DfA
Component Layout in Placement Processes
Effective, accurate component placement takes into account the best practices of design and assembly, both of them inextricably intertwined. Positioning CSPs and noise-sensitive devices are two of a host of considerations.
by Zulki Khan

Copper Plating
Improved Electrolytic Copper Plating for Flex PWBs
A novel electrolytic copper-plating process is said to provide flex circuit manufacturers a new option for meeting system performance requirements, while maintaining or improving product interconnection and mechanical reliability.
by Hiroshi Hoshiyama, Shinjiroh Hayashi, Makoto Sakai and Rikiya Shimizu

CAD-CAM
PCB Data Preparation
What happens to CAD data once it is released to manufacturing? A veteran designer describes what happens to a typical job once it leaves his facility and reaches manufacturing.
by Jack Olson and Mike Tucker

Sherman's Market
Riding the EMS rollercoaster.
Randall Sherman

Database
Microwave heats up.
Pete Waddell

Global Sourcing
When offshoring works best.
Rob Duvall

ROI
Back to basics.
Peter Bigelow

EMC for the Real World
Grover on inductance.
Dr. Eric Bogatin

The Defects Database
Rethinking black pad.
Dr. Davide Di Maio, Ph.D.

Test and Inspection
IEEE test standards 'speed' toward resolution.
Jun Balangue

Getting Lean
Sequentially implementing Lean and Lean Sigma.
Carlos Rodriguez

CAM
Improving Fabrication Yields
A large portion of manufacturing yield is tied up in the CAM process, and these "fabrication planners" can make the difference between profits and losses. Plus: The designer's role.
by Zulki Khan

EDA Tools For Today and Tomorrow
'We Need to Facilitate Faster, Smarter Design'
Leading design and layout tool suppliers talk about their software, designers' needs, the industry's biggest challenges, and why FPGAs could do for PCB designers what microprocessors did for their digital forerunners.
by Pete Waddell

Design Tools
Predicting PCB Density
Comparing design data requirements to design resources can result in better electronic performance at a reduced cost. A density-predicting calculator is a tool that performs a tradeoff analysis at the feasibility stage, given the constraints of the assigned area.
by Ruth Kastner and Eliahu Moshe

Productronica Recap
Trading Up
For the first time in 10 years, we saw the sun in Munich. Is it a sign of a new dawn for the industry? OK, no, but amid tepid expectations, Productronica turned out stronger than expected, again defying gravity and the pundits to remain the mother of all trade shows.
by Mike Buetow

Database
The design game.
Pete Waddell

ROI
Resolutions for a new year.
Peter Bigelow

Focus on Business
Hiring's golden age.
Susan Mucha

Designer's Notebook
Enclosed in.
John Isaac

Better Manufacturing
Improving test coverage by design.
Andrew Murrietta

The Defects Database
Plating-related opens.
Dr. Davide Di Maio, Ph.D.

Solar Technologies
Solar Power International was a return to the past.
Chrys Shea

Tech Tips
Boundary scan extends its use.
ACI Technologies Inc.