Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Valor Introduces New Tool for DFM Collaboration

DURHAM, NC - Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. introduced a new product lifecycle management toolset that supports DFM collaboration between PCB design and engineering teams across global supply chains. According to Valor the tool facilitates communications throughout the electronics design and manufacturing process, resulting in faster product innovation and design-to-manufacturing cycles.

The product release indicates that the tool provides a centralized, scalable platform with secure access to important design information and DFM issues that form part of the product development process. The complete workflow, including design changes, design reviews and final manufacturing sign-off, is intuitively managed, enabling companies to achieve the most manufacturable designs possible.

Julian Coates, executive VP corporate marketing and product development at Valor, said, "Even good accurate DFM results can get caught up in the tangled web of fragmented data and unstructured communication channels, thus hampering efficiency, accuracy and speed. Our new vShare dashboard captures all relevant DFM data in a centralized environment so that all team members can work in real-time with the same, graphically-rich data set. Communications and workflow are streamlined for speed, efficiency and accuracy."

The product uses standard internet browsers within a secure, web-based environment, that allows users to import DFM results from the DFM tools, as well as attach third-party graphical or text objects. The project leader can then filter, group and prioritize issues ready for collaboration. During this phase, members can share ideas or comment on improvements and/or corrections for each issue, or group of issues, up and down the supply chain. Reports can be generated to document critical steps, project status and details, or final approvals, and template-driven instant reports can be used to track progress. The project manager can assign projects, actions or issues to particular individuals, and monitor events until complete sign-off and approval is reached.