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24 The PCB Design Magazine • February 2016 and it's less prone to errors. System Planner contains both 2D and 3D planning tools that can be applied to rigid- flex designs. In the 2D space, System Planner can help manage component distribution on the rigid PCBs, while in the 3D space, System Planner can ensure the rigid-flex circuit will fit within the proposed enclosure. Shaughnessy: Which customer challenges led you all to develop these new products? Potock: Companies need to build more com- petitive products faster with lower risk. But the process gap between the product requirements and detailed design creates new products with less-than-optimal hardware architectures. Many companies are entering detailed design without validating whether or not the hardware archi- tecture meets both the functional requirements and the cost, weight, power and packaging re- quirements. An architecture problem discov- ered in the detailed design phase in many cases is unrecoverable. In a recent survey, we found about 50% of the respondents experienced an architecture flaw during detailed design. A poor hardware architecture ultimately impacts prod- uct competitiveness and ROI. Another challenge we hear about more and more often is the need to be more closely con- nected to the supply chain. Today's poor con- nection to the supply chain may cause a lead- time change to be missed delaying a new prod- uct introduction. That connectivity will lead to better component selection process, aware- ness when a component commerce parameter changes and a higher quality BOM. Shaughnessy: How do these new tools help ad- dress your customers' concerns? Potock: System Planner fills the gap between product requirements and detailed design by providing a hardware architecture design and validation solution. Starting with a functional design built upon reuse modules from your corporate library, a previous generation design or a block with some parts in it, the result is the architectural view of your hardware. The blocks can then be partitioned across multiple PCBs and surface coverage measured. The num- ber, size and shape of the PCBs can be manipu- lated as well. The space check brings in the en- closure from the MCAD designer to make sure we have a good fit, and the parametric check validates cost, weight, etc. against the require- ments. At this point you have validated the de- sign against the requirements and can visual- ize the product hardware. The design team can have confidence in their architecture as they enter detailed design. DS-2 Expresso builds that connection to the supply chain and at the same time, improves data integrity throughout the design process. Ca- pabilities like design traceability and where-used are just examples of the benefits an engineering data management solution can bring. What's unique about DS-2 Expresso is that it is designed for configuration and not customization, mak- ing it a perfect fit for a broad range of companies. Shaughnessy: What sort of trends do you see in the PCB design tools market? Potock: There are a couple of notable trends emerging in the design community. Companies are talking more about a multidiscipline design methodology that we refer to as "product-cen- tric" design. Product-centric design is the next evolutionary step from the current 25+-year- old method of PCB-centric design. Unlike 2D PCB-centric, product-centric includes native 3D, product-level hardware architecture valida- tion, multi-board design, ECAD/MCAD co-de- sign, chip/package/board co-design and prod- uct visualization. Another important element of product-centric design is the vertical con- nectivity from the supply chain through the design elements to manufacturing. A product- centric design approach builds better products faster and with lower risk. what's new at zuken?