PCB Design for Manufacturing Across Multiple Suppliers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current design for manufacturing (DFM) tools generate numerous false-positives due to design-agnostic constraints, making it impractical for designers to manually customize constraint sets for multiple suppliers, leading to reduced yield and product quality in printed circuit board assembly.
Innovation Solution
A computing system that parses a product model definition to identify physical design characteristics and correlates them with manufacturing processes, selecting relevant manufacturing checks to determine conformity with manufacturing-related design constraints, thereby performing a manufacturing analysis tailored to specific suppliers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If design-agnostic constraint sets are applied to all manufacturers, then manufacturing analysis can be performed universally, but numerous false-positives are generated reducing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transitioning from universal design-agnostic constraints to manufacturer-specific constraints. Each manufacturer receives customized constraint sets tailored to their specific manufacturing capabilities, processes, and standards. This allows the DFM tool to apply appropriate constraints locally to each manufacturer rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, thereby eliminating false-positives while maintaining universal adaptability across multiple manufacturers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects and applies constraints based on the target manufacturer. The DFM tool can adaptively configure constraint sets according to which manufacturer will produce the PCB assembly, allowing the analysis to be both universally applicable and manufacturer-specific. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the constraint application flexible rather than static.
2Measurement precision
If customized constraint sets are manually built for each manufacturer, then manufacturing analysis accuracy improves, but the process becomes time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The DFM tool performs self-service by automatically generating and configuring manufacturer-specific constraint sets without requiring extensive manual intervention. The system can autonomously adapt constraints based on manufacturer profiles, capabilities, and specifications stored in its database, thereby improving accuracy while reducing the complexity and time burden of manual customization.
Solution Approach 2:
Manufacturer profiles, capabilities, and constraint parameters are pre-configured and stored in the system database before actual DFM analysis is performed. This preliminary preparation allows the system to quickly retrieve and apply appropriate constraints during analysis, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual customization while maintaining high accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If customized constraint sets are manually built for each manufacturer, then manufacturing analysis accuracy improves, but extensive manual interaction is required increasing time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The DFM tool automatically retrieves manufacturer-specific constraints from pre-configured profiles and applies them to the PCB assembly analysis without requiring extensive manual interaction. This self-service capability maintains high measurement precision while dramatically reducing the time investment required for constraint customization.
Solution Approach 2:
All manufacturer-specific constraint parameters, capabilities, and profiles are pre-configured and stored in the system before actual DFM analysis begins. This preliminary preparation enables the system to quickly apply appropriate constraints during analysis, eliminating time-consuming manual customization steps while maintaining accuracy.
4Device complexity
If design for manufacturing analysis is performed for a single manufacturer, then the analysis process is simplified, but the assumption of universal manufacturability does not hold reducing yield and product quality
Solution Approach 1:
The DFM tool achieves multi-functionality by being capable of performing manufacturer-specific analysis for multiple different manufacturers within a single system. It can switch between different manufacturer profiles and constraint sets, providing both simplified analysis processes and manufacturer-specific accuracy. This allows the tool to serve multiple manufacturers while maintaining high reliability and product quality for each.
Data Source
AI summary
This application discloses a computing system to parse a product model definition that includes a layout design of a printed circuit board assembly, which identifies physical design characteristics of the layout design of the printed circuit board assembly. The computing system can identify one or more manufacturing processes capable of manufacturing at least a portion of the printed circuit board assembly having the identified physical design characteristics. The computing system can include a map or correlation between the manufacturing processes and manufacturing-related design constraints. The computing system can select one or more manufacturing checks that define manufacturing-related design constraints correlated to the identified manufacturing processes. The computing system can perform a manufacturing analysis, by implementing the manufacturing checks, which can determine whether the layout design of the printed circuit board assembly conforms to the manufacturing-related design constraints defined in the manufacturing checks.