Printed Circuit Design & Fab - August 2008 - (Page 26)

GLOBAL EntErPriSE fiGurE 3. The new placement of a part can be reviewed by manufacturing to see if it can still be auto-assembled. The proposed change can be accepted, rejected or an alternative suggestion made real time. fiGurE 4. All sources of design data are collated into a common format and distributed to the target manufacturer(s). the schematic is somewhat final and before layout begins. Given the BOMs, procurement and manufacturing can identify any potential problems. Throughout the design process, ECOs requiring the change of parts or their locations is a common occurrence. Instead of producing another complete BOM, communicating just the change electronically can save time and money. A collaboration tool that communicates the proposed design change electronically through a user-friendly viewer and provides the capability for manufacturing and procurement to review the proposal and either accept or reject it, real time, can achieve the required results. When it comes time to transfer the design into manufacturing, it can be a daunting task if the designer is required to understand all of the target manufacturer’s machine specific format and process steps. Here, the PCB design tools suppliers can provide the efficient bridge to manufacturing and reduce the pain of the designer. The designer can use a tool that takes all of the required design data and translates it into a common format (fiGurE 4). This common data can then be accepted by the target manufacturer(s) and automatically customized to their exact needs. Collaboration Let’s begin with a look at the ECAD environment. How can you get multiple layout designers to work simultaneously on the same design, without partitioning, even if those designers are dispersed at different locations or around the world? This could be important in two situations. First, if you had a large digital board where applying multiple designers in parallel (versus serial in multiple shifts) could reduce your design cycle time. Secondly, if you have a mixed-technology board (RF, analog, digital) where you have experts either at the same location or again spread around the world. In this situation, not only are you changing a serial process into a parallel one, but you are also giving designers the opportunity to design their part in the context of the rest of the PCB, thus avoiding redesign cycles. Design tool technology exists to accomplish these goals. Recently, design clients connected over a LAN or WAN, which enabled simultaneous edit to the same PCB, updating of a common database and letting the designers view the edits of the others real time. Through collaboration, users of this technology are experiencing up to a 70% reduction in design cycle times. Design Everywhere As we look at the typical large enterprise today, it often has its design resources dispersed at various locations around the country or around the world. As the company strives to meet its basic business goals of getting a competitive product to market faster with lower development costs, it needs to leverage these design resources in the most efficient manner. This involves not only the electronic designers, but all of the engineering disciplines required in the design and delivery process. These disciplines include but are not limited to the numerous ECAD disciplines (IC, FPGA, engineering, layout); numerous technologies (RF, analog, digital); MCAD, manufacturing engineering (such as test); and QA. The key is collaboration. How do you create an environment where all of these disciplines can collaborate on the same design in the most efficient manner? 26 ECAD – MCAD Collaboration Extending collaboration into other disciplines beyond electronic design can also make a big difference in product development efficiency. An example is to create a collaboration environment where ECAD and MCAD designers communicate during the design process electronically versus via paper (fiGurE 5). The typical method of paper communication of proposed changes, either a proposal from the ECAD engineer or the MCAD designer for a change, is long, cumbersome and error prone. By implementing collaboration tools where: ■ A change is proposed. ■ That change is communicated to the other discipline electronically. ■ The engineer has the opportunity to view the proposal in a familiar environment (viewed in a typical PCB layout tool AUGUST 2008 printEd circuit dEsign & faB

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

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - July 2008 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI Tip Jar Software Performance Interconnect Strategies Final Finish Forum Product Development Challenges in a Global Market Innovative Modeling Supports Co-Design of the Power Supply Chain, Part 2 Low-Loss Fluoropolymer Copper Clad Laminate Qualifying PCBs Outsourced in Asia Copper Plating and Microvia Fill for Advanced PCBs Off the Shelf Marketplace Ad Index BGA Bulletin

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - August 2008

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