-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueAll About That Route
Most designers favor manual routing, but today's interactive autorouters may be changing designers' minds by allowing users more direct control. In this issue, our expert contributors discuss a variety of manual and autorouting strategies.
Creating the Ideal Data Package
Why is it so difficult to create the ideal data package? Many of these simple errors can be alleviated by paying attention to detail—and knowing what issues to look out for. So, this month, our experts weigh in on the best practices for creating the ideal design data package for your design.
Designing Through the Noise
Our experts discuss the constantly evolving world of RF design, including the many tradeoffs, material considerations, and design tips and techniques that designers and design engineers need to know to succeed in this high-frequency realm.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
Understanding DFM and its Role in PCB Layout
April 14, 2015 | Rick Almeida, Downstream TechnologiesEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

DFM, DRC, DFF, DFA, DFwhat? These are all terms used daily in the PCB design world regarding manufacturing analysis, and they are often used interchangeably. But what exactly is DFM and why is it such an important, but often ignored aspect of the PCB design process?
Let’s start by clarifying some terms. DFM is short for “design for manufacturability.” It is the process of arranging a PCB layout topology to mitigate problems that could be encountered during the PCB fabrication and assembly processes required to manufacture an electronic system. Addressing fabrication issues is what’s known as design for fabrication (DFF), and addressing assembly issues during design is known as design for assembly (DFA). The two together mostly make up DFM analysis—mostly.
In many cases, the term DRC, which stands for design rule checking, is also used interchangeably with DFM and creates further confusion. That’s understandable, because DRC issues detected in manufacturing can indeed have a direct impact on the manufacturability of a PCB. However, DRC is markedly different from DFF and DFA. Think of DRC as a hard pass/fail detection of a problem in a PCB. Either a problem exists or it doesn’t. In engineering, DRC is used to ensure that PCB layout connectivity accurately reflects the connectivity defined in a board’s associated schematic diagram. But connectivity is only one aspect of DRC. The “R” stands for rules. The rules are used largely to define the minimum spacing allowed between various PCB objects for the entire PCB or for individual layers, nets or areas on the PCB. In engineering, the spacing may have direct impact on circuit performance. In manufacturing, spacing may play a pivotal role in the ability to fabricate or assemble a PCB. As a result, DRC becomes a subset of DFM, but only if the rules used reflect a manufacturer’s requirements for spacing. Otherwise, DRC is used solely for electrical verification.
DFM’s two primary components, DFF and DFA, are more nuanced than DRC. While DRC detects very specific discrepancies from the intended interconnect, DFM identifies issues in the PCB topology that have the potential to create manufacturing problems. What’s more, a DRC defect will be present in every copy of the PCB built, so if there is a short missed in DRC, every PCB will contain the short, no matter how many PCBs are produced. By contrast, if the same PCB quantities contain DFM issues, problems may only manifest in some of the PCBs while others perform correctly as expected.
For example, a PCB layout containing very thin pieces of copper created in the design tool by rule would be correct per the schematic. And if spaced properly it would pass DRC. However, that same sliver, being so thin, could potentially detach on the physical PCB and inadvertently connect itself to other copper elements during assembly, thus creating shorts on some PCBs but not on others. So, the sliver would pass DRC verification, but in real-world manufacturing the sliver could cause some PCBs to fail. Without DFM, this problem would go on undetected and would result in scrap or rework.
This article originally appeared in the March 2015 issue of The PCB Design Magazine. To read this article in its entirety, click here.
Suggested Items
Happy’s Tech Talk #40: Factors in PTH Reliability—Hole Voids
07/09/2025 | Happy Holden -- Column: Happy’s Tech TalkWhen we consider via reliability, the major contributing factors are typically processing deviations. These can be subtle and not always visible. One particularly insightful column was by Mike Carano, “Causes of Plating Voids, Pre-electroless Copper,” where he outlined some of the possible causes of hole defects for both plated through-hole (PTH) and blind vias.
Trouble in Your Tank: Can You Drill the Perfect Hole?
07/07/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn the movie “Friday Night Lights,” the head football coach (played by Billy Bob Thornton) addresses his high school football team on a hot day in August in West Texas. He asks his players one question: “Can you be perfect?” That is an interesting question, in football and the printed circuit board fabrication world, where being perfect is somewhat elusive. When it comes to mechanical drilling and via formation, can you drill the perfect hole time after time?
The Evolution of Picosecond Laser Drilling
06/19/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineIs it hard to imagine a single laser pulse reduced not only from nanoseconds to picoseconds in its pulse duration, but even to femtoseconds? Well, buckle up because it seems we are there. In this interview, Dr. Stefan Rung, technical director of laser machines at Schmoll Maschinen GmbH, traces the technology trajectory of the laser drill from the CO2 laser to cutting-edge picosecond and hybrid laser drilling systems, highlighting the benefits and limitations of each method, and demonstrating how laser innovations are shaping the future of PCB fabrication.
Day 2: More Cutting-edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/18/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) summer conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the third of three articles on the conference. The other two cover Day 1’s sessions and the opening keynote speech. Below is a recap of the second day’s sessions.
Day 1: Cutting Edge Insights at the EIPC Summer Conference
06/17/2025 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The European Institute for the PCB Community (EIPC) Summer Conference took place this year in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 3-4. This is the second of three articles on the conference. The other two cover the keynote speeches and Day 2 of the technical conference. Below is a recap of the first day’s sessions.