Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1436094
24 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 unique requirements far enough in advance. Winning in the business of electronics must include all aspects of producing a successful printed circuit assembly. Every aspect is repre- sented by a skillful stakeholder who, together with the project team, step up to play their hands against "the house"—the customer or entity which makes all the rules. Individual stakeholders must consider the odds together as a project team before going all in. is is far from a scenario of winner takes all because to get a PCB project successfully to market it takes all to win. What's at Stake? "What's at stake?" is crucial question has been asked around casino gaming tables long before printed circuit project proposals ever existed. When powerful players stepped up to a table, they first had to ante up with some- thing of value—cash, a promissory note or even a deed to property—to offer as a stake in the game. Any PCB stakeholder—a designer, contrac- tor, supplier management professional, bare board supplier, or electronic manufacturing services (EMS) company—must consider what is at stake before engaging in business. e savvy stakeholder realizes there is risk involved in doing business. Failure to count the cost of the project and consider all the available stake- holder resources required to play in the game risks the valuable time and financial resources of the associated stakeholders if unforeseen odds or circumstances should arise. Too many projects are put at risk of folding due to bla- tant disregard for stakeholder requirements. If something is at stake, it might be lost or dam- aged if the players are not successful playing their hand at the table. After the Dealin' is Done Your company has won the business and is revving up to produce the new project. What could go wrong? Plenty, if your fellow-stake- holders don't get a chance to play their hands. is continues to be a sad fact cited in many a PCB project team's post-mortem review. Some examples: • e PCB design routing and stackup was approved and released before the produc- tion supplier ever had a chance to verify material availability • e layout was populated with parts which were not verified for cost • e layout was sent out for fabrication before the test engineers had a chance to evaluate for accessibility • e EE forgot to tell supplier management that certain features on the PCB could only be manufactured by a sole source e list goes on and on. I am a rabid advocate for DFX in printed circuit design. I've read, written, and taught extensively on the subject. But now, going into my seventh year working within an EMS organization as a design and manufacturing liaison, I am continuing to see a steady disregard for basic manufacturability, materials sourcing, assembly, and test. Has the predicted tsunami of new EE graduates been too quick to learn the layout tools? Too quick in outputting data "for" their downstream stakeholders before learning what they