-pole]] [[Interrupt request|IRQ]] output
|-
| [[WDC 65C51|W65C51N]] || I/O device || Drop-in replacement for the [[MOS Technology 6551]] asynchronous communications interface adapter (ACIA)
|}

===Personal computer===
The [[Mensch Computer]] is a W65C265 and W65C22-based hobbyist experimental [[personal computer]] named after company founder Bill Mensch.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|www.westerndesigncenter.com}}

{{MOS CPU}}

[[Category:Semiconductor companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Mesa, Arizona]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1978]]
[[Category:Electronics companies established in 1978]]
[[Category:1978 establishments in Arizona]]