Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1509257
46 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2023 PCB design is all about knowing your EDA soware tool backward. ere is no point in designing a complex board if it doesn't per- form to expectations or isn't manufacturable. e goal is to create a board that is functional, reliable, and cost-effective. Design rules are important because they help optimize the design of a product for its manufacturing and assembly praocess. is is called design for manufacturing (DFM). It aims to minimize the risk of errors and delays when a product is transitioning from prototyping to mass manu- facturing. It also optimizes design and cost and is vital to meet time to market. Employing DFM strategies reduces the cost and difficulty of producing a product while maintaining its quality. I started laying out single- and double-sided boards way back in 1975 using Bishop Graph- ics tape. e thinnest tape was 12 mils with 50-mil vias and 60-mil component pads. It was too easy; I did not have to worry about design rules for traces and footprints. Clear- ance was always the same as the trace width. A few years later, I progressed to the first version of Protel PCB layout soware. No schematics or libraries to consider; just drop a few DIP footprints and passives and start connecting Design Success with IPC Standards Beyond Design Feature Column by Barry Olney, IN-CIRCUIT DESIGN PTY LTD / AUSTRALIA