There’s a whole lot that goes into the PCB design and manufacture and it’s sometimes easy to forget the variety of tasks that are completed as a result. In this blog we take you through just a few of the stages that our professional PCB designers undertake and the tasks associated and talk through some of the challenges they encounter as a result.
Circuit Board Diagrams
PCB Design Bureaus are often happy to accept any forms of input and some of our customers provide completed CAD generated schematics, but we can work with a wide range of data to create the diagrams. This design stage is crucial to ensure the success of the project. We work with you to ensure 100% accuracy. This process involves not only entering the circuits into the CAD system, but also requires in-depth of knowledge of design decisions, such as prototyping, assembly and DFM (Design For Manufacturing) analysis.
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Data Preparation
Data preparation can be a real pain – but making sure you have the necessary information available to create new library parts for your PCB design is a vital part of the process. Where library parts don’t exist, we collate your data sheets for you and verify them to ensure there are sufficient legible dimensions for the new part to be created.
We break the process down into 3 parts
– Data analysis: checking that all layers are present and perform an analysis to establish the design parameters
– Production tool generation: taking the clean data and modifying it to build the design
– Build the production panel and output the tool data:
PCB Design Layout
Over the years we have found that in PCB Layout, consultation is key. We dedicate time to working with you on all aspects of your circuit board design, system design, bare board manufacturing requirements plus assembly test requirements, mechanical and environmental requirements, ensuring that you are kept in the loop throughout. Engineers pay a huge amount of attention to the circuits, components and code, but sometimes the task of PCB layout can be overlooked. As a result, PCB design can be beset by functionality and reliability issues Sizing Traces, Capacitor Placement, Via size and Number, Thermal Via, Traces and Mounting Holes and Heat sensitive Components are just some of the considerations taken into account at this stage and can hep to ensure that the design is able to achieve its purpose.
PCB Design Assembly
Whether you require just the bare PCB’s or assembled and tested circuit boards, we work with you to ensure your design hits the mark. As a complete service, you can offer one quote for the full project, meaning less hassle for sign off internally! Many clients find it convenient and economic to supply their entire bill of materials (BOM). A wide range of techniques including surface mount assembly, through hole, hand soldered & auto insertion can be used.
PCB Design Reverse Engineering
PCB Reverse engineering is our speciality and not all companies can deliver these sort of projects. We can reverse engineer PCB’s from virtually any source data including, gerber, obsolete CAD systems, bare PCB’s, PCB assemblies and even wiring lists. Our PCB reverse engineering skills also include the ability to convert legacy PCB designs that require modifications. Once complete we then provide you with the PCB and schematic files for future use.
High Speed PCB Design
Our capable and experienced printed circuit board designers are well-versed in signal, power integrity and RF requirements. Our PCB design services include board stack up and impedance profiles, implementation of constraints and topologies to govern your signal behaviour and verification. We work on Digital and Analog designs on a regular basis and can provide 3D clash detection and thermal analysis.
Library Creation
By default we work to the IPC 7351 specification for PCB footprints, however if you have your own systems we’re happy to adopt your library standards. As part of our PCB design services we are happy to do a spring clean on your behalf, bringing your library back under control and introducing structure and procedure to make your life easier.
ECAD to MCAD
We’re used to accepting 3D mechanical data in various formats such as STEP, IDF etc, and we have access to numerous tools from leading CAD providers. This means we can take your circuit design one step further by verifying component placement in the 3D environment.
Post Layout Services
Once your PCB design is completed, we ensure that it can be seamlessly incorporated back into your own systems. You may require complete PCB files, including a manufacturing pack, assembly drawings and a BOM – all of which is easily done.
For more information about PCB design and potential outsourcing for your next job, contact us or 01254 301 888
For more information please contact us today!