Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1337116
FEBRUARY 2021 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 19 You're going to start seeing that get cleaned up and then it just goes from there. Johnson: John, on average in a new design, how much of the design time do you think typ- ically is devoted to making footprints, verify- ing footprints, and getting that in order of the overall design? Watson: I would say, number one, it's once you establish the sound processes of the process flow from the time that a component is needed to the time it's QC'd. I will say the initial QC, when it goes on a board, is probably about only about 10–15% of the process. Because what can happen is you then start cookie cutting. A component is going to have the same exact pieces to it, and then you can start cookie cut- ting it and then it's very minimal. I mean, if you have a very established process, it's very secure and also very low risk. Johnson: Right. at makes sense; if you can get it to a well-defined process that is probably down to the 10–15% range. If you don't have good processing, you're probably up in the 30% range. Watson: Exactly. And then you're going to see other effects of having bad components also. You know, when you have 30%, when you have no process, the chaos begins. I've used this analogy before but imagine if the mayor or government official would come forward and say, "Okay, no more rules. No one's going to be arrested for anything. You're on your own." What is the result of saying we have no processes, no rules, nothing? e result is chaos. at's what happens. ere has to be the rules and the processes. Right now, I'm working with a couple of companies regarding their libraries and establishing their processes on a consulting basis, and I can tell you that one of them said, "We really don't know what we're doing." Okay, good. at's a good posi- tion to be in. Matties: You've got to start with the truth, right? Watson: Exactly. I told them that it's a great position to be in because now you're like clay; you just mold yourself into the processes that you want and put those processes in place and make sure that your components are correct and everything else. It has hit all of us at some point when I think about it. It's a nerve-wrack- ing feeling when you've put out a PCB design, and you haven't checked footprints. You wait for that phone call from the assembly house to tell you, "Oh, by the way, we can't put your component on your board." And then you have to make the long walk into your manager's office to explain to them why you just wasted tens of thousands of dollars on a board that is now wasted and you're just going to turn them into coffee cup coasters. You're actually talking about increasing the value of your team. When you become more efficient and run more efficiently, it's not just adding another PCB design to your team, it's also adding another team member, for exam- ple, or the value of a team member to the team. Because now you're running much more effi- ciently. Matties: And the thing about X = X C – 1 is you get to identify what your X is, and what we're saying is it doesn't have to be a grand slam because continuous improvement is an incre- mental endeavor. Reduce your spins by one, reduce your design time by a day, reduce your It's a nerve-wracking feeling when you've put out a PCB design, and you haven't checked footprints.