Design007 Magazine

PCBD-Oct2015

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10 The PCB Design Magazine • October 2015 the shaughnessy report Andy Shaughnessy is managing editor of The PCB Design Magazine. he has been covering PCB design for 16 years. he can be reached by clicking here. expected to hear about lines of spreadsheets or proprietary processes, but check out these replies: • Do it right the first time • Reuse of designs • Mentor Xpedition • Cadence Allegro • PADS • HyperLynx • Use our normal app but try to stay on top of app improvements • Inside tools • Third-party software enhancements to CAD tools • No unnecessary meetings— most are a waste of time • CAD DRC rules • CircuitSpace, script automation (dalTools), wearing multiple shirts, overtime • 3D printers After hearing many of you complain about your EDA tools for years, I was surprised to hear that some designers think their particular EDA software offers the best way to accelerate their design cycle. (How are EDA tools like members of Con- gress? Many designers hate their EDA tools, but they like their particular tool, the same way Americans re-elect their Congressmen almost every election cycle despite claiming to despise Congressmen in general. The same attitude ap- plies: "Well, mine is one of the good ones.") We also asked, "How do you estimate design cycle time?" Here's how it broke down: • 44.44% checked "Gut instinct based on experience" • 27.78% checked "Spreadsheet" • 5.56% checked "Estimator program" • 22.22% checked "Other," with comments such as "programs and last project's history" and "estimate from two different designers and current workload" Yes, almost half of respondents said they used, "Gut instinct based on experience." How do you estimate your design cycle time? So this month we have a variety of articles on accelerating the PCB design cycle. Scott Mill- er of Freedom CAD Services discusses how to use everything from keyboard shortcuts to third- party tools to squeeze time out of the design cycle. Bob Potock of Zuken explains how mov- ing from discipline-centric to product-centric design techniques can speed up your process. Mark Thompson of Prototron Circuits offers his top 10 ways to accelerate the design cycle. And I've written a short piece that features 10 tips, tricks and techniques sent in by sub- scribers from around the world. These tips should be extremely useful to PCB designers, and right away. Invasion of the Drones Yes, I-Connect007 has a new drone. And not just any drone: This one is equipped with a snazzy video camera. I want my own drone now. We've already used the drone to shoot a flyby video of the equipment at Whelan Engi- neering for a feature article in the October 2015 issue of our sister magazine The PCB Magazine. To check out the video, click here. See you next month! PCBDESIGN SquEEzING SECONDS OuT OF THE DESIGN CYCLE

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