Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/568901
18 The PCB Design Magazine • September 2015 feature ing, verify the results, and output the manufac- turing files. To keep the implementation of the new de- sign flow under control, best practices would recommend a gradual incremental approach. In the following order, be sure to: 1. Run test cases (mock designs) 2. Design pilots (real designs that go into production) 3. Aggregate everything into a consolidated, coherent flow Within this process, move on to the next step only if and when the preceding one yields satisfactory results. Verify that the old designs can be ported to the new platform in a satisfactory way and that all functions are working to expectation. Before concluding the design flow migration, make sure that the new design process is fit for purpose in all re - spects, like functionality, flexibility and user friendliness. A key design flow ingredient is the library with all electric, mechanic and magnetic char- acteristics required for creating models for each individual component. Those characteristics are used not only for designing, but also for spotting an electrical lack of compliancy, me- chanical collision or electromagnetic interfer- ence conditions that might result from the way the components are laid out on the PCB. Identi- fying and fixing these errors early in the design process not only saves time and resources, but also improves quality. Assembling the Team A successful design flow implementation as- sumes the close cooperation of a team of spe- cialists comprising electronic engineers, me- chanical engineers, cross-domain specialists, PCB designers, project managers, support engi- neers, and trainers. On the other hand, in a global corporation such as Continental, with a large spectrum of products, implementation challenges increase exponentially. In a multinational corporation, you must deal with different design approaches depending on electric system specifics, design- ers coming from different cultures, and designs having to be transferred from one design team to another. Specifically, as a design support engineer, you need to actively champion the implemen- tation of the new tools suite by providing: • The optimum tools configuration, such that it accommodates the proprietary design processes • Technical support during the test phase, aimed at spotting and solving issues and problems • A real-time account of all open issues and problems • Training sessions for the user community • A disproportionate amount of technical support for the users during the learning phase The automotive Sector, by the numbers Automotive Sales • More than 800 million passenger cars are in use globally. • The world has 165 passenger vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. • Toyota, General Motors and vW are the largest passenger car manufacturers in the world. • Daimler is the world's largest truck manu- facturer, followed by Dongfeng Motor and vW. Dongfeng plans to expand from China into the uK, ireland, and Paraguay. • in 2000, 41 million automobiles were pro- duced globally; by 2005, that figure had risen to 47 million. • uS car sales increased steadily (an estimat- ed 3.69 million per year) from 1960 to 2006, only declining during 1990-1991's mini-reces- sion and stagnating in 1997. • Total uS car sales in 2014 hit 16.5 million; electric car sales were less than 1% of that. • uS electric car sales rose 23% yOy in 2014, to 119,710 vehicles. • Worldwide, 283,202 electric cars were sold in 2014. AuToMoTIvE SySTEMS DESIGN: A SuPPoRT ENGINEER'S PERSPECTIvE