Design for Manufacturing (DFM): Defining the Processes

by New Age Technologies

With most assemblies, the difference between achieving ideal and having to compensate with
added cost is not a great variation in the design. If the PCB designer is aware of the impact to cost and quality,
the basic decisions made when initial component placement is generated are likely to have a long-term
positive impact on the overall product quality. Every effort should be made to educate PCB designers, and
design reviews should include DfM steps early in the design and layout process. Too often, DfM is inserted at
the end of a design project if it is done at all. Once the design has been accomplished, project schedules and
other demands tend to overtake the DfM concerns and the result is years of additional cost with no added
value, or even diminished value to the product integrity.

Published: 2008