Global Citizenship: Together for a Perfect PCB Solution
Smart Automation: Odd-form Assembly—Dedicated Insertion Equipment Matters
Nolan’s Notes: Everyone Has Their Eye on India
Getting Our ‘Fil’ of Design Constraint Techniques
August 7, 2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Setting design constraints is one of the most critical parts of the PCB design process. The PCB designer must balance performance, manufacturability, and cost while addressing issues such as component function, signal integrity, thermal management, and EDA tool idiosyncrasies.
Filbert Arzola is a principal electrical engineer at Raytheon SAS and an instructor who teaches one of the few classes (that I know of) that focuses on setting design constraints. I asked Fil to share his thoughts on design constraints: the factors involved, the various trade-offs, and his best practices for optimizing constraints for your particular design. As Fil says, “Everything about a PCB is a constraint.”
What sort of pre-layout analysis should be performed before you begin setting constraints?
Filbert Arzola: When starting a new PCB board design, one must set up initial routing and clearance constraint settings to enable a good start to engineer your board design. However, one must first review and settle on the initial mechanical model that will house your board design. I highly advise every PCB board engineer to fully understand and confirm the mechanical aspects of the housing, including the outline, the amount and size of the mounting hole clearances, the type and size of the bolt and washer hardware, and most of all, if there are any 3D interferences. A nice DXF file that details all this information completes the electronic model to pre-analyze the mechanical aspect of the board design. One must understand why we constrain our designs and what doing so will give us in return. Having a solid, well-designed, and engineered mechanical model is a must to constrain a successful PCB model database.
To continue reading this interview, which originally appeared in the July 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"We’re proud to call I-Connect007 a trusted partner. Their innovative approach and industry insight made our podcast collaboration a success by connecting us with the right audience and delivering real results."
Julia McCaffrey - NCAB GroupSuggested Items
Deca, Silicon Storage Technology Announce Strategic Collaboration to Enable NVM Chiplet Solutions
09/11/2025 | Microchip Technology Inc.As traditional monolithic chip designs grow in complexity and increase in cost, the interest and adoption of chiplet technology in the semiconductor industry also increases.
I-Connect007 Launches New Podcast Series on Ultra High Density Interconnect (UHDI)
09/10/2025 | I-Connect007I-Connect007 is excited to announce the debut of its latest podcast series, which shines a spotlight on one of the most important emerging innovations in electronics manufacturing: Ultra-High-Density Interconnect (UHDI). The series kicks off with Episode One, “Ultra HDI: What does it mean to people? Why would they want it?” Host Nolan Johnson is joined by guest expert John Johnson, Director of Quality and Advanced Technology at American Standard Circuits (ASC).
Global Citizenship: Together for a Perfect PCB Solution
09/10/2025 | Tom Yang -- Column: Global CitizenshipIf there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past few decades of electronics evolution, it’s that no region has a monopoly on excellence. Whether it’s materials science breakthroughs in Europe, manufacturing efficiencies in China, or design innovations in Silicon Valley, the PCB industry thrives on collaboration.
The Shaughnessy Report: Winning the Signal Integrity Battle
09/09/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy -- Column: The Shaughnessy ReportWhen I first started covering this industry in 1999, signal integrity was the hip new thing in PCB design. Conference classes on signal integrity were packed to the walls, and an SI article was guaranteed to get a lot of reads.
The Signal Integrity Issue: Design007 Magazine September 2025
09/09/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamAs the saying goes, “If you don’t have signal integrity problems now, you will eventually.” This month, our experts share a variety of design techniques that can help PCB designers and design engineers achieve signal integrity.