-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueOpportunities 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.
Manufacturing Know-how
For this issue, we asked our expert contributors to share their thoughts on the absolute “must-know” aspects of fab, assembly and test that all designers should understand. In the end, we’re all in this together.
- 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
Cogiscan Collaborates with Koh Young to Unveil How Factory Insights Software Transforms Data Into Action at IPC APEX EXPO
03/28/2024 | Koh YoungKoh Young, the industry leader in True3D measurement-based inspection solutions, is excited to announce Factory Insights, the latest offering from Cogiscan, will be demonstrated alongside KSMART in Koh Young booth 2112 during IPC APEX Expo.
ASMC 2024 to Showcase AI, Smart Manufacturing and Sustainability to Advance Chip Industry Manufacturing Expertise
03/27/2024 | SEMIMore than 125 experts will offer insights into the latest semiconductor manufacturing strategies and methodologies as hundreds of industry stakeholders gather at the 35th annual SEMI Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC 2024), May 13-16 in Albany, New York.
NextFlex Announces $5M Education Fundraising Effort: First Spotlight - Transforming the Landscape for Women in Technology
03/27/2024 | BUSINESS WIRENextFlex Learning Programs, the education-focused arm of the NextFlex® Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Institute, announces its first spotlight effort, “NextFlex Supports Women in STEM” to increase the number of women in STEM fields, which could accelerate U.S. GDP growth by boosting women’s cumulative earnings by $299B and adding $5.9T to the global stock market within 10 years according to S&P Global.
Don Dennison Appointed to Roll Out KIC’s Latest Thermal Analysis System Software in the Northeast
03/26/2024 | KICKIC, a renowned pioneer in thermal process and temperature measurement solutions for electronics manufacturing, is pleased to announce the appointment of PIT Equipment Services, LLC, led by Don Dennison, as its representative for New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania.
ACDi Takes Milestone Delivery of the 23,000th Koh Young Machine
03/26/2024 | ACDiAccording to ACDi (American Computer Development, Inc.), “Flexible, reliable, and equipped to keep your project on schedule, is what you need as an electronics manufacturing services partner.”