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

CO-dESiGn design) from the MCAD system into the PCB design system. After component placement, these same formats were used to transfer the component placements from ECAD to MCAD. Years later, many ECAD vendors developed 3D viewers that allowed the enclosure to be viewed in the PCB design domain. Gross interference checking could then be preformed, but none of these capabilities provided for true, automated collaboration, i.e. the bi-directional communication of incremental change proposals with the facility to electronically negotiate between the domains. New Standard Was Required The first step was to develop, along with the ProSTEP iVIP Association, an ECAD–MCAD collaboration language standard. Rather than attempting to completely change the basic data models of both domains, a subset of objects was chosen and prioritized that represented those most likely to change during the concurrent design of the enclosure and PCBs. Examples included mounting holes, board outline, component parts and placements and height restrictions. Each of these object’s names, properties and constructs was specified to a mutually agreeable form so that both domains could fully understand them. Electrical Design-Mechanical Design (EDMD) schema represented the first true interchange format expressing incremental changes to a design that both domains could readily view, test and update in their respective databases. This standard was approved and published by the ProSTEP iVIP Association in May of 2008. The industry FIGURE 3. Thermal analysis of a standalone PCB determines a Figure 3 Ð placement. better componentThermal analysis of a standalone PCB determines a better comp placement. now had a common language covering the most important collaboration objects. Real World Example During product design and development, especially one with a high density of electronics in a small enclosure, the cooling of the electronics is a significant problem. Factors that can affect good or poor cooling are the placement of the components on the PCBs, the air flow through the enclosure, the conduction of the heat through escape routes, placement of Figure 4 Ð MentorÕ s FloTHERM software can analyze a complete product cooling. APRIL 27-MAY 1, 2009 26 ◗ WESTIN WALTHAM-BOSTON ◗ WALTHAM, MA DECEMBER 2008 printEd CirCuit dESign & fAB http://www.pcbeast.com http://www.pcbeast.com

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

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2008 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI Global Sourcing EMC for the Real World Interconnect Strategies On the Forefront Final Finish Forum Test and Inspection Electronic System Design Data Management 101 Designers Take on Technology Challenges in 2008 PCB Signal Integrity, Power Integrity and EMC Challenges What’s in a Name? Ad Index PCB Dielectric Materials for High-Speed Applications Off the Shelf Marketplace BGA Bulletin

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2008

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