Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1040234
OCTOBER 2018 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 33 Lord, help our manufacturing stakeholders when the new, non-descriptive revision to the "MAIN_PCB" design is subsequently released by the customer and sent to the supplier for processing. Figure 5 shows the new file, or maybe it is the old file by mistake. How can we know? Both files are named MAIN_PCB_6. pho. Is there a difference? Some may rely on the file's date stamp, but this can be very unre- liable. PCB designers, please help. Can you tell us which file is the latest and if it is identical? Have any changes been made? Without going any further, I think that all PCB designer readers can see the point. Good graphic data without descriptive attributes is confusing and down-right dangerous. There is not an EMS stakeholder alive who would proceed to manufacturing without concrete answers to the many questions that result from trying to process these non-descriptive files. One thing PCB designers can do to help sup- pliers in the area of configuration auditing, con- trol, and processing is to add specificity to the data file names when outputting and archiving the PCB data package. Let's examine what descriptive information can be added to this PCB design data package to make it easier on the stakeholders' configu- ration auditing and control process: 1. Consider adding a graphic title block to the design database that can be output along with each artwork layer. This is where many informational blanks can be identified, including a descriptive name, part number, revision, date, responsible designer, and EE contact information. The title block can be placed within the design to print on all layers, and edited only once per revision (Figure 6). Figure 3: Be sure to label your artwork "top" and "bottom." Figure 4: This MAIN_PCB_6.pho file appears to show a power plane. Is it on an inner layer? Which one? Figure 5: This MAIN_PCB_6.pho file may be the new file. Or is it the old one? Figure 6: Adding a graphic title block to the design data- base for output with each artwork layer is a good idea.