Avoid Overbuilding your RF Printed Circuit Board

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Again, that’s why we like to work with the designers and the layout folks at the beginning. You can ask us to help design cost-effectiveness into your package rather than send it to us and say, “Well, you asked for all Rogers. Gee, if you had talked to us a couple months ago, we could've suggested replacing a few of these layers with FR-4.” Or, “Oh, wow, you're using that material. This other manufacturer has a low-cost alternative that's almost exactly the same electrical properties as the one you're using, but it's at a third of the price or half the price.” That's why we like to work with them in the beginning.

Another thing that I like to do is go in and teach designers how printed circuit boards are manufactured. A lot of designers will design in aspects to their board that they think is the way they need it, not understanding that the cost of manufacturing this particular methodology is not cost-effective for them. They can do the same thing, for example, with somebody saying, “I need microvias because I know I can't overlay conventional vias.” Well, there's a back-drilling option, so if you can live with a 2-mil via stub, back-drilling is going to save you 8% on your board price.

A lot of people just don't know that, so when we say, “This is what you do when you manufacture a printed circuit board,” many people will respond, “Wow, I never knew you did it that way. Now when I go design a board, I'm going to think the way that you're manufacturing it.” It also helps that they understand the manufacturing process, because then they don't design stuff that doesn't manufacture, or that you can't do. It costs time and money when you have to go back and redesign your board.

Matties: Well, this is great stuff. I really appreciate your time today. Is there anything else that we should share with the industry that you think they should know?

Hofer: Keep moving forward with high-speed. The world is becoming a digital living space. Nothing's going to be tied down or hard-wired anymore. The wave of the future is all wireless, separate, and digital.

Matties: You mentioned high-speed. I just did an interview with Vario Optics, and they are embedding optics in circuit boards. Do you see that as something that you're going to look at to stay up with the speed and data transfer?

Hofer: Absolutely. A lot of printed circuit board laminates are made with woven glass. Using that glass as a fiber optic is the next logical step, and that's going to increase our speed ten times. I see that as definitely something we will be involved in.

Matties: How do you advance your process? Do you have a team of internal engineers, or do you go out to the supply base?

Hofer: We have a team of internal engineers, and then we work closely with other customers. I had a gentleman come by the booth talking about something that we've been discussing internally for a long time, and he's from a major OEM. First thing we said was, “We'd love to partner with you on this. We'll work something out so we can run it, you guys help us with testing it on your side, and we'll call it even.” I think those are the advances that are going to make the industry go forward.

Matties: James, thank you so much.

Hofer: Thank you, Barry. I appreciate it.

• < Previous Page