Design Challenges: From The Assembler’s Viewpoint

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Fabricators are fairly vocal about the design issues that they encounter, especially with brand-new customers. They are, after all, the next step in the process. But we don’t hear as much about design issues from EMS providers.

This month, we asked experts from the PCB assembly segment to share their thoughts about design challenges that affect technologists on the EMS side. They offer a look at the world of PCB design from downstream in the process, and they raise several interesting points. 

Have your assembly partners offered you any advice on design for assembly (DFA) techniques?

Michael Ford
Aegis Software

Q. What is your main concern for PCB designers?

Design for sustainability (DFS), including the right to repair, product and material reuse, and effective recycling, as well as the CO₂ and energy impacts of materials and products are the sustainability credentials that customers across the industry are building into their requirements. The industry has a choice—to be driven by carrots from customers in a way that is good for them and the industry, or wait for the inevitable sticks from governments, which typically introduce a sudden burden without a focus on complementary benefits.

Designers need to take extreme care now when defining and measuring their designs against these emerging requirements. They must understand how to benefit from these requirements and be able to communicate information in a way that ensures the privacy of IP. Emerging technologies address these concerns, but to save investment and expense, they should be adopted in a way that creates interoperability throughout the industry.

Unlike manufacturing, where a single partner is responsible for producing many of the same product line together, the recycling of products happens at random as individual products reach end of life. Information for sustainability must therefore be available more widely, smartly, and more securely. A holistic discussion is needed.

Q. What issue should PCB designers be more aware of?

Designers continuously learn how to improve their designs. A significant contribution to this process is information related to manufacturing, actual materials used, and the way that the product is used in the market. The issue here is that context is very important. Results of customer feedback, warranty claims, and reliability of the product in the market are affected by several variables which design does not currently have visibility of nor control over.

The same product may be manufactured at several different locations, with different configurations and settings, all of which alter the manufacturing performance. The choice of materials often deviates from expectations, as material shortages or increased costs trigger the use of local or more cost-effective materials. These may perform differently in certain conditions. Customers may use, and abuse, products in certain applications. How can all these factors be measured? Understanding the results of product design decisions means that detailed context of manufacturing, materials, and use-case information is essential if we are to create better designs that reduce the cost of manufacturing, poor quality, and exceptions occurring in the market. The use of solutions around an interoperable digital twin architecture standard, such as IPC-2551, may be the way forward.

To read this entire article, which appeared in the June 2023 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.