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Design for Manufacturing (DFM)

Design for manufacturing (DFM) is the process for design engineers to review the design of a product to optimize its dimensions, materials, tolerances and functionality through the most efficient manufacturing means possible.

ASC Free Technical eBook and Webinar Series Learn any issues upfront before sending your board design to manufacturing. Anaya Vardya and John Bushie of American Standard Circuits join us in this episode. Read Article

When Should You Use a Flex Circuit? The two predominant reasons for using flex or rigid flex, are to solve a packaging issue or reduce the space and weight of the electronics package. These two are often interrelated and space, weight and packaging, (SWaP) will continue to be a driving force in PCB design. Read Article

How to Choose the Best PCB Manufacturer for Your Project Here’s how you can find and qualify the best PCB manufacturer for your new product. Read Article

The Art of Selecting Connectors Connectors are the unsung stars of both a product and its hardware development. Any Apple user knows the romantic tale the company has spun from infatuation with the first magnetic power connector through the betrayal of the 3.5mm jack to today’s ‘it’s complicated’ status thanks to the baggage their dongles create in pursuit of beauty. Product developers have similar emotional experiences with their prototypes. An unreliable connector that has Read Article

Altium Designer® 18: Key Benefits of ActiveBOM If you were unable to attend the July 19th live ActiveBOM^® webinar, you can view the the presentation slides and video recording at your convenience. If you prefer, you can also review the summary below for the session highlights. I briefly discussed some of the challenges design engineers encounter as they search for, select and source parts for designs. Then, I introduced ActiveBOM and provided a demonstration, followed by a summary and Q&A Download PDF

Manufacturing Checklists and Tools When it comes to manufacturing, organization is critical. With so many different players involved in the design process (engineers, sourcing agents, manufacturers, etc.), maintaining documentation and utilizing checklists and other tools will keep everyone on the same page and avoid confusion. Additionally, checklists can help ensure that the PCB design is fully complete and ready to send for manufacturing, protecting you from any unexpected Download PDF

High Currents and Higher Temperatures: PCB Design Tips for Heat Management I remember the first (and hopefully the only) time one of my circuits caught on fire. It started with the resistors and quickly spread to a nearby decoupling capacitor. Thankfully, the destruction was minor and most of the components were salvageable. Why did this happen you ask? No, this was not due to a short circuit. Very simply, I did not take into account the high current PCB layout. As electronics continue to be miniaturized, the thermal Read Article

PCB Manufacturing Ebook Printed circuit boards have a huge foothold in our lives. They are found in everything from our TVs and computers, to our washing machines and watches. As a PCB designer, you understand the blood, sweat, and tears that make every board and the devices they serve a reality. It's rare that any PCB project goes smoothly from start to finish. However, there are a number of steps you can take to increase the efficiency and reduce the number of hiccups Download PDF

Thermal Pads vs Thermal Paste: The Best Choice for Mounting Your Heatsinks I used to work as a construction assistant, where my primary responsibility was to level properties prior to the heavy concrete trucks laying down a level foundation. It was a tedious and taxing job, but something that is quite crucial for a building in order for it to withstand years of use and abuse. I would run through a spit of land with nothing more than a shovel ensuring that the ground is flat and level within an inch tolerance. One inch Read Article

BOM Cost Analysis Shows PCB Design Savings Just Over the Horizon Ever have a rocky day? Or have the wind taken out of your sails? These and many other phrases have some of their roots as nautical expression but have been adapted for everyday use. “Keeping a weather eye,” for example, means to pay attention to the weather regardless of what else you might be doing. Sailors might not have intended to start this linguistic drifting, but at sea, overlooking a rapidly approaching cloud or a brief drop in the wind Read Article

Low Cost Solutions for Automated Hardware in the Loop Testing A project overview demonstrating low-cost solutions for automated hardware in the loop testing using the Pytest framework Read Article

Key Factors of Thoughtful Design Ed Becze of Pegmatis, a highly experienced R&D company with end-to-end product development capabilities, joins us to help start-ups and design engineers like you avoid electronic product development failures. Read Article

Macrofab: Modern EMS Solutions in North America Macrofab offers a better electronics manufacturing experience for the customer. Chris Church, Founder and Chief Product Officer at MacroFab, Inc. tells us more in this OnTrack episode. Read Article

How to Speed Up Your DFM Report Process in the Cloud Make sure your design will be produced with high quality and yield with our DFM analysis guidelines. You’ll want to perform DFM analysis at multiple stages during the design process. Read Article

Complete Guide to DFM Analysis Make sure your design will be produced with high quality and yield with our DFM analysis guidelines. You’ll want to perform DFM analysis at multiple stages during the design process. Read Article

All About IPC-4101 and IPC-4103 Slash Sheets PCB laminate material requirements are outlined in slash sheets as specified in the IPC-4101 standard. Read our guide to learn about this standard and how materials are specified. Read Article

Mass Production Mindset In true engineering spirit, let’s start by establishing the scope of this article. The intention isn’t to tell you exactly what to do if you need to mass-produce the device you’ve designed or show you what changes to make. This intention is to explore the mindset you need to adopt and the critical thinking you’ll need to do if you need to either design a device from scratch for the mass market or turn your one-off prototype into a format that Read Article