Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2008 - (Page 27)

Figure 3 Ð Thermal analysis of a standalone PCB determines a better component placement. CO-dESiGn the mechanical engineer can communicate this acceptance back to the PCB designer. The change is then reflected in the respective databases. Where Do We Go From Here? We have discussed just one example of how collaboration is required between the various disciplines involved in the design of an electronics product. Users and their ECAD and MCAD design software suppliers drove this particular example. It established a new standard, open and available to the industry. The ECAD-MCAD collaboration capability can now electronically support the bidirectional communication and negotiation of incremental changes, thus providing the opportunity for reducing design times, reducing errors and FIGURE44. MentorÕ s FloTHERM software can analyze aanalyze product for proper bringing more competitive products to market. Figure Ð Mentor’s FloTHerM software can complete a complete cooling. product for proper cooling. But other opportunities exist and must be addressed as we consider that the design of the product is more than the PCB and the mechanical enclosure. From the designer’s perheat sinks or fins on components, etc. So a typical design of spective, additional collaboration between the domain and a product may proceed as follows. the other disciplines (manufacturing, procurement, ASIC/ The mechanical designer designs the enclosure and Package, FPGA, software, etc.) in the product design process through en masse data transfer, passes the board outline, can only mean better profits for their companies. pCd&f hole locations, height restrictions, etc., to the PCB designer. The PCB designer performs an initial placement of the components on the board and passes that placement back John iSaac is the director of systems market development, to the mechanical designer again via IDF or DXF en masse Systems Design Division at Mentor Graphics Corporation and data transfer. Testing and verification of the current design can be reached at John_Isaac@mentor.com. proceeds in parallel in both domains. While the mechanical designer analyzes the design of the PCBs in the enclosure, the designer might use a thermal analysis tool to analyze the PCB for cooling and junction temperatures. This analysis considers one PCB at a time and estimates the airflow or conduction from the PCB. Based on the analysis, the designer might decide to change the location of a hot component to improve the cooling. That component location change is then incrementally communicated to the mechanical designer through the ECAD-MCAD collaboration software. The mechanical designer now has the opportunity to test that proposed change prior to accepting it. The placement change might cause interference with the enclosure, or the change might not be optimum for electronic cooling once included with the other PCBs in the enclosure. Internet pioneers with 15 years experience Using full enclosure thermal analysis, the MCAD designer is able to analyze the proposed change, including the fans, heat Instant online Quotations & Ordering sinks, air flow obstacles and all the features of the full product From Singlesided to 6 layers ML (FIGURE 3). This type of analysis requires very sophisticated Leadtimes from 48 hrs modeling of the elements. Since the PCB’s copper traces and power/ground planes offer excellent paths for heat conduction, Full DRC included on all orders accurate thermal analysis software can model multiple layers High Quality prototypes at LOW cost's of the PCBs. Computational Fluid Dynamics algorithms are used to determine airflow from fans and even liquid cooling Simply send your layout files systems. The enclosure details and the mounting of the PCBs and order online and other elements come directly from the mechanical design www.pcb-pool.com system and are included in the model. TollFree USA: 1877 3908541 Email: sales@pcb-pool.com The result (FIGURE 4) is a full analysis of the product, including the proposed component location change to the PCB. The mechanical engineer can then review the change and if it is acceptable, using the ECAD-MCAD collaborator, Specializing in Quickturn Proto's DECEMBER 2008 printEd CirCuit dESign & fAB 27 http://www.pcb-pool.com http://www.pcb-pool.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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