PCB007 Magazine

PCB007-Jan2024

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14 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2024 ing very small soware development teams required to develop these rules. Conversely, allowing the front-end engi- neer to bounce proposed solutions against the designer's digital twin AI knowledge base without generating a TQ would provide high- speed access to the designer's knowledge and not require human-to-human contact. Humans to the Rescue Front-end engineer-to-designer direct inter- action and relationships can generate per- fect data packages. ere are many examples of this. How can this be implemented and what is the business benefit? I have seen many close relationships yield lower defect data transfers. I have seen as many as 25–40 TQs per design be reduced to just a random TQ every now and then simply by hav- ing the designer and tooling engi- neer spend time understanding each other's constraints and issues. Understanding what the primary design constraints are, such as prod- uct volume, signal integrity, cost, power den- sity, or reliability, can guide suggested manu- facturability improvements. is is a multiphase process with substantial business benefits for the OEM and manufac- turer. First, the ordering company's procurement team must establish a good relationship with the manufacturer's sales and customer service team. e sales/customer service team needs to demonstrate that they will bend over back- ward to help get the product when there are issues or unexpected volume upswings. Open, honest, and realistic communication is criti- cal for success. is works best when the same person on both sides stays engaged over time so the relationship can be established. Second, the OEM's designer and fabricator's front-end person must establish a relationship. is allows the manufacturer and designer to understand one another's critical require- ments and requests. It is common to assign a specific customer to one or two front-end engineers to help understand the unwritten requirements. Multiple people are required to cover illness and vacations or have availability on multiple shis. e highest impact relationships occur when both sides agree to improve and reduce the amount of TQs and quality problems, such as the front-end engineer no lon- ger asking for modifications that the design team will never approve, or the design team adjusting their routing rules or library models to elimi- nate CAM edits that are repeated across multi- ple designs, like adding thieving patterns. e fabricator can generate a "Global QT Approval" spec- ification. is will document the most significant, agreed-upon decisions. It can also be used in training new designers and new front-end engineers. is document is appended to the customer's internal pro- curement specification. As the relationship grows, other fabricator team members become engaged to help pro- vide recommendations to the customer design team and, conversely, to the process engineer- ing team for improvements. Field application engineers (FAEs) are valu- able resources. ey can help during the pre- layout stage, or as I call it, the "off the clock" time. e FAE will also develop a close rela- tionship with designers to understand their requirements. Business Value When the designer and manufacturer are in sync, you can obtain significant reductions Front-end engineer-to-designer direct interaction and relationships can generate perfect data packages.

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