Printed Circuit Design & Fab Online Magazine - Features

Features

Stencil design software has evolved from simple rule checkers to custom, sophisticated engineering tools.

QFNs, microBGAs and 0201s keep showing up everywhere. They used to appear only on boards requiring miniaturization; now they are used on revisions of legacy products, bringing a new set of headaches for process engineers.

Constant evolution has turned Murrietta into one of the West Coast’s leading design-to-assembly manufacturers.

After visiting scores of one-story manufacturing sites, the first impression one gets when walking up to Murrietta Circuits is its size.

FAI is a subset of qualification data, and insufficient for design verification.

When key performance characteristics are critical to system performance, engineering will want to create a source control drawing in accordance with ASME Y14.24. The source control drawing will list specific supplier(s) that have been qualified to produce the product identified in the drawing. Engineering wants to use a source control drawing because the parts’ characteristics are critical to the design, and they do not want the parts procured from an uncharacterized source of supply.

A simple, yet data rich, nondestructive method for material characterization.

PCB performance strongly depends on the laminate material’s dielectric constant (Dk) and dissipation factor (Df) related to complex dielectric constant, ε = ε’ – jε” through Dk=ε’/ε0 and Df=ε”/ ε’. Complex permittivity can be measured using a number of techniques, including waveguide, cavity resonator, open resonant cavities, split-post dielectric resonator and free-space techniques.

Why DIY machines will ring up big sales for some EMS/ODMs.

Self-service intelligent kiosks have evolved over the years, gaining increased functionality, yet have their origins in traditional food and beverage vending machines. These machines were originally electromechanical in design, but now are largely electronic today, with multiple embedded modules and communications functions integrated into the design.

A new CAD tool imports design files and quantitatively predicts product life.

Previous approaches to reliability assurance included “gut feel,” empirical predictions such as MIL-HDBK-217 and TR-332, industry specifications, “lessons learned” programs, failure mode effects analysis, and test-in reliability schemes. While these approaches can provide some value, it is felt that the most comprehensive analysis can best be done virtually using computer modeling of the circuit board in the intended environment. Such modeling can predict the life and reveal any design weaknesses before any prototype boards are even built.