Connect the Dots: Proactive Controlled Impedance
Beyond Design: Radiation and Interference Coupling
Elementary, Mr. Watson: Design Data Packages—Circle of Concern or Circle of Influence?
Hidden Cost Drivers in PCB Design
September 5, 2024 | Cherie Litson, CID+, Litson1 ConsultingEstimated reading time: 1 minute
I recently taught a CID+ course, and if you’ve ever taken a CID or CID+ course, you know that we discuss cost adders quite a bit. When I asked the class of 15 design engineers their ideas on the biggest cost adders, the first and strongest response: the project manager.
Are you surprised by their answer? After over 40 years in the industry, I wasn’t. If you step back and look at the process of product development, you’ll see that many decisions that affect costs down the line really do take root with the project manager.
After reviewing my own experience and that of many other designers, I referenced my favorite source for defining cost adders: the IPC PCBA Checklist 17. Here you’ll find most of the cost adders that we all encounter to one degree or another. As you review the checklist and see who is responsible for many of the decisions, you’ll find it all starts with the project leader.
Everything you’ve read about the cost-saving process is controlled by the project leader’s actions; the project leader is like the chef in the kitchen.
The engineers and designers will then limit their decisions based on the requirements set by the project leader. They become the “sous chef” in the process. The engineers and designers then set the limits and specifications in their documentation affecting purchasing, fabrication, assembly, and test. They become the “station chef” or “line chef.” That’s why the CID and CID+ classes focus so much on the design engineer’s decisions. But no one really addresses or guides the project leaders for their role in the cost saving process.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the August 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
INEMI Interim Report: Interconnection Modeling and Simulation Results for Low-Temp Materials in First-Level Interconnect
05/30/2025 | iNEMIOne of the greatest challenges of integrating different types of silicon, memory, and other extended processing units (XPUs) in a single package is in attaching these various types of chips in a reliable way.
ICEFlight to Accelerate Maturation of Cryogenic Technologies for Hydrogen-Powered Flight
05/27/2025 | GKN AerospaceGKN Aerospace is one of the project partners in ICEFlight (Innovative Cryogenic Electric Flight), a project aiming to contribute to the development of hydrogen-powered flight.
Pioneering Energy-Efficient AI with Innovative Ferroelectric Technology
05/22/2025 | FraunhoferAs artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into sectors such as healthcare, autonomous vehicles and smart cities, traditional computing architectures face significant limitations in processing speed and energy efficiency
KEC International Lands New Orders, Including Semiconductor Breakthrough
05/14/2025 | KEC InternationalKEC International Ltd., a global infrastructure EPC major and RPG Group company, has announced securing new orders totaling ₹1,034 crores across its diverse business segments.
SEMI Applauds New Bill to Clarify Tax Credit Eligibility for Critical Semiconductor Suppliers Under U.S. CHIPS Act
05/12/2025 | SEMISEMI, the industry association serving the global semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, announced support of the Strengthening Essential Manufacturing and Industrial Investment Act (SEMI Investment Act), which clarifies that critical materials suppliers to semiconductor manufacturers are eligible for the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit (“Section 48D”) created by the United States CHIPS and Science Act.