In 1935, Howard Hughes realized that by using flush rivets instead of the standard dome head rivet, he could make an airplane fly faster. The result was his H-1 racer, which set the standard of the day for elegance in aeronautical design and speed. The H-1 required more than 20,000 rivets to hold it together, which added up to a lot of wind resistance due to all of those little tiny domes. Switching to the flush rivet, however, along with other aeronautical design improvements, streamlined the H-1 enabling it to deliver its superior performance.
In PCB design, we are also looking for ways that we can streamline the design process to make it more efficient and the boards easier to manufacture. There are many different ways to approach this, and the key to success is to find a reliable resource to help you make the best streamlining choices for your design. Fortunately, you should already have such a resource available to you—your PCB contract manufacturer. Here are some ways a high-quality CM can help you to streamline your PCB design process steps.
What a Qualified PCB Contract Manufacturer Can Help You With
Creating a printed circuit board design can be a complicated process. The size and type of the PCB have a lot to do with its complexity of course, but how your design processes are set up can also have a huge impact. For instance, there are basic steps you should consider while you are still in schematic circuit development that can help streamline the layout of the board. By planning for these steps with the PCB contract manufacturer that is going to build your board, you can mitigate a lot of the bumps in the design process. Here are a few of those items that your CM should be able to help you with before you ever start place and route:
- Bill of materials (BOM) scrubbing: By reviewing the components you are planning on using for price, lead time, and status, you CM can save you the annoyances of having to update parts later on in the design cycle. Ripping up a lot of circuitry to replace an expensive or unavailable part will cost you in time and money, and can be avoided if the components are checked first to make sure that they aren’t already end-of-life or obsolete.
- Electrical alternatives: Your CM has a lot of experience building many different types of board technologies and configurations. By enlisting their help at the beginning of your design process, they may be able to recommend other ideas that could increase the performance of the board as well as decrease the cost.
- Mechanical alternatives: It is not unusual for a new design to have mechanical configurations that are not optimized for assembly. This can include the system enclosure or box build, wiring harnesses, internal assemblies, or all of the above. A good CM will have the mechanical assembly experience that you need for alternative recommendations or will be able to work directly with you on the mechanical development of your product.
- Prototyping: On new designs, especially those that are in the prototype phase, a good CM can help with design strategies to help with its development. For example, when new circuitry is being introduced, your CM will be able to recommend ways to lay it out that will easily facilitate test and debug work later on. This will allow you to reconfigure the prototype board’s functionality for additional testing without having to completely respin the design first.
These different areas may not have a large impact now, but they could end up saving you a lot in time and money by not having to make extensive design changes halfway through. Not only will this help to streamline your design efforts, but it will have the added benefit of continuing to be helpful after the board has been built. Pre-design assistance is not the only way a good CM can help streamline your design process, though. They can also help you during the layout phase as well.
Important PCB Design Process Steps That Shouldn’t Be Overlooked
To build a high-quality circuit board with good production yields, its design must be optimized for manufacturing and testing. Sadly though, these steps often get overlooked during PCB layout. The result is that the board will either suffer problems during assembly, or there will be portions of it that must be redesigned to be manufacturable. By working together with your contract manufacturer during layout, however, you can streamline your design process by incorporating these steps initially instead of having to retrofit them later. Here are some of those areas that should be considered during PCB layout:
- Design for manufacturing (DFM): A good CM will have an in-depth knowledge of their capabilities and exactly what standards the design needs to meet for it to be easily manufacturable. They will be able to advise you on component placement and routing requirements that will optimize component assembly flow as well as assist in rework should the need arise.
- Design for test (DFT): Boards that can’t be run through automated testing must be manually tested, which slows the manufacturing process down considerably. Your CM will be able to give you layout specifications that will allow the boards to be efficiently run through the desired automated testing processes.
- Panelization: Another key component to high-quality and high-yield manufacturing is in how the individual PCBs are arranged on the production panels. This includes rules on component orientation for soldering, and how the panels are prepared for breaking out the individual boards after manufacturing. Your CM will be able to guide you through the correct panelization standards during layout, which will save you from having to go back and make layout changes later to accommodate these standards.
What to Look for in a CM for Streamlined Success
When you’re looking for a CM that has the experience and engineering expertise you need to help you to streamline your PCB design process steps to avoid costly redesigns and changes, consider one with the following:
- A component engineering team that can leverage industry contacts while scrubbing your BOM to ensure the parts used on your board are available and competitively priced.
- Electronic engineers that can offer design alternatives and recommendations to improve the performance of your final product.
- Mechanical engineers that can give you time and cost-saving suggestions and recommendations, as well as partner with you on your mechanical design.
- Design engineers experienced in DFM and DFT processes and standards who can give you the precise information needed to design a board that will easily go through manufacturing.
- Manufacturing engineers that can assist with the design standards to prepare your boards for panelization.
At VSE, our goal is to be an extension of your design and development resources to help you in the creation of your electronics. By incorporating all of these steps to streamline your design process, you will have the confidence of knowing the products we build for you will be application-ready the moment we ship it from our facility.
