-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueCreating 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.
Learning to Speak ‘Fab’
Our expert contributors clear up many of the miscommunication problems between PCB designers and their fab and assembly stakeholders. As you will see, a little extra planning early in the design cycle can go a long way toward maintaining open lines of communication with the fab and assembly folks.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
What is DFM, Really?
May 28, 2014 | Mark Thompson, CID, Prototron CircuitsEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Okay, so what is DFM, really? The term "design for manufacturability" has been used for many years now, but does everyone really understand this concept?
For instance, do you design for 10%? Do you design for a specific manufacturer’s capabilities, therefore making you less likely to seek alternative fabricators? How are your drawings worded?
In this article, I will be discussing the reality of DFM and what benefits you, the end-user, by embracing these practices.
Why Design For Manufacturability at All?
Good question. Even if you only buy your boards from a single source--if you have qualified the company already and feel you can expect certain press parameters and dielectric constants based on what they have provided you--it is STILL a good idea to at least design with some latitude. If your design is .1 mm lines and spaces there is not a whole lot of room to either expand or decrease the traces to achieve certain impedances. Clearly, when you have to ingress and egress out of tight-pitch components and your design takes you down to .003”/.003” there is NO ROOM at all for an etch compensation, so you are typically quoted by manufacturers as quarter-ounce foil start. This foil is so thin that we need not compensate for a loss at the etcher like the other copper weights.
Again, as I have mentioned before in my columns, the general rule of thumb is that for every half-ounce of starting copper, you give all the metal features an etch compensation of half a mil. Asking for 1 oz. starting copper, for instance, with 0.003”/0.003” will normally be a no-bid as fabricators would be hard-pressed to be able to run with .002” spaces at Image prior to etch. (Attempting to compensate the 0.003” traces for 1 oz. copper with 1 mil will result in 0.002” spaces at Image prior to etch.) So, 0.003”/0.003” is usually the limit.
Read the full article here.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2014 issue of The PCB Design Magazine.
Suggested Items
RF PCB Design Tips and Tricks
05/08/2025 | Cherie Litson, EPTAC MIT CID/CID+There are many great books, videos, and information online about designing PCBs for RF circuits. A few of my favorite RF sources are Hans Rosenberg, Stephen Chavez, and Rick Hartley, but there are many more. These PCB design engineers have a very good perspective on what it takes to take an RF design from schematic concept to PCB layout.
Trouble in Your Tank: Causes of Plating Voids, Pre-electroless Copper
05/09/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankIn the business of printed circuit fabrication, yield-reducing and costly defects can easily catch even the most seasoned engineers and production personnel off guard. In this month’s column, I’ll investigate copper plating voids with their genesis in the pre-plating process steps.
Elephantech: For a Greener Tomorrow
04/16/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineNobuhiko Okamoto is the global sales and marketing manager for Elephantech Inc., a Japanese startup with a vision to make electronics more sustainable. The company is developing a metal inkjet technology that can print directly on the substrate and then give it a copper thickness by plating. In this interview, he discusses this novel technology's environmental advantages, as well as its potential benefits for the PCB manufacturing and semiconductor packaging segments.
Trouble in Your Tank: Organic Addition Agents in Electrolytic Copper Plating
04/15/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankThere are numerous factors at play in the science of electroplating or, as most often called, electrolytic plating. One critical element is the use of organic addition agents and their role in copper plating. The function and use of these chemical compounds will be explored in more detail.
IDTechEx Highlights Recyclable Materials for PCBs
04/10/2025 | IDTechExConventional printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing is wasteful, harmful to the environment and energy intensive. This can be mitigated by the implementation of new recyclable materials and technologies, which have the potential to revolutionize electronics manufacturing.