Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1478618
10 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2022 We've seen many changes over the past few years, and nowhere are they more evident than in the world of sourcing components. Sourcing has become one of the biggest challenges fac- ing PCB designers and design engineers today. Gone are the days of procuring parts from a single source, and communication between stakeholders and distributors is critical. But as we learned in a conversation with I-Connect007 columnist Kelly Dack, an EPTAC design instructor and PCB design team leader at an assembly provider in the Pacific Northwest, PCB designers can use certain layout strategies to plan for the unex- pected, such as leaving extra real estate so that smaller components can be replaced by larger, readily available parts if the originals become "unobtainium." Here, Kelly discusses some timely sourcing ideas, why he believes industrial engineers should be involved in "right-sizing" the PCB, A New Sourcing Paradigm and why sourcing efforts must also focus on recruiting—or creating—PCB designers. Andy Shaughnessy: Kelly, you've been involved with DFA issues for years. Why don't you talk about some of the challenges you see with sourcing? Kelly Dack: Sure. e problems we see are projects that begin as traditional projects. We have customers who come to us much like on "Shark Tank." ere's an idea, some seed research and development has been done, the results are favorable, and they want to take the Feature Interview by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team