Target Condition: Are Autorouters Friend or Foe?
Fresh PCB Concepts: Assembly Challenges with Micro Components and Standard Solder Mask Practices
Elementary Mr. Watson: Retro Routers vs. Modern Boards—The Silent Struggle on Your Screen
Design for Profitability: Avoiding Fabrication Issues and Minimizing Costly Revisions
July 31, 2013 | Mark Thompson, CID, Prototron CircuitsEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Note that I use the term “design for profitability,” or DFP, as opposed to any of the other acronyms such as DFM (design for manufacturability), DFT (design for test), or DFA (design for assembly). I’m taking this approach because it really all comes down to profit, doesn’t it?
Designers have the power to design profit into the board, or, conversely, inadvertently increase costs and remove profit from the PCB. In this article I am going to go over just a few of the challenges that fabricators routinely face and some typical solutions, especially solutions that can affect your bottom line.
I will start with DFM. Generally, this is the first stage for prototyping and DFM depends greatly on the capabilities of your chosen fab shop. Some designs are finished with autorouters after the critical traces have been hand-placed. It is at this point that unintended issues can arise between design and fab.
An example of this is same net-spacing violations where a track may “double back” near a surface mounted component, creating same-net spacing violations (Figure 1). Whereas the software does not see these as legit violations because they are same net, a fabricator knows that any features creating spaces below 0.003” can easily flake off at the image stage and create havoc elsewhere in the form of shorts. Edit time must be taken at the fab stage when these same-net spacing violations occur and the slivers eliminated. Some CAM software packages have a sliver fill option, but again this requires additional edit time at CAM.
Read the full article here.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the March 2013 issue of The PCB Design Magazine.
Share on:
Suggested Items
DownStream Acquisition Fits Siemens’ ‘Left-Shift’ Model
06/26/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007I recently spoke to DownStream Technologies founder Joe Clark about the company’s acquisition by Siemens. We were later joined by A.J. Incorvaia, Siemens’ senior VP of electronic board systems. Joe discussed how he, Rick Almeida, and Ken Tepper launched the company in the months after 9/11 and how the acquisition came about. A.J. provides some background on the acquisition and explains why the companies’ tools are complementary.
Elementary Mr. Watson: Retro Routers vs. Modern Boards—The Silent Struggle on Your Screen
06/26/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonThere's a story about a young woman preparing a holiday ham. Before putting it in the pan, she cuts off the ends. When asked why, she shrugs and says, "That's how my mom always did it." She asks her mother, who gives the same answer. Eventually, the question reaches Grandma, who laughs and says, "Oh, I only cut the ends off because my pan was too small." This story is a powerful analogy for how many PCB designers approach routing today.
Siemens Turbocharges Semiconductor and PCB Design Portfolio with Generative and Agentic AI
06/24/2025 | SiemensAt the 2025 Design Automation Conference, Siemens Digital Industries Software today unveiled its AI-enhanced toolset for the EDA design flow.
Cadence AI Autorouter May Transform the Landscape
06/19/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazinePatrick Davis, product management director with Cadence Design Systems, discusses advancements in autorouting technology, including AI. He emphasizes a holistic approach that enhances placement and power distribution before routing. He points out that younger engineers seem more likely to embrace autorouting, while the veteran designers are still wary of giving up too much control. Will AI help autorouters finally gain industry-wide acceptance?
Beyond Design: The Metamorphosis of the PCB Router
06/18/2025 | Barry Olney -- Column: Beyond DesignThe traditional PCB design process is often time-consuming and labor-intensive. Routing a complex PCB layout can consume up to 30% of a designer’s time, and addressing this issue is not straightforward. We have all encountered this scenario: You spend hours setting the constraints and finally hit the Go button, only to be surprised by the lack of visual appeal and the obvious flaws in the result.