Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1401769
8 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2021 DFM From the Fab Point of View When we started planning this issue, we had no idea it would result in flipping DFM on its head. But consider this: When you think about DFM, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Most of us immediately think about steps that PCB designers and design engineers should take to ensure that their designs are easily manufacturable by their fabricators. And DFM errors are generally seen as the re- sponsibility of the designer; when the CAM operator finds discrepancies in the BOM, acid traps, or impedance mismatches, he knows who to blame. e whole push for DFM practices came about in the first place because designers were laying out boards that could not be manufac- tured. It only makes sense that DFM would be driven by the fabricators who must do the ac- tual manufacturing. In the past few decades, there have been nu- merous discussions about proper DFM prac- tices, mostly focused on the PCB designers' need to understand more about the fabrica- tion process. is is a fair point. Many design- ers haven't seen the inside of a board shop in 25 years, if they've ever visited one. But despite years of talk about DFM, these problems remain, and they're getting worse. In our surveys, designers and fabricators fre- quently point to DFM issues as their biggest challenge. Designers will oen defeat the most cutting-edge signal integrity challenges but make simple mistakes in the data handoff— usually a designer's least favorite part of the process. And there are oen zero consequences when designers don't follow DFM guidelines. De- signers know that they can hand off data pack- ages that are incomplete or full of errors, and The Shaughnessy Report by Andy Shaughnessy, I-CONNECT007