Elementary Mr. Watson: Running the Signal Gauntlet
The Shaughnessy Report: Winning the Signal Integrity Battle
Connect the Dots: How to Avoid Five Common Causes of Board Failure
What’s New at DownStream?
March 21, 2016 | Andy Shaughnessy, PCB Design007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Since its founding in the uncertain days of 2002, DownStream Technologies has made a name for itself with its line of PCB design post-processing tools. Founder Rick Almeida gives us an update on the latest innovations at DownStream, and he discusses some of the challenges and trends he sees in the PCB design segment.
Andy Shaughnessy: Rick, why don’t you start by telling us about some of the new tools at DownStream.
Rick Almeida: The last few releases of our post-processing tools have been focused in the areas of assembly panel design and DFM. We’ve added large number of new checking routines in DFM. We now have a major release in the works planned for release in late 2016 or early 2017 that focuses on integration between documentation and CAM file verification. This release will modularize our products so that they may be mixed and matched together to create a custom PCB post processing solution based on our customers’ requirements. As part of this release we will be bringing out some new tools in support of IPC-2581 PCB stack-up visualization in both DFMStream and our BluePrint documentation tool. We are also investing in re-writes of some of the core CAM350 functions.
Shaughnessy: What new technologies are you particularly excited about?
Almeida: We are in the process of redefining our panel design and documentation capability. We’ve had a lot of customer input on panel design for both assembly arrays and PCB production and our bringing our panel capabilities together in a new unified panel design tool that understands the various hierarchies associated with PCB panels.
Shaughnessy: Which customer challenges led you to develop these new products?
Almeida: When engineering groups array PCBs for assembly panels, it’s important that they get optimum yield. To do this they must analyze the fit of the assembly panel on the fabrication panel. So the relationship between a one-up PCB, assembly array, and fabrication panel is paramount to determine which trade-offs to make to get the most PCBs on a single panel substrate.
Shaughnessy: How will these new tools help address your customers’ concerns?
Almeida: What we see is a tight coupling of manufacturing know-how embedded into software to help PCB designers and engineers make the right decision for optimum manufacturing execution. So the more manufacturing assistance our tools can provide earlier in the PCB design flow, the better for our customers in preparing the designs to be physically built.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the February 2016 issue of The PCB Design 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
U.S. CHIPS Act Funding Detailed on SIA Website
09/12/2025 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007The U.S. CHIPS Act has moved well into the implementation stage in 2025. But where has that money gone? The Semiconductor Industry Association has been tracking these projects and provides details on its website. It was updated May. Among the five key programs being managed under CHIPS, two stand out as influencing advanced electronic packaging: the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), and the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute (MFG USA).
Zhen Ding Drives AI-Powered Digital Transformation
09/12/2025 | Zhen DingDriven by the surging demand for computing power fueled by AI, the semiconductor and PCB industries are forging closer integration, expanding their ecosystems, and pursuing shared growth. PCB has already become another NT$ trillion-dollar industry in Taiwan, growing in tandem with the semiconductor sector.
Flex Named to TIME's World's Best Companies List for Third Consecutive Year
09/12/2025 | FlexFlex announced its inclusion on the TIME World's Best Companies 2025 list. This marks the third consecutive year the company was included in this prestigious ranking, which recognizes top-performing companies across the globe.
Secure Semiconductor Manufacturing Acquires Full SMT Line from Manncorp
09/11/2025 | ManncorpSecure Semiconductor Manufacturing, LLC (SSM), an American-owned company dedicated to producing secure printed wiring boards and advanced assembly solutions in the MidWest USA, today announced the acquisition of a complete surface mount technology (SMT) line from Manncorp.
GlobalLogic, Ericsson Deploy Private 5G Network at Hitachi Rail’s State-of-the-Art Digital Factory
09/11/2025 | BUSINESS WIREGlobalLogic Inc., a Hitachi Group company and leader in digital engineering, has designed and deployed a state-of-the-art 5G private network at Hitachi Rail’s most digitally advanced facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, USA.