70 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2023
It seems like everyone has something to say about
PCB designers and the way they do their jobs. Every-
one involved in the process likes to chime in with
advice for the front-end folks. But what do designers
think about their segment of the industry? This month,
we asked PCB designers and design engineers to
discuss their biggest pain points.
What are the biggest challenges in PCB design? Now, that's a loaded
question, but one that I'd like to talk about. Before I do so, I think it's helpful
to talk about challenges themselves, how we view them, how they affect us,
and what we do about them. What one person perceives as a challenge
may not be a challenge for another person.
Ill-fitting parts can frequently cause
delays and cost overruns, and under-
mine PCB performance, durability, and
overall quality of the board. These poor
results can be avoided. Here are five
methods designers can implement to
avoid common, parts-related manufac-
turability pitfalls.
As multilayer PCBs become more complex, PCB
designers face the challenge of cramming more
components and connections onto a limited
board area without compromising performance
or quality. Increasing the number of signal layers
can help to accommodate more signal routing
and reduce crosstalk, but there are inevitable
bottlenecks in the breakout of high pin-count
devices.
TOP TEN
Elementary, Mr. Watson:
Where Have All the PCB Designers Gone?
Connect the Dots: Avoiding
Five Common Pitfalls of Parts
Design Problems: From the Designers' Viewpoint
EDITOR'S
PICKS
Beyond Design: Balancing
Trade-offs for Optimal PCB Design
John Watson
