Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1408619
16 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2021 a spin. But what I'm hearing you say is, even if you do simulation, as soon as I come down to the manufacturer and their execution of the project, it depends on their ability. Davis: You are correct, and there's another thing that kicks me in the butt every now and then. Fab shops change. One person leaves a fab shop, goes someplace else, suddenly the quality suffers, and you're thinking, "Who le? Where'd he go?" When that happens we try to figure it out, then we may start working with that shop. Matties: Right. Once they figure out a solution, if they don't necessarily document it, it stays in the mind of whoever solved the problem. It's tribal knowledge. If you lose that person, you lose customers. Davis: And that is a real problem at all levels. e only time that you get away from that is when you go to crazy high-end manufacturers where their process is stringent, especially if they're doing DoD, military, or aviation where it is dictated, "is the way it's going to be." e DFM process on a board like that takes weeks sometimes, but it will be done right. Another problem that fabricators have is say- ing yes to everything, and they shouldn't always say yes; they should push back more, especially when you're pushing the edge. ere are a cou- ple of companies in Japan that make phenom- enal boards. But they're also really good at say- ing, "No, you're 0.001 millimeters out of spec on this. No thank you and go away." We're talk- ing about a half-million-dollar order. "Sorry, we can't build this; we can't guarantee it." But they're dead on when they say they can build it. ey will also say it will take three weeks, and they don't let anybody influence their pro- cesses. Can they expedite it? Sure, but it's still three weeks. Fab shops change. One person leaves a fab shop, goes someplace else, sud- denly the quality suffers...