-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueBreaking High-speed Material Constraints
Do you need specialty materials for your high-speed designs? Maybe not. Improvements in resins mean designers of high-speed boards can sometimes use traditional laminate systems. Learn more in this issue.
Level 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.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
What Do You Know About PCB Manufacturing?
January 11, 2024 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Much of a designer’s job involves creating a product that is compatible with the capabilities of their chosen fabrication and assembly providers. But very few PCB designers have visited a board shop or assembly facility in decades, if ever, and seemingly simple DFM problems continue to dog our industry. What manufacturing concepts are designers missing?
We posed this question to Tony Bell, division manager of San Diego PCB Design, which was acquired by APCT in April 2023 and continues to operate under its original name, with plans to transition to its official new name of APCT Design. Tony has experience in PCB design, fab, assembly, and test, so we asked him what PCB designers need to know about manufacturing. He said the need for designers to continue learning about fab and assembly processes throughout their careers, and why asking questions is not bothersome, it’s necessary for the job.
Andy Shaughnessy: Tony, you have a pretty wide background in this industry. Tell me about that.
Tony Bell: I've been in this industry for a while, and am fortunate to have a diverse background that got me to where I am now. I came to San Diego PCB Design from Plexus in October 2021. At Plexus, I learned assembly process flow and I was an in-circuit test technician. Later, one thing led to another, and I moved into Plexus’ Engineering Solutions, where I managed the North American region’s PCB design team. There, 12 designers reported to me in Neenah, Wisconsin; Guadalajara, Mexico; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Boulder, Colorado. Now that San Diego PCB Design has been purchased by APCT, I’m enjoying learning more about advanced fabrication as a design manager on the fab shop side.
Shaughnessy: What do you think designers and design engineers need to know about manufacturing processes?
Bell: They need to know that the manufacturing process is ever-changing. This goes for electrical interfaces, fabrication, assembly, and test. Designing in a vacuum without a desire to learn new things can be stifling to a designer’s ability to grow in their capabilities as well as their ability to contribute to their organization.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the January 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
TactoTek Licenses IMSE Technology to Polestar for Sustainable Electronics Design Innovation
05/15/2024 | TactoTekPolestar, the Swedish electric performance car brand, and Finnish smart surface pioneer TactoTek, have entered a collaboration to explore integration of Injection Molded Structural Electronics (IMSE) technology into Polestar’s vehicle programs.
The Shaughnessy Report: Unlock Your High-speed Material Constraints
05/15/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy -- Column: The Shaughnessy ReportThe world of PCB materials used to be a fairly simple one. It was divided into two groups: the “traditional” laminates, often called FR-4, and the high-speed laminates developed especially for high-speed PCBs. These were two worlds that usually didn’t collide. But then traditional laminates started getting better, and high-speed designers and design engineers took notice and started to reconsider what FR-4 could be used for.
Standard of Excellence Collaboration—The Right Path to Innovation
05/15/2024 | Anaya Vardya -- Column: Standard of ExcellenceNow more than ever, as new and innovative technologies for printed circuit boards are in demand, we need collaboration between PCB designers, fabricators, and assemblers. Close partnerships with PCB designers and assemblers are key to developing and producing PCBs with boards with new and innovative technology. These collaborative partnerships, along with the partnership with the end customers, are more critical than ever before.
A Potpourri of Design PD Classes
05/14/2024 |What is invention without innovation? What is innovation without capability? Kelly Dack addresses these questions and more in this review of the Professional Development courses at IPC APEX EXPO, including the flex course lead by "Flexperts" Mark Finstad and Nick Koop.
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Precision Tools and Problem-solving With Perfect Point
05/14/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOIn an interview with Guest Editor Dan Beaulieu, Alex Girardot, a field applications engineer with Perfect Point, shares his experiences with precision tooling. Alex also discusses a challenging project involving thick boards and small diameter holes in which Carbonite tools with a hybrid design were used. They also discuss the trend toward smaller hole sizes.