Introducing the CircuiTree eBook

The June 2010 eBook—Design for Manufacturability is an all-inclusive collection of the topics in Design for Manufacturability as covered by CircuiTree Magazine over the past 18 months. Glean valuable information from industry experts in the area of Design for Manufacturability, including:

CAM/CAD Design Rules and Guidelines -- The best design is worthless if you can’t manufacture it. To be confident regarding manufacturability, it’s important to know manufacturing’s capabilities and limitations. There are organizations that work day and night to create guidelines and standards to make designs optimum for all the major areas of Design for Manufacturability: design for fabrication, design for assembly, and design for testing, etc.

Creating A Streamlined Manufacturing Process for Operational PCBs -- PCB manufacturing grows more and more complex, seemingly with each day. It involves critical steps and requires detailed parameters about PCBs being manufactured so that they can be efficiently built and will function correctly. This article focuses on key methods and technologies of Design for Manufacturability to effectively prepare the hand off of the PCB design to manufacturing.

Design for Manufacturability: A Process, Not An Afterthought -- What exactly is the “Left Shift” of Design for Manufacturability analysis? Think of it as moving the DfM analysis from a tool run by the manufacturer into an integrated solution within the printed circuit board design system. The Left Shift of DfM analysis into a PCB design system is a major improvement in the PCB design process. In its final form, it allows a designer to eliminate design iterations used in DfM analysis by integrating the analysis into the design system itself, thus making the overall design process more efficient.

Strategies for PCB Assembly in Design for Manufacturing -- Design for Manufacturability is an umbrella term that encompasses several types of critical analysis functions necessary to effectively transform a design into a tangible product that is delivered to a customer. These concepts have been around for quite a while, yet the linkage between the design process and the manufacturing floor still has considerable room for improvement. This tenuous link is detrimental to any company that is facing increased competition, reduced product-launch cycle times, demands for increased product functionality, and quality—which more or less describes any company involved in the design and/or manufacture of electronic products! However, the key concept that will dramatically improve the effectiveness of any strategy is creating “Design-to-Manufacturing-to-Design” knowledge links.