Printed Circuit Design & Fab - June 2008 - (Page 22)

DFA / dFt Using DfA Analysis and Feedback ImProvIng DesIgn Communication Creating a single data format from design through manufacturing can accelerate design data transfer, improving yields and reducing cost. by MARK LAING There are many facets that must align successfully in order to bring printed circuit boards (PCBs) from design into manufacturing operation. The ability to create an electronic design, analyze it for design and manufacturing issues, cost effectively manufacture it, and efficiently get it into a customer’s hands are keys to being successful in the marketplace. A common need across each of these different activities is the ability to understand, work and collaborate with the data that defines the product. The ability to support each of these “product realization” activities with common data and tools provides several benefits. At the heart of the matter is managing the product data to support Design for Assembly (DfA), Design for Test (DfT) and transitioning design data to manufacturing. Having a common data set to work from allows earlier and more efficient communication between the groups responsible for bringing a product to market. Ease of communication between these different groups is essential when you realize the cost of correcting manufacturing issues increases substantially as you move further from design into volume manufacturing. The cost to correct a defect increases by a factor of 10 for each step in the manufacturing process. In other words, to correct an issue at the design stage is more than a thousand times cheaper than when that product has been delivered to the customer. Ensuring that the end product meets established quality and cost targets requires a set of solutions that supports analysis and collaboration from design through manufacturing. The process continues to build upon the underlying product information and allows manufacturers to balance the requirements of each group in the product realization chain. Being able to further define the different phases of design-to-manufacturing allows for earlier and quicker feedback from the different groups that need to participate in the review process. For example, an initial DfA analysis can be performed once the 22 components have been placed in the layout, but before the routing phase has been started. To facilitate this, the neutral design data must be able to support partial design data. Feedback provided at this stage of the design can be incorporated more quickly than if the analysis was done after the complex routing had been completed. Often, any layout changes at this point, even seemingly small ones, can have a huge effect on the vias and traces that have already been placed. Once the PCB layout has been solidified, the same data set can then be used for assembly documentation, optimization and programming of the production equipment used to build the product. It will also be used to create a complete test and inspection strategy that will ensure that the quality levels required are attained. Since the programs for all machines have been created from the same data set, material management and control can cost- effectively determine justin-time parts replacement to maximize machine utilization. This level of data management is the underlying basis to support lean manufacturing, which will be the differentiating characteristic of profitable manufacturers in the future. Complete Design Definition Data Facilitating analysis and collaboration across the project requires a common data format to communicate schematic, layout, board, panel, bill of material (BOM), and analysis and collaboration information in a concise format. The format can be structured such that it can represent all the current design data, as well as, being flexible enough to be updated as new technologies develop. Utilizing the common data format for communication between the design and manufacturing teams allows creating the authored data from the design tool, passing that data to external teams for analysis and review and then communicating these results back to the authoring tool for possible revision. Clear, unambiguous communicaJUNE 2008 printEd circuit dESign & fAB

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Printed Circuit Design & Fab - June 2008

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - June 2008 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI Tip Jar Interconnect Strategies Final Finish Forum DFA/DFT Signal Integrity From the Field DFA Fab Basics Drill Off the Shelf Marketplace Ad Index BGA Bulletin

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - June 2008

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