PCB designs commonly undergo multiple respins as a result of inconspicuous signal integrity (SI), power integrity (PI), and electromagnetic interference (EMI) violations. At an average cost of nearly $28,000 per respin, ensuring that a given design meets its performance, time to market, and cost goals is imperative. To help eliminate complicated and difficult-to-diagnose layout violations, some PCB tool suites offer unique electrical design rule checks (DRC). When using DRC analysis as part of the PCB design process, engineers can ensure that their PCBs fall within the proper constraints for many different, advanced electrical design rules. The DRC tool contains fully-customizable SI, PI, EMI, and safety rule checks that enable designers to identify and correct violations before…
Checking PCB Design Schematics for Errors
A schematic is a crucial step in the physical production of a circuit. It will prevent costly and time-consuming debugging and rework or revisions to PCBs. In PCB design, it is essential for the physical production boards, regardless of whether a schematic is used to assemble it by hand on a breadboard or create a printed circuit board. This article outlines tools and practices we have used over time to reduce errors and create a complete and accurate schematic. Accurate Schematics in PCB Design Begin with Accurate and Complete Symbols Accurate symbols are the foundation of a reliable schematic. You must be familiar with the symbol editor of your schematic capture software. You will still need to be able to see and verify the properties of symbols even if you don’t have to create them…
Design for Manufacturability in PCB Design
PCB design plays a core role in manufacturing a printed circuit board. The layout process produces a graphical representation of the circuitry necessary to manufacture a PCB. PCB design is a detailed description and visual representation of the circuit. Most of the circuit boards manufactured today are assembled and tested by automated machines, driven in part by the data provided by the PCB files. In this light, the need for a PCB layout becomes evident. PCB Design with Computer-Aided Design Software With the development of CAD tools by several different companies, it is now common for the PCB layout to be prepared using CAD software tools. These computer-based programs offer tools and techniques to effectively and efficiently design a PCB and generate the necessary files to…
