Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1417991
30 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2021 flex designs. e dif- ferent stackup zones indicate where there are different stackups. en you also have, for each of those lay- ers, different shapes, so you have different outlines or profiles for each of the individual layers. ere is a lot of design-to-manufacturing content to make use of in ODB++ today. ose are probably the most recent enhance- ments that we put inside the application, so the intentional shorts, complete stackup, and rigid and rigid-flex designs can all now be passed through ODB++. Previously, we added things like backdrills. I know it's been around for a while now, but it's still relatively new technol- ogy, so we added the ability to transmit back- drills. We added characteristics like the plated rout and the IPC via types. On pads there is an indication pertaining to whether a sol- der mask opening is defining the pad. is is important because you don't want to alter the size of the solder mask opening during fabri- cation, the fabricator wants to know that this pad's size is being defined by that solder mask without question. Wire bonding information, basic dimensioning we've added, drill direc- tions, and whatnot. ose are, within the last one to two years, the types of content that we've added based upon our customers' feed- back to us. We are now working with customers to add content that has become more technology- based, especially in embedded components. When we start to investigate the embedded components closely, we see components now coming out with leads on both sides. ey have leads on the top, leads on the bottom, and you come down to them and kind of sandwich the component in between the layers. We're in the process of defining the support for double- sided components. en we're also going to update the format because it doesn't support edge components where you have a compo- nent on the top and on the bottom and it slides over the edge of the component. We need to support this. We support screen components right now, but not to the degree that I'd like to see us do it. It's a little bit older technology, but for embedded resistors and embedded capacitors I believe we should improve upon how we're conveying that information as well as for par- tially embedded components—a component that is on layer, say, three, but exposed through the top of the board. en, of course, you have stacked components aer that. How do you convey it if the components are stacked? We can already do this with the format, but I want to clarify it a little bit more in the next release of ODB++. I believe you can see we always consider how we could intelligently and effec- tively convey manufacturing requirements using ODB++. Shaughnessy: Yes, that's good. Clark: In everything that we do, this typically comes from our customer base. We're not just sitting around trying to decide what our cus- tomers would want. We look at what the indus- try trends are, we take their input, and we work to implement based upon that need. McGoff: To that point, let me just make a com- ment. I think one of the reasons ODB++ has been as successful as it has been, is because of how quickly we deliver capabilities in the format that our customers and the market requires. You're speaking to the two people responsible, and again, Max carrying the heavy part of the load here, when we see and hear our customers, especially the big ones that we're all familiar with, say, "Can you add this? Can you do this?" And when we understand why, we're able to make the decisions pretty quickly, yay or nay, and how quickly we can work it in. Max Clark