Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1276973
AUGUST 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 65 cators accept that they must be flexible and accommodating in the data they receive. But if, as a design organization, you consider them a truly critical partner in your supply chain, you would ask them what you could do to make the design-to-manufacturing process go smoother. I'd be willing to bet most of them would suggest improving the data exchange package. And why wouldn't you? It helps you develop better products faster. When you have this conversation with your fabricator, make sure you are asking this question of the front- end engineering manager, as they are the ones who can tell you what the real issues are. Shaughnessy: What advice would you give to new PCB designers regarding the creation of fab notes and other documentation? McGoff: Don't do anything that is not needed and always look for ways to improve the pro- cess. Just because your company has sent the same data package the same way for 30 years and "the system is not broken" doesn't mean it can't be improved. Why create a drill drawing if it is not going to be used? Why use a draw- ing template with embedded notes that are not applicable to a given design? If you really want to improve your design to the manufacturing process, start a conversation with your fabrica- tion partners. Shaughnessy: Thanks for your time, Pat. McGoff: Thank you. It's always a pleasure. DESIGN007 cal solution, which would be unfeasibly expensive, to find the timely, commercially viable solution that achieves the key performance requirements of the project. (Source: Sondrel) Designing a large complex chip is not simply question of connecting together a set of IP blocks, according to Sondrel. There is considerable creativity required as well. "Just like a great building design needs a great archi- tect, a great chip design needs a great chip architect," explains Graham Curren, Sondrel's CEO and Founder. "Electronic designers are very logical and precise but a chip architect needs to also be creative as well to be able to think of a range of different ways to solve a problem. Being able to use both the left and right halves of the brain is a rare skill in electronic design. We are actively looking for such people to join us as chip architects as they play a fundamental role in the creation of the big complex chip designs that we do." The real-world process of designing a big chip starts with a customer brief which can range from a simple outline of what is required through to a very detailed specification depending on the experience of the customer. Sondrel has a team of Solutions Architects that meet to discuss the brief in depth with the customer and create a feasibility study, which crystallises the design into a tangible form. A key part of the possibility cloud of solutions is the continual trade-offs of the best possible techni- Sondrel Looking for Electronic Designers to Become Chip Architects