Resources

Using Internal Part Numbers: The Why and the How

When you are designing a new electronics product, this single best practice will dramatically increase the success of that product in manufacturing: assign internal part numbers! This DFM Tip provides all the information you'll need to create and use internal PNs. A helpful BOM template is included. Go >

Tips to Speed Turnaround on Electronic Prototypes

The best prototypes are of high quality and are turned around very quickly, to ensure that you can get back to work on your design with minimal downtime. This DFM Tip provides a checklist of straight-forward things you can do to speed the turn-around (and help ensure the quality) of your prototype PCB.  Go >

Best Practices for Consigned Electronics Materials Supply

When consigning parts to a contract manufacturer, you will need to provide either a "kit" that includes all required materials, or a list of all necessary components for the CM to purchase on your behalf. In either case, these best practices will ensure fast and accurate turn-around. Go >

Best Practices for Preparing Documentation

Problems or omissions in this documentation result in delays and, in extreme cases, may lead to product deficiencies and quality issues. The following best practices will help to ensure that the documentation you send to your contract manufacturer is in good order. Go >

Planning Your Test Strategy

While testing is one of the last steps in the manufacturing process, it must be planned for early – as part of the design process – in order to ensure that necessary tests can be carried out and that they can be done so cost-effectively.  Go >

Design for Testablility – Flying Probe

SPEA

Provided with permission of SPEA: This paper contains rules and suggestions on how to test a board in the best possible way using Flying Probe test. The application of these guidelines during the design phase of the board will make testing more complete and less costly.  Go >

Best Practices for Surface Mount Technology (SMT) Design

Increasingly fine-pitch devices and increasing levels of automation are resulting in greater density in board design than ever before. Go >

Best Practices for Double-Sided Mixed-Technology Board Design

Although Pin Through Hole (PTH) designs are being phased out in favor of Surface Mount Technology (SMT, many designs still mix PTH and SMT. PTH also remains in use for some heavy power connectors, transformers, and other devices where strong mechanical bonds are required.  Go >

Optimizing Board Design for Adequate Clamping Space

Two common oversights related to board design affect whether the manufacturing equipment can effectively process a board. Whether your board is manufactured using pin through hole (PTH) or surface mount technology (SMT), the manufacturing equipment requires certain space on the board for clamping, transport, and/or supporting its weight.  Go >

Designing to Reduce Inventory Costs

Inventory control represents one of the highest cost areas in the manufacturing supply chain. Whether you are outsourcing the complete supply chain and manufacturing of your product in a turnkey model or using a consignment model, a number of design considerations can help to reduce the hard costs, overhead, and risk of inventory. Go >

Guidelines for Design of Metal Fabrication & Mechanical Assembly Operations

This provides best practices – and reasons for them – related to design considerations that are specific to metal and mechanical sub-assemblies.  Go >

System Assembly Considerations: “Hands-on” Means Higher Costs

One of the most expensive, yet overlooked, aspects of assembly is the manual tasks involved in putting a whole product together. To control costs, it’s desirable to automate as many procedures in the assembly chain as possible.  Go >

Spacing Components on a PCB

The spacing of components on PCBs is both art and science. As densities increase and designers strive to meet demands for more compact devices, they must make trade-off decisions that affect yield and may risk potential manufacturing problems.  Go >

Measurement capabilities for testing critical circuit configurations

D. Gaiero, D. Malvicino, U. Zola, SPEA

Provided with permission of SPEA: Measurement range, accuracy and repeatability are fundamental parameters to be considered in the choice of an in-circuit tester. Not all testers are able to detect all the failures that can occur on an electronic circuit. Go >

Using Concurrent Engineering for Better Results

Broadly speaking, there are two general approaches to product engineering: the “silo” approach, and the “concurrent engineering” approach. This DFM Tip describes how concurrent engineering works and provides three best practices for implementing this approach in your environment.  Go >