Hi all, I'm putting together a session for this year's Australian Surface Mount Conference, which is an annual affair run by the Surface Mount and Circuit Board Association (SMCBA) in Australia.
The session's likely to be a whole day seminar covering, broadly, an introduction to PCB design. We'll get fabricators and assemblers and other experts to host subsections of the seminar so as to provide multiple viewpoints to the attendees. At this stage, I'm brainstorming the list of topics I want to cover over the day. Note that the intent of this seminar is to provide an introduction, plus pointers to further information and training, rather than in depth coverage of any particular topic (basically, I want to get to a level so that participants can judge when they're getting out of their depth - e.g. by covering signal integrity to the point of understanding when SI issues will be of a concern, but not delving into extensive transmission line theory, etc). The SMCBA runs IPC designer certification workshops and hosts courses by experts like Lee Ritchey, so there's no need to go into depth on any particular topic. The intended audience would be design engineers who want to design their own boards, beginning PCB designers, plus fabricator and assembler staff who want an understanding of the PCB design process. I'd like input from the list members if any of you have thoughts on the subject. Basically, I'm interested in the things you wish had been taught when you first started PCB design, rather than having to pick them up by trial and error. My list so far (in no particular order): Issues to cover: component availability pth vs smt reworkability pth vs smt assembly costs pth vs smt routing density / board complexity pth vs smt board complexity - fabrication issues & reliability trusting vendor supplied library components design of land patterns (incl. IPC SM-782A) influence of land pattern design on fabrication and assembly influence of assembly process on land pattern design the board fabrication process fabrication design rules - why? fab design rules - stretching the limits the assembly process assembly limitations that influence design choices things that designers do to piss off assembly engineers power distribution on PCBs ABC�s of EMC signal integrity - when do SI concerns apply? component placement strategies panelization for fabrication and for assembly stackup choice for multilayer boards why FR4? - alternative materials testability - testpoint placement fiducials - why? where? how many? how big? placement machines - things that slow them down = $$$ choosing design rules for your project using CAD package design rules effectively schematic to layout synchronisation checking footprints for accuracy data your fabricator needs data your assembler needs test methodologies - system, functional block, JTAG local versus offshore fabrication/assembly - pros and cons board finish choices - what�s right for the project? autorouters - keep them on a tight leash / when not to use them manual routing - approaching the ratsnest - which one first? partnering with your fabricator and assembler Thanks for any feedback! John Haddy Cisco Systems WNBU Level 2, 3 Innovation Rd; North Ryde NSW 2113; Australia PO Box 617; North Ryde NSW 1670; Australia Phone: +61 2 8446 1006; Fax: +61 2 8446 1001 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
