The gap between desire and reality in practice could not be greater: The design has been completed and the next step is to go into series production.
The pressure from the market is often so great that problems arise during PCB assembly. The consequences: late detection of error sources, unavoidable correction loops and delays.
Forecast check of the layout data
"It is not always possible to involve the customer in the NPI process at an early stage so that we can work together to transfer the design phase to series production with as few errors as possible," says Peter Sommer, Head of Marketing and Sales at Lacroix Electronics GmbH. "That would actually be the most effective way, so we feel we have to use other means to make the assembly process more cost- and time-efficient for the customer."
In Sommer's opinion, every technique, every operational execution, both manual and mechanical, is not infallible. According to him, Lacroix has been using the VALOR NPI software tool, an automated design-for-manufacturing (DFM) flow from Mentor, especially for early data checks in the layout phase, since 2018. This enables risks to be identified in a process-simulated form even before an assembly is produced by an EMS service provider. By feeding in various data blocks, such as component and PCB information, or design specifications for the spacing geometry of pads and components, the program creates a precisely fitting image with defined tolerance values for the actual, subsequent production process.
Due to the increasing complexity of PCB technology and the diverse manufacturing processes for electronic products, it is becoming increasingly difficult for EMS service providers to set up useful DFM rules. Unlike traditional DFM methods, which restrict the use of DFM technology to experts, the new Valor-NPI solution allows less expert designers to benefit from DFM. "The investment in two licenses, which we currently use in our German and European plants, had to be carefully considered. However, the time and financial savings for the customer in the correction phases up to the start of the production process lead to significantly higher efficiency," says Sommer, evaluating this early test phase.
