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54 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2024 is all about designing your product in a way that makes it easy and cost-effective to manu- facture without compromising quality. is process spots potential issues early and makes the manufacturing process smoother, ensuring the final product is of high quality. Consider the Manufacturer's Design Requirements One important factor to consider in the DFM stage is that design requirements are specific to the manufacturer. Be aware of this when choosing which tool to use for DFM. Your pre- ferred manufacturer may offer a tool or suggest specific tools. In addition, some CAD tools have DFM-type features, but those need to be configured to match your preferred manu- facturer's tolerances and requirements. Note that DFM tools operate on either a completed design file or on individual modules. Understanding both your CAD tool's features and the requirements of your preferred manu- facturer is key. To get a better understanding of DFM and this part of the process, please refer to my book, Designing for Reality. Key Takeaway: Important Design Considerations Designers should use wider traces and gaps (when possible) in their PCB layouts for the best reliability/cost, though sometimes nar- rower ones might be necessary. It is important to avoid treating every trace the same way. Utilizing larger holes for vias is another tip for increasing manufacturability and lowering cost. Old concerns about acid traps—caused by sharp angles in traces—may not be much of a manufacturing issue anymore, but best prac- tice for design and signal routing would have you minimize these sharp angle routes. Maintaining enough distance between component pads with protruding "fingers" is critical to minimize potential solder shorting between these features. A minimum of 4 mils (0.004") solder mask webbing between SMT pads is advised to maintain a solder mask dam between the pads. ese practices increase board reliability and durability with today's manufacturing techniques. Preparing Your Design to Send to the Manufacturer In the pre-manufacturing phase, differ- ent file formats become important. We start with native file formats, which are specific to the CAD soware used. However, these files can't always be directly used by manufactur- ing equipment, so the designer may need to supply Gerber files or have Gerbers created from the native file by the manufacturer. Ger- ber files have long been the go-to format for sharing PCB design data with manufacturers because they provide the essential information needed to make the boards. is is a venerable file format with a history going back several decades to the early days of PCB manufactur- ing, though it has been improved over time. In addition to Gerber files, some manu- facturers might require smart data files, like ODB++ and IPC-2581. ese carry not just layout information but details about compo- nents, assembly, and tests. Sometimes, certain CAD tools or manufacturers might instead use proprietary file types. When it is time to send your design to your preferred manufacturer, you will need to export your design into the proper file format, such as the Gerber files I've mentioned. Once you have exported the file, I highly recom- mend viewing it in an external file viewer to make sure everything looks right. Gerber files, in particular, can benefit from this additional step. How the Manufacturer Triages Inbound Designs At the manufacturer, your PCB design will undergo a triage process. First, CAM soware checks the design against the specifications provided in the order, including dimensions,