-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueLevel Up Your Design Skills
This month, our contributors discuss the PCB design classes available at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. As they explain, these courses cover everything from the basics of design through avoiding over-constraining high-speed boards, and so much more!
Opportunities and Challenges
In this issue, our expert contributors discuss the many opportunities and challenges in the PCB design community, and what can be done to grow the numbers of PCB designers—and design instructors.
Embedded Design Techniques
Our expert contributors provide the knowledge this month that designers need to be aware of to make intelligent, educated decisions about embedded design. Many design and manufacturing hurdles can trip up designers who are new to this technology.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
This Month in Design007 Magazine: What Did You Expect From Me, Anyway?
May 14, 2020 | Todd Westerhoff, Mentor, a Siemens businessEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
As engineers, we work in the middle of a (usually long) process chain. Product requirements come from the front of the chain (marketing), the products we create are physically realized at the back of the chain (“production”), and hopefully get sold to customers who enjoy them and buy more.
It’s sort of like working on an intellectual assembly line—we get requirements and data as input, perform our particular task, and then provide our output as requirements and data to the next person on down the line. It seems easy enough. So, why is it that so many of the requirements we’re supposed to meet and so much of the data we receive is downright bad?
To be fair, “hard data” is usually okay. Component dimensions, material properties, pinout definitions, etc., all tend to be correct because, without that, reliable manufacturing would be impossible. It’s the soft stuff that tends to be the problem. In the case of signal integrity, it’s the simulation models we receive from vendors or clear guidelines on just what is and isn’t achievable from a board layout standpoint or manufacturing cost standpoint that make the analysis job difficult. Sorting through problems with data requires time that no one seems to have—at least, in the world as it existed three months ago—and any delay associated with vetting and reacquiring data presents a huge problem.
Example Issues
Why does this happen? While not an exhaustive list by any means, these are some of the issues I’ve seen.
Poor Definition of Requirements
Simulation models are a great example— even though the syntax for simulation models is well defined, there’s really no good way to assess simulation model quality or fitness for a particular analysis. In my hardware design days, I noted that just about every analysis project had some simulation models show up past the period we had reserved to test them, so we just gave them a quick test and got to work instead. Without fail, we’d use the models for a week or so before problems popped up and realized our analysis had been compromised. It was a 2–3 week hit, every time.
Sometimes the list of items to be delivered just isn’t complete or clear enough, and only part of the information needed is provided. The time it takes to go back to the source and acquire the additional data (and justify why they should take the time to provide it) causes project downtime.
To read this entire feature, which appeared in the May 2020 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
IDTechEx Report Unveils 3D Electronics Status and Opportunities
04/22/2024 | PRNewswire3D electronics is an emerging manufacturing approach that enables electronics to be integrated within or onto the surface of objects. 3D electronic manufacturing techniques empower new features, including mass customizability, greater integration, and improved sustainability in the electronics industry.
Altus Group Helps BitBox Unlock Productivity and Efficiency Gains with New Reflow Oven
04/22/2024 | Altus GroupAltus Group, a leading provider of capital equipment, has recently assisted BitBox, a UK-based electronics design, engineering and manufacturing company in upgrading its operations with the implementation of a new reflow oven from Heller Industries.
Growth Potential: Electronics Manufacturing Driving Massive Surge in Manufacturing Investment
04/22/2024 | Shawn DuBravac, IPCIn the early months of the pandemic, investment in manufacturing infrastructure, such as plants and production facilities, declined sharply. Real investment dropped over 11%, before finally recovering to pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2022. Over the past two years, however, several factors have combined to drive manufacturing investment to record levels.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
04/19/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineFor my must-read picks of the week, I’m highlighting Parker Capers, a young professional seeking employment, solid counsel from Dan Beaulieu on what your post-show plan should look like, more information and insight on “chiplets” and the need for secure data transfer standards from columnist Preeya Kuray, as well as Matt Stevenson’s design for reality wisdom. It’s a reminder to download one of our newest books (there are several) you don't want to miss if you are an assembler.
Absolute EMS Champions Collaboration Between Humans and Robots in Modern Manufacturing
04/19/2024 | Absolute EMS, Inc.Absolute EMS, Inc., an award-winning EMS provider of turnkey contract manufacturing services, offers a perfect factory environment that seamlessly blends robotic automation with human expertise.