Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1523825
50 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2024 to manufacture in volume without some re- design, it's not a hoax or because the system is rigged. It is because very advanced systems of CAM auditing have compared the layout geometry and details to established capabili- ties calibrated to common standards (design laws) set up in established manufacturing communities. What would you think about a PCB designer responding to a supplier with such arrogance, exclaiming that these omissions happen all the time and, thus, the claims are invalid? ey might even maintain there is nothing wrong with the design. Would you want to add someone like this to your PCB design development team? Of course not. Sins of Omission If yo u 'r e l i k e m e , y o u ' v e h a d m a n y o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o learn by doing dumb things, then find- ing out later that you screwed up and who was affected by it. One thing that comes to mind was about 30 years ago when I created an edge card pattern only to get the "A" and "B" side number- ing reversed. e rework is so painful that you only make this mistake once. e engineers made me cut the erroneously flipped edge card connector of the PCB and build an adapter to reverse the connections on the prototypes so they could continue testing the entire system. My point is that we admit our failures or omissions, learn from them, and move on. It's not always easy, though. I work for an EMS provider, and our VP of engineering likes to ask engineering candidates about one of their major design failures, what it affected, and what they learned. It's refreshing when a job candidate is transparent about being human and humble enough to admit errors and share lessons learned. We've oen followed up those interviews with healthy discussions about how the implementation of formal team design reviews provides an opportunity to seek out peer review and compare notes prior to blow- ing something up. The Formal Design Review: Be Transparent and Forthcoming Best practices in PCB design methodologies show us that the best way to avoid the legal pitfalls of non-conformance challenges is to perform a design review with all project stake- holders. Soliciting buy-in and con- currence prior to design release is a proven method for success as it allows all stakehold- ers a respectful oppor- tunity to accept or reject the project outputs as deliver- ables. e practice spreads accountabil- ity across the entire project team. Most importantly, a formal design review prior to investing large sums of money for manufacturing services and tooling is insur- ance that all phases of devel- opment have been reviewed by appropriately qualified subject mat- ter experts. Not everything goes perfectly at a formal design review, so just be open. It can be an opportunity to gain more insight or ask for help before proceeding. Transparency is key. In a courtroom, prosecutors are known to make mincemeat of defendants whose stories don't add up, who demonstrate incompetence, are full of excuses, and blame others for failures. However, if you've done your best to ensure your PCB layout has met the design and manu- facturing constraints, you don't believe you've broken any rules, and you've consistently