Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1348195
34 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2021 en, a few months later, you must go through the same process again, which takes away valu- able time, and you probably find yourself think- ing, "I should have just done it right from the beginning." ere comes a time when correct- ing previous mistakes becomes such a long, complicated task, and the best way to deal with this is to eliminate it from the start. A little bit of extra work in the beginning of the design pro- cess saves a lot of time and effort in the long run. I acquired a big part of my knowledge about keeping bad data out of my design cycle by trial and error. is can be a painful process with a steep learning curve. However, I think it is important to make those mistakes early on, and this is the best way to learn. Experi- ence for yourself what bad data can do to your design and I can guarantee that you will do everything you can to never make the same mistake again. Engineers know what is needed in an out- put package when it is being sent for fabrica- tion, whether it is for a printed circuit board, a mechanical structure, or a code. Introduc- ing garbage into your system from unverified external sources will unequivocally result in having garbage in your outputs. erefore, it is most reliable to create parts on your own. at way, you control exactly what you are putting into your system and what is coming out of it. You can create and follow a checklist that contains details about part information stored on each layer. It might be time-consuming in the beginning, but when you are finished with your design and all you do to be done is click Generate Outputs to get exactly what you are looking for, it will be worth all the initial effort. Another process you can follow to make sure that bad data does not make it into your documentation is to work with templates. is also requires a little bit of work initially, but it makes every subsequent design easier and faster. Create a template for your OutJob file. Prior to making this template, commu- nicate with your fabrication house and con- tract manufacturer about their capabilities and what kind of information they require to make the boards properly. It sounds trivial but hav- ing this template will ensure you always export exactly what your manufacturer needs, and more importantly, it will guarantee that you will get your design made correctly. We are all human—sometimes we forget to include important information even if we have done it properly hundreds of times before. ere is way too much information to keep track of on your own, all the time, and having this sort of system in place will help with every design down the road. ese two practices have recently had a tre- mendously positive impact on how quickly and accurately I can deliver manufacturing docu- mentation for a design. It sounds simple: Have a system and stick to it. In design, the system is everything and the accuracy of your work will depend on how seriously you take this task and stick to the system. Use all the resources avail- able to you to come up with the best method that works for you, because it is no fun dealing with issues in your output documentation aer putting so many hours into the design itself. If you do end up implementing a system that works for you, instead of "garbage in, garbage out," a better GIGO acronym would be "good in, good out." DESIGN007 Tamara Jovanovic is an electrical engineer with Happiest Baby, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of smart baby beds. A little bit of extra work in the beginning of the design process saves a lot of time and effort in the long run.