Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1233021
APRIL 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 15 Young: As I need stuff, he does it. I've worked with the same guy now for six years, so he knows how I prefer symbols and footprints to be designed. My philosophy is the front-end work pays off in terms of board design. When I first started, I did not care about the library. Then, an older gentleman, who I respect quite a bit, said, "You need to look at your libraries and what's going on there. We have already found a couple of mistakes on this board that you're working on, but we caught it before it was done and released." I have a formal process for how I request components for my library. I have broken it down into several stages: parts request, part creation, library delivery, and verification. I'll issue a parts request, which includes a data package containing the component list and rel- evant datasheets. My component list is in a spreadsheet format that includes the part num- ber, manufacturer's name, description, type of package, type of part, datasheet filename, symbol/footprint notes, and any special design notes. The librarian creates the component to the relevant industry/design specifications and delivers the component to me in a test library. I verify the component accuracy and then issue it to my verified library. I've seen a lot of times where people will draw a schematic, and then they get to the end and just start thinking about the cost. Then, you have to talk to your manager and say, "You're going to have a loss on this project." It's important to scope things out from the beginning to understand if it is worth it. Johnson: Back to that old adage, "Fast, cheap, or good? Pick two." Shaughnessy: Do you use a specific software tool for tracking costs, or do you use a spreadsheet? Young: It depends on what's needed. The Goe- bel Company's business manager monitors the financing and uses the financial software to keep track of the budgets, and we bill costs to the budget. As an engineer, I typically use a spreadsheet. I have had to use detailed proj- ect/financial management software in the past, in more enterprise-level companies. It's a good rule of thumb to track costs, time, and mate- rials. Doing it on a spreadsheet is significantly better than not doing it at all. Shaughnessy: Where do you think most de- signers and EEs make most of their mistakes as far as leaving money on the table? Young: A lot of people will look at their favor- ite part of the design and start there. Some of the EEs that I've seen will start drawing sche- matics. Some PCB designers place components without a perspective on what needs to hap- pen. It's usually some preset idea from past ex- perience or how they like to work. Shaughnessy: I think it's partly tribal knowl- edge; that's how they learn it from the person before them. Some designers learned to sprin- Chris Young crewing a catamaran in St. Martin.