Get ready for the impending avalanche of editorials coming your way on belt-tightening strategies and other methods designed to help companies make it through today’s economic quagmire. At PCB West, a few U.S.-based PCB fabricators shared company visions with PCB designers during a roundtable discussion. The purpose was to open a dialogue that supports DfM and DfA initiatives. These collaborative efforts will be even more critical for companies facing the current financial squeeze. Higher yields, fewer re-spins and faster time-to-market will all be a part of winning strategies. Many of the points made during this discussion are worth repeating.
IMI CEO Peter Bigelow talked about success built around a consistent focus on people and niche products. IMI is a fabricator of Teflon/Duroid and mixed dielectric multilayer boards for RF/microwave, military, industrial and telecommunications. But in Bigelow’s words, the company is much more: talented people cultivated by a management that supports education and strives to give every employee the tools they need to be successful and ensure the company’s success. Bigelow’s advice for designers: “Communicate like crazy with your suppliers.”
One Source Group CEO Nilesh Naik focuses on helping customers accelerate products to market. By offering a turnkey solution from PCB layout through assembly, One Source provides a one-stop shop that cuts across the supply chain. Naik pointed out that OEMs have lost touch with the manufacturing process because of outsourcing and reduced R&D activities. PCB suppliers need to step up and offer manufacturing solutions that bridge the supply chain. The design process plays a critical role in prototype/quickturn products. Development time is money. Working with engineers and designers early and often is one way that One Source ensures a “win-win” across the supply chain.
Sanmina-SCI senior vice president and CTO George Dudnikov addressed supply chain globalization, saying that customers want engineering support during the development process but many larger companies anticipate a quick move to volume production offshore. There is a unique set of challenges when working with this type of product that once prototyped will quickly become a technology transfer product and subject to offshore scaling. A key enabler in this business model is standardization, including tools, processes and materials. Dudnikov stressed fabricator and system designer collaboration, so that form factor and layout rules are co-developed. Both sides working together to optimize panels, HDI design rules and assembly processes has a positive effect on overall system costs.
Nolan Johnson, marketing manager at Sunstone Circuits, talked about cooperation in a design-centric fabrication environment. Sunstone manages a very large number of customers and unique part numbers. Two-way communication between the designer and customer service is a key component of success in such conditions. Johnson quoted experts who calculated that the designer dictates 75% of the board cost based on design decisions made before product leaves the CAD station. The conclusion: Designers are a very important part of every company’s competitive position. Designers can make a significant impact by designing to the manufacturing process, thus enabling DfM.
TTM’s principal field applications engineer, Andy Cameron, brought the discussion full circle. With his extensive background in new product introduction and understanding of design and fabrication, Cameron outlined cost drivers designers need to be aware of before they begin the design process. Cameron noted that speed and density drive cost and push technology. By working with fabricators before beginning routing, designers can establish interconnect padstacks and material stackups that optimize the design. Getting the fabricator involved in the design early in the process can reduce time and improve manufacturing yields. Fabricators and assemblers should help with laminate and component selection, making sure the materials selected meet performance goals and manufacturing realities such as lead-free reflow.
There are many ways to improve your bottom line, even in tough economic times. Working collaboratively with your supply chain partners. Reducing time, removing unnecessary costs and improving yields through active DfM and DfA initiatives have never been more important than they are today.
